New West Virginia tax tables available now

On March 7, Governor Jim Justice signed a new tax bill into law for West Virginia lowering all income tax brackets by 21.25%. The new tax tables for 2023 can be found on the West Virginia Tax Division website.

These rates were changed retroactively to January 1, 2023. Therefore, if you over withheld income tax or overpaid your taxes prior to the rate change, a refund will be available to all taxpayers upon the filing of your 2023 personal income tax return in 2024. So the new table should just be used going forward with payroll for the rest of the year.

Tax guides and housing allowance letter available on Benefits Connect

Two helpful tax guides, provided by the Board of Pensions, are now available on Benefits ConnectTax Guide for Ministers for 2022 Returns, including the 2022 housing allowance letter, is an important resource for ministers and their tax advisers, and contains the basic information ministers need to complete their 2022 federal income tax returns. Federal Reporting Requirements for Churches: What you need to know for 2023 assists treasurers and administrators with planning for the year; it includes legislative and regulatory updates; information to help ministers maximize tax benefits; and details on federal payroll tax reporting obligations.

To access the Tax Guide for Ministers or the Federal Reporting Requirements on Benefits Connect:

  1. Go to pensions.org/benefitsconnect.
  2. Log in securely using your username and password.
  3. View Quick Links to access and download the Tax Guide for Ministers or Federal Reporting Requirements.

If you have questions about accessing Benefits Connect, call the Board of Pensions at 800-773-7752 (800-PRESPLAN).

PDA assisting with Cyclone Freddy

From the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) website: “Cyclone Freddy lasted five weeks in February and March 2023, affecting southern Africa, notably Malawi, Mozambique, and Madagascar. According to Reuters, ‘Freddy holds the record for most accumulated cyclone energy (ACE), a measure based on a storm’s wind strength over its lifetime, of any storm in the southern hemisphere and possibly worldwide.’ PDA is working with Presbyterian World Mission and our partners to respond to the emergency needs (food, water, sanitation, hygiene, shelter) and strategize for a long-term response.”

If your church would like to offer financial support to PDA’s work in southern Africa with Cyclone Freddy, you can send your donations to us and note on the Benevolence Remittance form Disaster Relief—Southern Africa Countries (#DR000158).

2023 Shared Mission Pledge Request

Many of our churches have already made a Shared Mission pledge for 2023. I urge you to check with your minister and/or Clerk of Session to see that your church has returned a pledge card to this office and, if not, to please do so at the earliest convenience. We encourage each Session to thoughtfully consider our request. The information provided when a church returns their pledge card, no matter the response, is essential to our effective management of the presbytery’s financial resources. So, we urge treasurers, Clerks of Session, and pastoral leaders to make sure that their church has returned their pledge card to us. If you have any questions about shared mission pledge, Per Capita, or other benevolences, please let us know (304-744-7634, treasurer@wvpresbytery.org).

Employee or Independent Contractor

Determining if someone you are paying to do work for the church is an employee or an independent contractor can be a difficult and confusing question for a church Treasurer. The main determining factor is control: who is setting the work schedule? The person or the church. IRS Publication 15 has detailed information on how to distinguish between an employee or independent contractor. For a good summary, Vickey Boatwright has an article at freechurchaccounting.com

Sending Benevolence to the Presbytery

We encourage you to fill out a Benevolence Remittance form when sending any sort of benevolence check to the Presbytery. This will help ensure your church’s benevolence gets correctly recorded and correctly shared with our ministry partners. These forms are available on the Documents page of the Presbytery’s website or contact us, and we are happy to mail or email some to you.

Please note, the presbytery has a new mailing address:

Presbytery of West Virginia
PO Box 11720
Charleston, WV 25339

Please use this address to mail your benevolence and any other correspondence to me or other PWV staff.

2023 IRS Standard Mileage

On December 29, 2022, the IRS announced the following changes to the standard mileage rates. As of January 1, 2023, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups, or panel trucks) will be:

  • 65.5 cents per mile for business miles driven, up 3 cents from 2022
  • 22 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes, up from 18 cents for 2022
  • 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations

2023 Per Capita

The 2023 Per Capita rate will be $30.30 per member, according to the church’s membership in the most recently filed statistical report. The 2023 Per Capita was approved at the August 2022 presbytery meeting. With the total rate at $30.30 per member, the Presbytery of West Virginia will keep $18.05 and sending $9.85 and $2.40 to the General Assembly and Synod of the Trinity, respectively.

Helping us understand the importance of Per Capita to our connectional church is this excellent article from Presbyterians Today, titled (coincidentally enough) “Understanding Per Capita.”

2023 Special Offerings Calendar

Here is this year’s calendar for the four churchwide Special Offerings of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

ONE GREAT HOUR OF SHARING: Feb. 22 to April 9

Gifts to One Great Hour of Sharing share God’s love with people experiencing need. Gifts support ministries of disaster response, refugee assistance and resettlement, and community development that help people find safe refuge, start new lives, and work together to strengthen their families and communities. The Presbyterian Hunger Program receives 36 percent of undesignated gifts, while Self-Development of People and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance each receives 32 percent.

PENTECOST: April 10 to May 28

PEACE & GLOBAL WITNESS: Sept. 3 to Oct. 1

CHRISTMAS JOY: Dec. 3 to Dec. 24

NOTE: Donations to the four Special Offerings are accepted at any time. The dates above are for times of special emphasis on the offerings. Click here for more information or to order resources, or call the PC(USA) Store at 800-533-4371.