Rick Merrill wrote:
- quote -

You have to be careful here. If the donation to the church
is earmarked for the use of a particular person, then the
donor could lose the tax deduction.

--Chris Ballard

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- quote -

Probably not - unless you mean offering sex in exchange, in
which case he has more than tax problems.

Stu

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stanwheeler[at]gmail.com wrote:

- quote -

If the gifts are sent from person or persons directly to the
missionary then they are gifts. If each gift per person is
less than $10000 per year then that's the end of the story.

If the gifts go from person or persons to a church or other
charitable organization then the gifts are tax deductible
for the giver and TAXABLE to the missionary.

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- quote -

Does it make any difference whether he solicits the
"offerings"?

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Herb Smith wrote:
- quote -

I would agree with this, in theory, but I do have at least
one reservation. How do the supporters know that the
missionary needs support and how to provide it? Wouldn't
the mere listing of a name and address somewhere be a
solicitation? Any such listing would have to have some
indication that "offerings" are accepted. Isn't this
solicitation?

I have a foreign missionary as a client but he receives his
support from a US based religious organization. This
organization receives the donations and passes them on to
the missionary. We report this as income but, since he is
in a foreign country, we use Sec. 911 rules to exclude it
from income. Also, since he has made the necessary
election, we do not pay self-employment tax on this.

Lanny K. Williams, CPA
Nawarat, Williams & Co., Ltd.
Income Tax Services for Expatriate Americans

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stanwheeler[at]gmail.com wrote:

- quote -

If the "offerings" are unsolicited, and you receive no
products or services (other than spiritual) by giving, then
you have made a nondeductible gift to the missionary. They
definitely are not a charitable (deductible) contribution.

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"stanwheeler[at]gmail.com" <stanwheeler[at]gmail.com> wrote:

- quote -

Does he promise or necessarily give anything in return?
(Well, other than eternal salvation.) If so, it's probably
taxable income. Otherwise not.

Stu

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A Missionary serving abroad receives "offerings" for his/her
support. Are there guidelines to help decide if the
offerings are income or gifts?

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only > << and does NOT constitute legal OR professional advice. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2005) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >