Taxes for Foreign Missionaries: Foreign Bank and Financial Account Reporting

Posted on August 7, 2010 by Jay F Guin

https://i0.wp.com/blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/church_money.250w.tn.jpg?resize=179%2C179Foreign missionaries often maintain accounts with foreign banks or other financial institutions. Sometimes they maintain a working fund in a local bank. Sometimes it’s just a family bank account. Or maybe it’s an account for a church or charity that hasn’t been formally incorporated.

The IRS requires that all such accounts be reported to the IRS using an “FBAR” if the account holds more than US$10,000.

If you own or have authority over a foreign financial account, including a bank account, brokerage account, mutual fund, unit trust, or other types of financial accounts, you may be required to report the account yearly to the Internal Revenue Service. Under the Bank Secrecy Act, each United States person must file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR), if Continue reading →

Posted in Taxes, Uncategorized | Comments Off on Taxes for Foreign Missionaries: Foreign Bank and Financial Account Reporting

Taxes for Foreign Missionaries: The Accountable Plan

Posted on August 7, 2010 by Jay F Guin

https://i0.wp.com/blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/church_money.250w.tn.jpg?resize=179%2C179I get emails —

I appreciate your blog and, in addition to all the great Bible study stuff you’ve got on there, your financial advice to ministers is so helpful. (Your commentary on opting out of Social Security is spot on and something my wife and I just recently had to learn for ourselves after being told it was a matter of stewardship. After reading the opt-out ourselves, though, it became very apparent that that was the wrong point of view altogether.)

We are really feeling overwhelmed with all this overseas tax stuff, mostly because it seems like many people have different understandings of the law. Right now our current confusion has to do with the missionary’s work fund while overseas. I understand the accountable plan setup, and I understand the 1099 setup as well. However, we have a minster/missionary tax professional (that’s the only thing his office of 30 plus years works with) tell us something that doesn’t seem to align with it. I am writing to ask if you have already posted on this subject and if you could link to that article (I didn’t have a positive search experience on your site, and was only able to stumble across certain things.) If not, maybe you could point me in the right direction, because even the internet seems to be void of clear documentation of what we need to do.

So, in as brief a story I can make it, here it is:

Our tax professional tells us that we need to have two separate accounts, one for work fund and one for our income. My understanding is (though he is out of town at the very moment so I can’t discuss this further with him for a few days) that he says all money given to us by churches and individuals for our one-time expenses (travel, shipping, etc.) will go directly into that account and won’t be taxable. However, this will not be an accountable plan setup with our sending congregation, so we will simply be 1099 workers. And it is my understanding that if I file a 1099, then all money I receive is taxable until I prove that I used it otherwise. The thing is, we have collected about $20,000 one-time needs for this trip in 2010, but won’t be leaving the country until January of 2011. So, as a 1099 filer, I think I understand that I need to pay the taxes on the $20,000, but will, in effect, get that money “back” when I deduct it off my 2011 filing.

That is how I currently understand the law, but I have this tax guy telling me that the money put in a separate account and only used for work fund expenses will not need to be reported whatsoever.

Sorry this is so long, but I wanted to explain it as I understood. So again, if you could point me the right direction with all of this, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks again for your blog. Continue reading →

Posted in Taxes, Uncategorized | 5 Comments

1,000,000 Hits (or Not)

Posted on August 6, 2010 by Jay F Guin

The hit counter down there at the bottom of the page hit 1,000,000 a few days ago, and I guess I should say something on the subject. Here goes: It’s not true. Or maybe it is. I’m not sure. So I’m having trouble getting excited about it, but then, that may be due to this summer cold thing that’s knocked me for a loop.

You see, when I switched to Theobloggers, I had about 750,000 hits showing on the counter, “hits” meaning page views — which to me is the real measure of a site. You see, in internet lingo, you get a “hit” for each file downloaded, meaning you get one hit for the 1,000,000 cartoon, another for the text, and may a dozen more for the stuff around the edges. Anyway, hits grossly overstate reality.

The native hit counter for WordPress I used to have actually measured page views, which is how many times someone clicks to download an article to read, which measures something of real significance.

So I’ve been trying to get a genuine page view hit counter thingie on the page, and they seem to be hard to come by. And Theobloggers is about to switch to WordPress 3.0, which may or may not solve the problem. So in the meantime I’m probably not actually at 1,000,000 page views. But maybe I am.

You see, lots of people read my stuff via email, and email reads aren’t counted by hit counters or page view counters. So that’s several thousand reads per month that aren’t counted. And lots of people read by RSS reader, which has the very same problem. Add those in, and I might have passed 1,000,000 months ago!

But I have this cold and really don’t feel like doing the math to figure whether I hit a 1,000,000 page views. It would require higher level reasoning skills that are being denied me by lack of oxygen and sinus pain and coughing and all that. So I’m either over 1,000,000 page views or not. But my head definitely feels like World War III is going in my sinus cavities. That much I’m sure about.

