IRS Official: We are "Close" to Auditing Churches Again

sermonindex May 16, 2013

For some time now, the IRS has not been auditing churches. As I explained in more detail in this post, the IRS’ decision to “suspend” church audits stems from a 2009 federal court decision finding the IRS’ regulations on church audits to be unlawful. Since that decision, the IRS, to the best of anyone’s knowledge, has not been auditing any churches. It has said since 2009 that it is preparing new regulations that will enable it to begin auditing churches again, but we have not seen those regulations finalized.

However, at a recent tax conference, Treasury Attorney-Advisor Ruth Madrigal said that the IRS’ long-awaited rules on church audits are “close” to being finalized. So what does this mean for churches?

What this means is that once the IRS’ regulations on auditing churches are finalized, then it is logical to assume that the IRS will begin auditing churches again. Whether this means that the ...

MrBillPro May 16, 2013

My GrandPa always said, if your not guilty of anything, you should not be concerned. Maybe we do need "someone" to keep the houses of the Lord in check. I personally think, every dime a church spends should be listed somewhere at the church, or on the churches website if they have one. If you have nothing to hide, there should be no concern, and also it would be nice to see where our tithes and offerings are going. The future of this nation is a complete government take over, it's written all over the walls, lets do what we can do as men and women of faith to get the houses of the Lord in order, so in this time to come, it may reflect our character and integrity. They may actually be doing us a favor for the future to come.

ginnyrose Jun 9, 2013

MrBill, I think you had a wise grandpa. The principle he was advocating is called transparency, a principle many find threatening because it invades ones privacy.

Still, on the other hand to have a gov official check your records does have an ominous ring about it. On the one hand it should be none of the gov's business how the church spends its money. On the other hand, when it is exempt from gov taxation it means there must be rules to be followed in order to enjoy this exemption. When this is the case one can reasonable well expect some auditing from them - other individuals and businesses do.

Another idea that has been floated about is to not apply for exemption from taxes but pay them. This will free a ministry from any gov oversight: you are free to say what you will without feeling any pressure to comply with the current political correctness that has snarled many ministries.

EDITED: what really does disturb me is how racist/political this auditing has become. If you are a black church promoting some political figure/agenda there is no threat. But if you are white the rules change radically. The local black churches have enjoyed political activism for years with no gov interference.

Just my thoughts...