While you dont always need a huge paid staff, you do need to determine fair pay for the church staff you have. Most IIM pastors work 50% to 75% of time, doing 50% to 75% of a full-time pastor's duties. Or a church located in a major city. This income is considered employee wages. For home health care services in 2019, per the BLS estimates, there were 7,380 pastors making an average salary of $58,070. What your skills are worth in the job market is constantly changing. If they come from an individual as a result of a ministerial duty you performed (counseling, preaching, etc. You might be asking well what does this example mean? Some great ideas include: Remember that no matter what your strategy is right now, its important to review it annually. Very detailed informative report which is truly usable. Especially for your lead pastor who may be giving 40 hours a week to ministry. Devoted to teaching and guiding all aspects of ministry by, Compensation will include a cash wage, use of the parsonage, utilities, internet, gas mileage, etc. Pastors can also earn money today above and beyond their salary pay. Each of these factors will drastically affect the salary ranges for each role due to things like tithe amount (size and attendance), cost-of-living of your area (church site location), and role responsibilities (specific roles). Pay them a legit salary with benefits. However, total salary will vary based on location, job title, and years experience. 501-1,200 in attendance: $84,270 - $184,025, 501-1,200 in attendance: $66,234 - $96,966, Full-time Discipleship Pastor salary range, 501-1,200 in attendance: $52,515 - $76,912, 501-1,200 in attendance: $52,759 - $75,510, 501-1,200 in attendance: $52,909 - $83,975, 501-1,200 in attendance: $45,596 - $64,641, Full-time Childrens Pastor/Director salary range, 501-1,200 in attendance: $42,840 - $70,220. With that being said, lets move on. I spent some quality time in Publication 517 for you, sorting through all of the various tax treatments for the different kinds of income a pastor can earn. Ministerial services, in general, are defined as the services you perform in the exercise of your ministry. You need to know this stuff if youre a licensed minister. Thomas Costello October 17, 2022 Church Leadership 24 Comments. The national average salary for a youth pastor in 2020 was $48,938. Read the full article; career development 15 Leadership Qualities That Make a Great Leader. You may want to double check with the IRS just to be sure, though. In nursing care facilities, there were 2,120 pastors making an average salary of $58,890. In state government agencies, there were 1,420 pastors making $54,200. Based on these numbers, as a church staffing member, you can expect a general full-time pastoral salary to be around $56,000. In addition to regular pay, most churches offer healthy insurance and other yearly benefits. When filing taxes, those wages are reported at the beginning of Form 1040, the individual income tax return. You did not mention salaries for Directors of Womens Ministries. As of Apr 15, 2023, the average annual pay for a Full Time Youth Pastor in the United States is $39,200 a year. What do you know? 1k salaries reported, updated at July 11, 2023 . Non-pastor church employees pay under FICA (SECA if your church is exempt). For instance, you might have a few members who are copywriters who volunteer to write weekly blog posts. Our City of Independence is, Possesses a minimum of a bachelors degree in a relevant field (masters preferred). Sounds fishy, but I cant speak to the legality of the situation. When it comes to running the church, the hardest tasks are usually reserved for full-time employees. Ana, according to the Internal Revenue Code Section 107, the housing allowance is not considered gross income. Maybe someone in the REACHRIGHT community has some feedback. Part time pastors, those employed for 20 or more hours per week, may be prorated based on a 40-hour week. Has served a churches with average attendance of 5k-9k for 20 years and led a music department with over 1,000 active participants. #3 Income earned as an employee from non-ministerial services, Subject to Social Security, even if you have a ministerial exemption, #4 Income earned as a self-employed person from non-ministerial services. You can hire people with specific skills to handle certain tasks. These could include sermon preparation, pastoral counseling, running church business meetings, etc. Clearly, its important to determine fair pay for your church staff. Full Time Senior Pastor jobs. Thanx again. Keep in mind that this isnt a completely accurate number due to the three factors we talked about in this article and as such this shouldnt be the number you set your mind on completely, but it is still here for you. 1,422 full time pastor jobs available. Youth pastor salaries at First Presbyterian Church are the highest of any company. While ZipRecruiter is seeing salaries as high as $81,449 and as low as $15,306, the majority of Full Time Pastor salaries currently range between $29,518 (25th percentile) to $56,303 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $71,062 annually in New York. To end out this article I would like to share Ecclesiastes 5:10 in the ESV version which says, He who loves money will not be satisfied, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this is also vanity. Do not get caught up in the numbers or the salaries but pursue the riches of the one true God who provides for anything and everything we need. Pastors pay under SECA unless they have opted out, in which case they pay nothing. 