The Catholic CPA
SERVICES PROVIDED
Clergy & Religious Tax Services
- Preparing individual tax returns for priests, deacons, seminarians, and members of religious institutes, including the dual-status treatment under which clergy are employees for income tax purposes but self-employed for Social Security purposes.
- Computing and substantiating the housing or parsonage allowance, and advising parishes and dioceses on the advance designation required for the exclusion to be available.
- Applying the Deason rule to allocate business expenses attributable to tax-free housing income, a calculation frequently missed on returns prepared elsewhere.
- Preparing Form 4361 applications for exemption from self-employment tax, and advising on whether the exemption is available, advisable, and what its irrevocability means over a full career.
- Advising members of religious institutes on the treatment of income earned under a vow of poverty and assigned to the institute.
- Reviewing parish and diocesan accountable reimbursement plans for compliance with IRC §62(c), so that reimbursements are not treated as taxable compensation.
- Calculating quarterly estimated tax payments for clergy, who generally have no income tax withheld from their compensation.
- Addressing missionary and foreign-assignment issues, including the foreign earned income exclusion, the foreign tax credit, and foreign bank account reporting.
- Reviewing prior-year returns prepared by others to identify clergy-specific treatment that was overlooked, and amending where the correction is worthwhile.
Individual and Business Tax Consulting & Preparation Services
- Creating Personalized Tax Savings Plans and Memos to save individuals and businesses significant money by identifying overlooked deductions, underutilized tax provisions, and robust tax planning which can generate annual savings of thousands of dollars a year.
- Reviewing returns to identify missed deductions before or after returns have been filed.
- Calculating Estimated Quarterly Taxes
- Advising on Sales & Use Tax Nexus on a State-by-State Basis
- Consulting Small Business Owners & Independent Contractors on managing all aspects of tax.
- Estimating Annual Tax Liabilities under the current status quo versus other scenarios (e.g., changing business structures, increasing revenues, etc.). Advising on the pros and cons of each.
- Calculating the optimal salary for S Corporation owners to balance the tax savings earned from distributions (which do not incur payroll taxes) versus the QBI savings of increased business earnings limited by 50% of wages.
- Preparing 1099s and corresponding review of contractor W9 Forms
- Preparing Individual Tax Returns
- Preparing and Filing Partnership, S Corporation, C Corporation, and Single Member LLC Tax Returns
- Preparing fiduciary income tax returns for estates and trusts, and advising clients who serve as executor or trustee.
- Advising on tax loss harvesting and RSU tax implications
- Assisting with cryptocurrency tax issues (e.g., capital loss harvesting, staking income, etc.).
- Assisting with documenting expenses and establishing systems for easy record keeping
- Setting up expense reimbursement plans for business owners to comply with IRS §62(c)
- Partnering with other professionals on niche issues for those with export businesses to generate substantial tax savings under the IC-DISC regulations or those who set up cash balance plans.
Parish, School & Exempt Organization Services
- Preparing Forms 990, 990-EZ, 990-N, and 990-PF for Catholic schools, foundations, apostolates, religious institutes, and other tax-exempt organizations.
- Determining which return an organization is required to file, and whether it falls within the exemption from filing that applies to churches and certain church-affiliated entities but not to every organization operating under Catholic auspices.
- Preparing the public support test on Schedule A and advising organizations at risk of tipping out of public charity status.
- Identifying and reporting unrelated business taxable income on Form 990-T, including advertising revenue, facility rentals, parking, and gift shop operations.
- Advising on contractor classification and preparing Forms 1099 for parishes and religious organizations.
IRS Representation & Compliance
- Responding to IRS and state tax notices on behalf of clients.
- Representing clients in correspondence audits and examinations.
- Preparing prior-year and delinquent returns for clients who have fallen behind, and advising on penalty abatement where reasonable cause exists.
- Preparing amended returns where a prior filing was incorrect or a deduction was missed.
Financial Analysis & Planning (FP&A) Services
- Preparing or reviewing Annual Budgets and financial projections for use by business owners, investors, or regulatory bodies.
- Performing variance analysis of financial statements, reviewing statements for errors, and advising on ways to possibly increase profitability.
- Advising on pricing trends especially as it concerns inflation and loss of purchasing power.
- Calculating price elasticity to determine the overall effect on total revenue by raising or lowering the price of any items offered for sale.
- Identifying potentially missed expenses or inaccurate calculations (e.g., depreciation).
- Identifying potential investment or legal matters to discuss with professionals who specialize in either of those disciplines.
- Managing a business’s cash flow needs.
Bookkeeping Services
- I do not provide ongoing bookkeeping. For clients who need recurring monthly or weekly support, I can refer recommended bookkeepers who provide responsive, accurate, and timely personal and small business bookkeeping using QuickBooks or Excel ledgers.
- Where a return cannot be completed without it, I do perform records reconstruction and account cleanup as part of the engagement, billed at the hourly rate shown on the fee schedule.
Fees for all of the above are set out on the Fee Schedule.