Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Finance Leadership

Book of Discipline ¶ 259.4 - Finance Committee

4. There shall be a committee on finance, elected annually by the charge conference upon recommendation by the committee on lay leadership or from the floor, composed of the chairperson; the pastor(s); a lay member of the annual conference; the chairperson of the church council; the chairperson or representative of the committee on pastor-parish relations; a representative of the trustees to be selected by the trustees; the chairperson of the ministry group on stewardship; the lay leader; the financial secretary; the treasurer; the church business administrator; and other members to be added as the charge conference may determine. It is recommended that the chairperson of the committee on finance shall be a member of the church council. The financial secretary, treasurer, and church business administrator, if paid employees, shall be members without vote.

Guidelines 2005-2008 Finance

Funding ministries that nurture persons in their faith

Resources for Finance leaders: Department of the Treasury: 501(c)(3)

EQUITABLE COMPENSATION

For churches requesting Equitable Comp, due September 16, 2011 for 2012 calendar year. Please click on the link below, fill out the form, and email it to: epaumccec@gmail.com: 2012 Equitable Compensation Form

Statistical Report

The Statistical Reports are filled out using the Statistical Input System of the General Board of Finance and Administration at any time. Please go to: eagle.gcfa.org.

You will be asked to input your Username and Password. Your Username is your GCFA ID number (6 digits) followed by the letter “p.” If you do not remember your GCFA number, please refer to a previous statistical report, or email or call the district office to obtain it. Please do not use your 5 digit Conference ID number as this will not work! For your password, please type in “password.” It is case-sensitive, and you must use all lowercase. That’s it! You are now in the system, and able to input information into all three required tables. Please have at least three persons carefully review the financial information inputted, as your church’s apportionment depends on the accurate reporting of these numbers. The pastor, finance chairperson, and treasurer should all sign off on these numbers before final submission. On the GCFA reporting system, you have the ability to save partial information until a later time without submitting it. Please call your District Office if you have questions about procedures related to statistical reporting. The deadline for statistical reporting is April 15, 2011.

IRS Tax Information

Change in the 2011 Social Security Taxes

In 2011, the social security rate for employees will be reduced to 4.2%; a reduction of 2% from the 2010 rate of 6.2%.

The maximum wage base of $106,800 remains unchanged.

As a result, individuals could end up with a payroll tax savings of up to $2,136 in 2011.

The self-employed will pay 10.4% in 2011 instead of the 12.4% paid in 2010. Self-employed pay the full 6.2% of the employer contribution, plus 4.2% of the employee contribution.

ASSESS YOUR CHURCH'S FINANCIAL HEALTH - Resource from UM Communications (click here for a 4-page document you can print on your own computer.

IRS Increases Mileage Rate to 55.5 Cents per Mile

IR-2011-69, June 23, 2011

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today announced an increase in the optional standard mileage rates for the final six months of 2011. Taxpayers may use the optional standard rates to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business and other purposes.

The rate will increase to 55.5 cents a mile for all business miles driven from July 1, 2011, through Dec. 31, 2011. This is an increase of 4.5 cents from the 51 cent rate in effect for the first six months of 2011, as set forth in Revenue Procedure 2010-51.
In recognition of recent gasoline price increases, the IRS made this special adjustment for the final months of 2011. The IRS normally updates the mileage rates once a year in the fall for the next calendar year.

"This year's increased gas prices are having a major impact on individual Americans. The IRS is adjusting the standard mileage rates to better reflect the recent increase in gas prices," said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. "We are taking this step so the reimbursement rate will be fair to taxpayers."

While gasoline is a significant factor in the mileage figure, other items enter into the calculation of mileage rates, such as depreciation and insurance and other fixed and variable costs.

The optional business standard mileage rate is used to compute the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business use in lieu of tracking actual costs. This rate is also used as a benchmark by the federal government and many businesses to reimburse their employees for mileage.

The new six-month rate for computing deductible medical or moving expenses will also increase by 4.5 cents to 23.5 cents a mile, up from 19 cents for the first six months of 2011. The rate for providing services for charitable organizations is set by statute, not the IRS, and remains at 14 cents a mile.

The new rates are contained in Announcement 2011-40 on the optional standard mileage rates.

Taxpayers always have the option of calculating the actual costs of using their vehicle rather than using the standard mileage rates.

Mileage Rate Changes

Purpose	Rates 1/1 through 6/30/11	Rates 7/1 through 12/31/11
Business	51	55.5
Medical/Moving	19	23.5
Charitable	14	14

Finance Leadership

IRS Increases Mileage Rate to 55.5 Cents per Mile

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