2. Senior Pastor. Your pastors can handle some administrative work, but not everything. This is a great resource for helping you determine what salaries work best for your needs, your staff and your budget. You should work with a professional to see how the content applies to your own specific situation. Healthy financial stewardship is vital in the long run! Never encourage your staff to opt out. So, your church is in a small town that no one even knows exists. Often times, better benefits will make employees accept a slightly lower salary. Regular Time Off Full-time pastor(s) shall have at least one and one-half (1) regular days free of free of congregational responsibilities, barring for crisis ministries. The exact numbers of pastors and spiritual leaders of churches vary, but the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate notes that there are nearly 36,000 priests just from the Catholic Church alone. Plus, your pastors are probably already overwhelmed with the vital tasks required of their job position like preaching, teaching, and ministering to people. If you choose to do so, it only applies to income you earn performing ministerial services, not income that you earn in a secular job. Must have reliable automobile, valid driver's license, and the minimum state required liability auto insurance. The average salary for an associate pastor is $46,081 in the US. Level of Education: Gaining advanced degrees Thank you so much for posting this! Many pastors do pay taxes, and opting out of taxes is now more often the exception. Now that we have gone through looking at what a church staffer makes generally and started to establish the pastor pay scale by looking into different factors that would affect a full-time pastors pay, we can move onto looking more closely at a solid salary range for each of the major church positions. Before you even look at the average salary for different positions, its important to understand the factors that go into determining what a staff member should make. Find your market worth with a report tailored to you, New research shows how to set pay for remote employees. Being a youth pastor is a full-time job. If the area is cheaper to live in meaning essentials like food, shelter, and gas are all cheap, the pay will reflect that. In today's Christian churches, the pastor will be the spiritual guide for those gathered to hear the message in person or online. The organization Im associated with is a 501c3 and Im opted out. Hello, Im looking for a salary for the State of Georgia for a congregation of 500 people Senior Pastor. If youre seeking a pastoral leadership position, do you believe this to be your calling, or is this something you see as an easy job to make a decent amount of money? 1,000 in church attendance. If a pastor earns a salary, the. According to the IRS, a pastor is an employee who performs services for a church or organization that has legal control over how they carry out those services. . As of Jun 27, 2023, the average annual pay for a Presbyterian Pastor in the United States is $49,873 a year. Often, outsourced administrative support positions are referred to as virtual assistants. The average salary for a pastor is $48,490 per year in the United States. Paid under FICA. Lets go! Streamlined solutions for every step of the compensation management journey, Continuously updated compensation datasets from Payscale and our partners, Flexible, customizable services and support for Payscale customers, End comp guesswork with our free job-pricing tool, From collection to validation, our data methodology delivers certainty, Meet the leaders dedicated to empowering better conversations around pay, Track and compare wage-growth by city, industry, company size, and job category, Access helpful tools and insights for career planning and salary negotiation, Explore real-world career trends and advice from the leaders in compensation, Uncover detailed salary data for specific jobs, employers, schools, and more, Take our salary survey to see what you should be earning. We previously talked about ways to make this task easier and one of our recommendations was to outsource to save money and ensure you dont miss anything. Housing costs would qualify for the housing allowance, so you wouldnt have to pay federal income taxes but you would have to pay self-employment taxes (if you havent opted out of Social Security). Gifts & Love Offerings (Birthday, Christmas). Most of that is coming from an increase in outsourcing. Another form of income.what if you rent out a room in your house? Thank you in advance. Education: doctorate. Different sources of income are treated differently for the following purposes: For income taxes purposes, you can be considered a common-law employee or self-employed: Employees earn wages that are reported on Form W-2. These people give their all and deserve fair compensation in return. Competitive Compensation & Salary. This can change the annual salary by $10,000 or more. So glad it was helpful Dean. Religious books are