Tax Time Reminders 2021

Tax season is once again upon us! Here are several reminders concerning tax issues that you may face. We trust that this information will be useful to you, both in giving you a better understanding of your reports and helping you to be aware of items that may affect your personal taxes.

Please Note: WWNTBM Staff members seek to assist in any way possible with questions concerning the IRS, taxes, and retirement. However, we are not certified tax professionals. Any information provided should not be construed as legal counsel. Therefore, we encourage all of our missionaries to procure the services of a certified tax preparer.

Tax Paperwork for 2020 for US Missionaries

Tax-related paperwork generated by WWNTBM is in your SecureCloud folder. This includes your applicable 1099 form, MFR Summary Report, and Tax Receipts (if you gave through WW this year.) Please be sure to look at the 2nd page of the MFR Summary, to see if there are any specific notes for you and your tax preparer. In prior years you may have also received an Estimated Tax letter and/or a Tax Details Letter. Please note information previously reported in those letters has been included on the MFR Summary this year, to reduce paperwork. If you received a Housing Allowance, it is vital that your tax preparer note the 1099 Calculations section on page 2 of your 2020 MFR Summary, to ensure your Housing Allowance is properly accounted for on your taxes. If you requested that we submit your tax information directly to your tax preparer, please note that those documents will be sent in mid-February. This is to ensure that there is time for us to include any forms that may arrive in our office from other sources. If you have any questions, please contact Naomi.

1099 Forms from Other Sources

If churches issued funds payable to you in excess of $600 during the year 2020, they may issue you a 1099 form. If those funds were either mailed to the office or included on Line 2 of your MFR as extra income, they are already included in the total of your 1099 from World Wide. Our office can assist you in verifying whether the funds were included on your 1099. Your tax preparer can assist you on your return in recording this so that you are not taxed twice on the same income. We recommend that you request churches to make checks payable to WWNTBM to avoid this issue in the future.

Foreign Tax Exclusion

In order to claim the foreign tax exclusion, you must be out of the US for 330 days over a 12 month period of time; however, these days do not have to be in the same calendar year. In order to gain the full benefit of the foreign tax exclusion, your tax preparer may be able to revise your returns based on the actual time you have spent overseas. Because of this, it is vital to provide your tax preparer with all of your travel dates to and from the US. You may also wish to discuss with your tax preparer what dates would be the best travel dates when planning to leave for the field or return on furlough, as this could affect how much you are allowed to claim under the foreign tax exclusion.

It is our understanding that, while the Foreign Tax Exclusion does benefit many of our missionaries, it may not always be the best solution, as there are other situations which may give a greater benefit. Some of those options may affect taxes not only for this year but for future years as well. This is another reason we recommend consulting a tax professional who can advise you in relation to your unique circumstance.

Healthcare and Your Taxes

Our financial report gives a location for you to track ‘health insurance costs.’ However, each individual situation is different. Some use this area to record traditional health insurance, some use it to record expenses through the MarketPlace, and others use it to record details for a health care sharing ministry such as Samaritan Ministries. While all of these are health-related costs, each of the examples affects your taxes in a different way. Please be sure that your tax preparer is aware of the details of your health coverage, as it may affect how they complete your tax return.

Estimated Tax Payments

Missionaries are considered to be self-employed and are therefore subject to self-employment taxes. Submitting quarterly estimated tax payments throughout the year will help to prevent having a large tax payment due each April. Estimated tax payments can be submitted on your own, or, if you are interested, you may contact Kim O’Malley for information on how we can submit them for you.

Tax Paperwork for Those with Foreign Bank Accounts

US Treasury Dept. regulations require that if you have any foreign bank accounts, and if the sum total of all of your foreign accounts has ever been $10,000 at any given time during the past year, you must complete the IRS Foreign Bank and Financial Account Form (FBAR) and give it to your tax preparer. This includes all foreign accounts on which you are a signatory, such as a ministry account. This form, and further information about it, is available on the IRS website at www.irs.gov. Please refer to the IRS website and your tax preparer if you have any questions.

Utilizing a Tax Professional

Studies have shown that the average person who uses a tax professional, instead of filing their own taxes, receives a much greater tax return. The savings far exceed the amount spent to hire a professional. Many have also found that using tax software does not always compare to the benefits of using a professional, either. In many instances, it is not that the software or the self-filer is wrong, but that other choices may be better. (Information is taken from daveramsey.com.)

