Announcements

Anyone who has done tax returns for clergy knows that they are quite different from a lay person’s return. There are some differences in the way taxable income is determined as well as where things are reported on the return. Dr. Lovett Weems has prepared a 12-minute video to give an introduction to clergy taxes and has given permission for us to share it. If you are not already a clergy tax expert, this video will be helpful to you. Also, any of our newer clergy may find some new information to help you plan your taxes. Now is the time to plan so we hope you will devote 12 minutes to this resource!

You may be aware that the Affordable Care Act includes provisions for reporting through the IRS both the offer and the use of employer-provided health care plans.  Tax forms will be due to be filed for the 2015 tax year from our health care plan and from all employers with more than 50 full-time equivalent employees.  The information can be confusing and this can seem like a daunting task.  We are working to help simplify reporting for the NCCUMC.  Here are the steps we are taking for health care reporting for our conference:

1.  The Conference will file 1095-B forms for all of our participants on our health care plan.  This means that local churches with less than 50 employees will not need to file any forms.
2. We will email churches that may have 50 employees to make sure the church is evaluating the number of employees to determine if the church has to file 1095-C forms as an applicable large employer.  If your church may be close to or over 50, please review guidance from the GBOPHB to help determine if you have to file.
3. We will be filing 1095-C forms for the Conference as an applicable large employer for anyone on the annual conference payroll.

We will be talking more over the next few weeks about health care tax reporting.  Please feel free to contact us with any questions.

Discipleship Ministries is hosting a free webinar January 7, 2016, for new members of Stewardship Teams, Finance Committees and Church Councils.  If you are new to one of these committees in your local church, please consider tuning in for this webinar to learn some basics for your work as you begin this new role.

Stewardship & Finance: Getting it Right at the Starting Line
REGISTER FOR THE WEBINAR

DATE: Thursday, January 7, 2016
TIME: 7:30 pm Eastern Standard Time/6:30 pm Central Standard Time

PRESENTERS: Ken Sloane, Director of Stewardship and Connectional Ministries

Start with this webinar focused on the new member of the Stewardship Team, Finance Committee, or Church Council – those who are looking to get started on the right foot. If your work in the church deals with people’s giving, you know the importance of that responsibility. Bathe your work in prayer. Remember, you are not alone; there are places to find help! As you enter the New Year, reflect on these ideas that could make your job the best one in the church!

We are nearing time for holiday shopping and we would like to encourage you to check out the UMC Market (umcmarket.org). This is a service available through the General Council on Finance and Administration’s Corporate Sponsorships Office that will partner corporate non-profit support programs with your local church. Online shoppers open an account (it takes less than 2 minutes) and then do their normal online shopping. Purchases from corporate partners will qualify for a percentage contribution to the local church that the shopper chose during set up. Some of the corporate partners include Best Buy, Kohl’s, Target, Lowe’s, Macy’s, Starbucks and hundreds more. If you are shopping online anyway, please take a moment and sign up for the UMC Market to earn some corporate donations for your local church. How-to videos and instructions are available on the umcmarket.org website.

You may have heard on the news recently that the Department of Labor has proposed changes to overtime regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Some of the proposed changes include an increase to the salary limit for being considered an exempt employee and some changes in flexibility allowed with work schedules for many employees. The proposed changes have been released and are in a period of review and public comment. The legal departments of the General Council on Finance and Administration and the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits are tracking this closely and will provide guidelines for implementation when the final changes are passed. These changes could have significant impact on local churches specifically around positions that are not clergy appointments earning less than around $50,000 annually. As we learn more, we will pass this information along to you but these changes are not yet final. Stay tuned for more in upcoming months!

We are thankful for the continuing evidence of God’s abundant blessings in the NC Conference. The Conference Treasurer’s Office has closed out the 2014 apportionment year and is happy to report 91.88% of the budget apportioned during 2014 was received from local churches.  Out of 788 churches receiving apportionments, 82% of them (648) paid 100% of all apportioned amounts.  The Conference Council on Finance and Administration voted to fully fund the general church, jurisdictional and Past Service Liability apportionments in full out of the conference reserves.  This is the tenth year in a row that general and jurisdictional church apportionments have been paid at 100%.  With the blessing of these resources for ministry, the Conference Council on Finance and Administration takes seriously the great responsibility for careful stewardship of their use.  We are thankful for all the ways our United Methodist connection allows us to partner in ministry at all levels of God’s church and truly be in ministry around the world!  Thank you for your part in this shared ministry!