considered to be a part of your ministerial duties and fall under category #1 income. But in a church the pastor salary seems to be what everyone elses compensation is based on. But lets be sure we understand the consequences when you underpay them. My paychecks did not change in any way after the housing allowance was approved however. If you are here for this article then you more than likely fall into one of three categories: You are someone actively pursuing a career path in a pastoral leadership position and are looking into the pastor salary scale of a full-time pastor, someone interested in ministry searching around doing research, or someone who happened upon this article by chance. However, a growing church should be paying their staff more as their budget increases. A middle of the road price typically offers the best of both quality and price. Each church role is a full-time job with different responsibilities (which will be talked about in a future article) and therefore should be compensated. Chaplains are usually eligible for the housing allowance. Accountable Plan: These are not reported on Form W-2 and are not taxable. Thats okay. To start off we will be looking into the average church staffing pay in general based on BLS data. Non-accountable Plan: Any reimbursements made outside of an accountable plan are reported on form W-2 as wages and are taxable. Or members with website builder experience who help update your church website. Your Privacy Choices.css-1w6n6p0{display:inline-block;vertical-align:middle;width:30px;height:14px;margin-left:6px;}, Young Adults Pastor | Full-Time | $65,500/Year + Benefits, Independence, First Presbyterian Full Time Pastor, Senior Pastor Full Time - The Orchard Church, Hospice Spiritual Care Counselor - Full Time, Campus Pastor | Full-Time | $65-70k + Benefits. Allowing pastors to have more time for what truly matters is what helps set a church apart and increase membership. While part of this will ultimately depend on your church's budget, paying your staff fairly is vital to keeping the best employees. This seems to me to be a full-time position. As a licensed minister, you have the option to opt out of the Social Security and Medicare tax system. I also specifically looked at congregations with attendance between 300-499 people to simulate a medium sized church. Under federal and state labor laws, employers are required to pay their employees for all hours worked, including hours worked on weekends and holidays. The average Pastor salary in the United States is $105,219 as of June 26, 2023, but the range typically falls between $86,480 and $119,256. Would you run a business on volunteers only? A pastor must have strong writing and speaking skills to create and deliver speeches emphasizing the importance of faith in the lives of the Read more, Our data indicates that the highest pay for a Pastor is $76k / year, Our data indicates that the lowest pay for a Pastor is $20k / year. They may only work a few hours a week and thats enough to get the job done. I specifically looked at the full-time senior pastor pay in California, one of the highest cost of living states, and compared the pay of a full-time senior pastor in Mississippi, one of the lowest cost of living states. If youve opted out, then it is not reported to the IRS. Income Tax: This income is considered employee wages. Why is the pastor generally the highest paid person in the church? What Should You Do If You Dont Have The Money To Pay Your Taxes? ), they are taxable income and fall under category #2. Jefferson City, TN 37760. No matter what category you fall into, you are welcome to this article and its resources. Even with the best intentions, you could be making mistakes that hurt your staff and church in the long run. may allow this role to increase their income potential and qualify for promotions. Hi Theres something crass about giving gift cards which forces them into a corner of how they spend theyre hard-earned wages. It goes without saying that a church mainly relies on tithe as their main source of income as churches are essentially non-profit organizations that dont distribute products or services for money like most businesses do. Now for the main event the average church staff salary breakdown. The average associate pastor salary ranges between $29,000 and $71,000 in the US. Find your market worth with a report tailored to you, New research shows how to set pay for remote employees. Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $18.85 an hour. But, more on that later on. This is created by having a background and keen knowledge of the Bible and scripture, and being able to communicate this information to churchgoers on a regular basis. I hope this has helped clarify things for you. Youth pastors earn the highest salaries in Maine (45,472), California (45,239), and Washington (44,571). An experienced Pastor with 10-19 years of Read more, A pastor leads a congregation at a Christian church in prayer, song, and general spiritual guidance. Now What? What's this? Vacation . We have been very confused about this and are still unsure as to what to do tax wise. Just trying to get everything in order. Looking to learn how much to pay a pastor in McKinney, Tx. Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $23.98 an hour. This is where outsourcing helps. Despite your best intentions, its difficult to determine how to run a church on volunteers alone. Before you decide whether variable pay is right for your org, get a deeper understanding of the variable pay options and the cultural impact of pay choices. Being a worship pastor is a full-time job and so on. However, it is considered income when calculating self-employment taxes for those who are not exempt. This applies to both installed and temporary pastoral positions. You wouldnt want that, so dont do that to staff. The average salary for a Pastor is $49,003 in 2023. You may hire several different virtual assistants based on skillset and thats okay. Yes, it would. We're not just talking about senior pastors, either. Paying your church staff a fair overall salary isnt always the problem. The pastor's co-pay depends on which plan is chosen.) However, you likely have a numerous other positions in operations, finance, maintenance, and administrative support. Have them double check the forms they are filing with the IRS. People complain that taxes are complicated and confusing, but it seems that things are even twice as bad for pastors. What is the law regulating this matter. ? This is considered self-employment income and calculated on Schedule C. Not applicable if you are exempt. When filing taxes, those wages are reported at the beginning of. This person is also over all womens events, retreats, etc. The last thing you want is for them to be so stressed about their personal finances that they cant do their job well. Change of employer: The positions we will be running through are: Senior pastor, Executive pastor, Family pastor, Discipleship pastor, Worship pastor, Youth pastor, and the Childrens pastor/director positions. We take a deep dive into what's impacting employee retention and what employees are looking for in their new role. In addition to IRAs, self-employed people have the ability to establish other kinds of tax-advantaged retirement plans, such as SEP, SIMPLE, and qualified plans, and deduct contributions as business expenses. This includes money that individuals give you directly for performing weddings, baptisms or other personal ministry-related services. post your job! You may be making $56,000 now but that will change depending on the area. Otherwise, you pay under SECA. Employees earn wages that are reported on Form W-2. While the exact requirements for pastors vary depending on their sect, the pastor leads the routine worship services, in which Christians gather in prayer and listen to sermons. Why do people leave their jobs? As you might have noticed, the salaries reported by churches are often limited to pastors. Church employees are taxed under FICA unless their church opts out because they "are opposed for religious reasons to the payment of social security and Medicare taxes." If the church opts out, then its employees pay their payroll taxes under the SECA system. The U.S. BLS estimates for 2019 show that pastors average annual salary ranged from the lower end of $26,810 to an average of $50,400, and upwards to $86,970. It looks like the housing allowance does not count as compensation when calculating retirement plan contributions. This article explains depreciation: https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/060815/how-rental-property-depreciation-works.asp This article explains tax issues when renting a room in your house: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/tax-issues-when-renting-out-room-your-house.html#:~:text=You%20can%20fully%20deduct%20(or,(such%20as%20a%20bed). Essentially this example shows that cost of living is going to influence salary. If your church pays your bills, that would be considered compensation. According to the calculator on bankrate.com, Amarillo Texas has a cost of living that is 17.07% lower than Charlottesville and in order to live within the same means, you would be making around $46,441.66 salary wise. Instead, its a total of regular pay and benefits. The duties of a committed pastor in a church, or similar faith-based organization are many. What you can expect from this article is a breakdown into the pastor salary scale, how much different pastoral roles make, and the factors and other circumstances that can change the pastor pay scale. Remote in Pennsylvania Full-time Compensation: Full-time salary with benefits, Rent-free housing available. If you dont have a clue where to start or youre re-evaluating your churchs compensation plan, read on to learn more with this church salary guide. Associate pastors' hourly rates in the US typically range between $13 and $34 an hour. I am on the board of a religious non-profit org. Obviously, as a churches attendance grows and the size of the church grows, you can usually expect for tithe to grow as well meaning that the church is bringing in more money and therefore has more money to pay its staff. New full time pastor careers are added daily on SimplyHired.com. Streamlined solutions for every step of the compensation management journey, Continuously updated compensation datasets from Payscale and our partners, Flexible, customizable services and support for Payscale customers, End comp guesswork with our free job-pricing tool, From collection to validation, our data methodology delivers certainty, Meet the leaders dedicated