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Church Plants and Missions: A Framework: Choice of Missions to Support

Posted on August 6, 2010 by Jay F Guin

Choice of missions to support

  • We will support both foreign and domestic missions.

We think it’s important to do mission work both in the US and abroad. Church planting — in the modern sense of the term — is fairly new to the Churches of Christ. We’ve done plenty of planting in the past, but not the modern way — and we think it’s important that such efforts be encouraged. Continue reading →

Posted in Church Plants and Foreign Missions, Uncategorized | 13 Comments

The Holy Spirit: Romans 12:2

Posted on August 5, 2010 by Jay F Guin

(Rom 12:2 ESV)  2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Many readers overlook the passive voice. Paul does not say, “Renew your mind.” He says, “Be transformed.” What is unspoken is who does the transforming.

The word translated “transform” is metamorphoo — which is the root of “metamorphosis.” It can mean either tranformation or transfiguration. Indeed, the word only appears in the New Testament in the transfiguration accounts, here, and in —

(2Co 3:18 ESV) And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

In each case, the source of the transformation/transfiguration is God or the Spirit. All four are in the passive voice. Jesus was transfigured. We are transformed. Continue reading →

Posted in Holy Spirit and Providence, Uncategorized | 26 Comments

Church Plants and Missions: A Framework: Introduction and Doctrine

Posted on August 4, 2010 by Jay F Guin

Introduction

We elders have been working with our missions team to establish a set of guidelines for missionary and church plant support. The congregation raises funds for missions once a year through a special contribution, and the mission work has lately received around $130,000 per year from the congregation, by God’s generosity.

I remember when our mission budget was zero! But our mission work has grown steadily over the years. And for many reasons, this seemed like a good time to do some re-visioning. You see, it’s human nature to do this year what we did last year. But as the program got bigger and the world changed and the mission experts learned better ways of doing thing, well, you just have to take a lot of time and rethink the whole thing.

And so we have a document listing principles for how we intend to manage mission work and church planting, called a “framework.” It’s a “framework” because it’s not the completed product, just what you have to build to build the completed product. Continue reading →

Posted in Church Plants and Foreign Missions, Uncategorized | 11 Comments

The Holy Spirit: Romans 12:1

Posted on August 3, 2010 by Jay F Guin

Rom 12:1

I skipped the end of Romans 8 and all of chapters 9 and 11, even though they are entirely relevant to the subject at hand. But I covered that material extensively not too long ago in a series called “Election,” and so I’m not going to delve into it here.

Now, one of the puzzles we struggled with in considering chapter 8 was just what it is that the Spirit is supposed to do for or in the Christian. For example, what does it mean to be “led” by the Spirit? What is the nature of the Spirit’s testimony regarding our salvation? I think chapter 12 says quite a lot on the subject.

(Rom 12:1 ESV) I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Continue reading →

Posted in Holy Spirit and Providence, Uncategorized | 5 Comments

The Holy Spirit: Questions by Hank, Part 2

Posted on August 2, 2010 by Jay F Guin

Hank asked,

But, according to your view, how could people in Isa and Acts 7 actually resist the HS when they didn’t even have him to begin with? And, assuming they were actually able to obey him rather than resist…how could they even want to if such requires the HS being personally in them first?

Hank,

Obviously, the Spirit can seek to change or persuade men by multiple means. If the question is: How can someone resist deity, such as the Spirit? The answer is that people do it every day — and those are examples. If the question is how can we resist the Spirit while he indwells us, the answer continues to be found in such passages as —

(Eph 4:30 ESV) 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

(1Th 5:19 ESV) 19 Do not quench the Spirit.

— which are directed to Christians, in whom the Spirit dwells. Continue reading →

Posted in Holy Spirit and Providence, Uncategorized | 15 Comments

The Holy Spirit: Romans 8:19-27

Posted on August 2, 2010 by Jay F Guin

Rom 8:19-23

(Rom 8:19-23 ESV)  19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.  20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope  21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.  22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.  23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

Just as the creation will freed from the corruption of the curse of Genesis 3 when God renews the creation to become the new heavens and new earth prophesied by Isaiah and the Revelation, our bodies will be redeemed. We’ve covered before and will cover again, Lord willing, the renewal of bodies discussed in much more detail in 1 Corinthians 15, where we’re told we’ll have bodies like the body of the resurrected Jesus — Continue reading →

Posted in Holy Spirit and Providence, Uncategorized | 11 Comments

The Holy Spirit: Questions by Hank

Posted on August 1, 2010 by Jay F Guin

Hank made some interesting points in a comment.

What’s the point of dwelling in someone if God is a spirit?

I actually believe that God can operate directly upon me according to his will to either make me remember, cause me to forget, strike me dead in my tracks or whatever he so desires.

I just don’t think he must first get inside me personally to do so. After all, God is spirit.

As is so often true, it’s best to look back at the Old Testament background. In the Garden, God walked with Adam and Eve. He did the same with Abraham. He wrestled with Jacob. Continue reading →

Posted in Holy Spirit and Providence, Uncategorized | 30 Comments