to empowering better conversations around pay, Track and compare wage-growth by city, industry, company size, and job category, Access helpful tools and insights for career planning and salary negotiation, Explore real-world career trends and advice from the leaders in compensation, Uncover detailed salary data for specific jobs, employers, schools, and more, Take our salary survey to see what you should be earning. Thanks for the encouragement, Ken! So, figuring out the right salaries for your pastors is crucial for building an excellent leadership team. Church employees are taxed under FICA unless their church opts out because they are opposed for religious reasons to the payment of social security and Medicare taxes. If the church opts out, then its employees pay their payroll taxes under the SECA system. Now, the last point isnt so bad. Glad it was helpful. Frankly, given how low most salaries are, they wont pay much in taxes any way. Paid time off; Is this useful? It is important to note that there are some exceptions to these general rules, so it is always a good idea to check with an attorney or your states labor department for specific guidance. Mill Springs Baptist Church. Learn how your comment data is processed. A tiny church with 100 members wont be able to pay the same salaries or even have as many employees as a mega church with thousands of members. But, it is a tedious piece of literature, to say the least. The U.S. BLS estimates for 2019 show that pastors average annual salary ranged from the lower end of $26,810 to an average of $50,400 , and upwards to $86,970 . Before you decide whether variable pay is right for your org, get a deeper understanding of the variable pay options and the cultural impact of pay choices. All pastors pay under SECA by law. Youd hire the best employees possible to given your payscale to help you build and grow a thriving business. I work a secular job in the police department and dont receive a stipend from the church. You need to know this stuff if youre a licensed minister. can a church give gift cards instead of a salary. A pastor usually leads a Christian church in prayer, song, and general spiritual guidance. We recently published a new post all about pastor salaries. The churchs reasoning if so the staff doesnt have to pay taxes. Any reimbursements made outside of an accountable plan are reported on form W-2 as wages and are taxable. Sunday duties are part of their weekly duties, staff must request to be gone on Sundays but very frowned upon when missing a Sunday. What percentage of the budget will be allocated to staff salary? Our goal is to help churches like yours reach more people and grow. And, if they do, does your church website make an outstanding first impression? This is a payrolldeduction before tax. It is not considered income for income tax purposes. Specifically, for this example, we will be using the general full-time pastoral pay mentioned above of $56,000 and we will also be looking at bankrate.com which has a cost-of-living comparison calculator, and Ive also chosen two random cities to look at here. Maybe. The housing allowance portion you report when you file Schedule SE if you havent opted out. Or it could be a budget constraint. All three of these factors are pretty cut and dry and do not require a whole lot of explanation but I will briefly talk about each. The data for this next section comes mainly from Pushpay which is a management system used by non-profits and churches to collect donations and tithes online. $20k - $76k. Your email address will not be published. All of these attributes contribute to the salaries for pastors. Ill do my best to make it bearable for you. However, before we dive into the breakdown of church staff salaries, I would encourage and challenge you to stop here for a moment and ask yourself some questions. All pastors pay under SECA by law. However, these mistakes have a way of backfiring and wreaking havoc on your churchs budget. Unlike volunteers, your church staff is fully dedicated to helping your church succeed. Texas may earn a median average salary of just over $51,700. We have four members of our church that receive gift cards each month instead of salary. This factor is a little bit more complex than the previous one and in order to provide a rough example of how location can affect salary weve gone to the U.S. Department of State which offers a slew of resources for looking into cost of living of different cities. How do pastors get paid? Pastors less. Fulltime pastors shall be provided with either a parsonage or a cash housing allowance in lieu of a parsonage. Nah, our church couldn't use an extra $10,000 every month. Good morning, I am looking for a salary for Senior Pastor of 25 years of a congregation of 225 people in Detroit, MI. For instance, you could hire a dedicated person and pay a full-time salary for them to handle website maintenance. In a church environment, this means creating a winning atmosphere that cares well for church staff and volunteer workers. This is the equivalent of $959/week or $4,156/month. It appears from the IRS site that we do need to pay Social Security on housing allowance even though it is not taxable income. However, being a senior pastor or youth pastor or any other pastoral position should not be about the money.