It is also good to note that not all professionals are familiar with tax situations that might affect you. We encourage all missionaries to use a certified tax preparer who is familiar with special tax situations that affect missionaries and those living overseas. A listing of tax preparers used by other missionaries is available on SecureCloud, under the Forms and Manuals section.

Items to Provide to Your Tax Preparer

In addition to your 1099 Form(s), MFR Summary, and Tax Receipts from World Wide, you may wish to provide the following to your tax preparer as it will assist them in filing your taxes.

  • List of dates you were in the US vs. out of the country during the year.
  • Details of all housing-related expenses, to be used in addition to the amount of your Approved Housing Allowance, for use in completing Worksheet 1 of IRS Publication 517.
  • Information on any retirement plans you have contributed to during the year, or that you have received distribution from during the year.
  • Names and Social Security Numbers for all family members.
  • Names and dates of any family births or deaths (children or spouse), as well as whether you were married during the year.
  • Information on any stimulus check(s) you received during the year.

You may need to submit taxes in your foreign country, as well as in the US. Consult with a local tax preparer about this possibility. This may be especially true if you receive funds from that country.

I Serve Others – Edify: February 2021

by John O’Malley

The phrase, I Serve Others, captures all we want to do for the Lord at WWNTBM. Over the next few months, I will write on the values we hold dear in the phrase, I Serve Others. We have already looked at the words inspire, open, tender, and helper.

Demolition is easier than construction. When a worker demolishes, they approach the job site and see their goal is to tear down what they see. Swinging a sledgehammer does not require accuracy; one just needs to make sure they leave nothing standing.

Paul wrote in Ephesians that God gave leaders to the church. He gave these leaders to His church to do three distinct actions. Leaders are for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, and for the edification of the saints.

We all work with people. God assigned us to a people. The passage in Ephesians 4 discloses the three tasks of all leaders. Our task is to bring people in our care to a state of completion. We are to perform the tasks assigned to us. We are to edify people.

The people we serve, like ourselves, are an incomplete construction project. Our role as a leader is to add to the building progress in the lives of those around us. Every time you connect with people in your ministry, you are to add to the building of their lives for the glory of God.

Our calling is to build people up and help them become what God intended. If we are out of calibration with God and His Word, we easily can become leaders who demolish. We can demolish with our words, tone, and spirit. We can criticize and complain about these incomplete projects around us.

As a missionary, fulfilling our God-given roles as an evangelist and pastor and teacher, we must consciously choose to edify. We must build people up. The world is busy tearing people down. When people come to your place of ministry, the place where you carry out the work God gives you to do, make sure they edify each person.

When you call the office, our goal is to edify you. We want to build you up. Like you, we all are incomplete building projects. Our staff wants to add value to your life by adding hope, courage, and compassion in the work you are doing for Christ.

I preface the “I Serve Others” phrase with the words, “We are at our best when…” I want to be at my best, always. I want to build others with my words. I want to treat others as Christ treats me. I want to edify everyone.

Is God pleased with your task of edifying others? How are we doing at the home office with edifying you? How can we improve? “I serve others” is not a slogan; it is our mission. In fact, as servants of the Lord, God intends and expects us to edify.

Yours for the harvest,
John O’Malley

If this article has been an encouragement to you, you can email Bro. O’Malley here to let him know.

From the Memo Board: February 2021

Dates to Know

February 1 – 1099 Forms and other tax documentation for the 2020 tax year will be available for US Missionaries.

February 1 – January Financial Reports will be due for Non-Resident Missionaries.

February 15 – The new 2021 MFR Template for US Missionaries will be available.

March 1 – Missionaries who typically receive their support on the 29th will receive their February funds on this day.

March 1 – January Financial Reports will be due for US Missionaries.

March 1 – February Financial Reports will be due for Non-Resident Missionaries.

April 1 – February Financial Reports will be due for US Missionaries.

April 1 – March Financial Reports will be due for Non-Resident Missionaries.

Family Fellowship Week

We have made the difficult decision to postpone this year’s Family Fellowship Week due to COVID-19. We believe it is the wisest and safest choice for our missions family. To celebrate World Wide’s 50 years of service, we are planning a special one-day celebration. More information on this celebration will be forthcoming as details are confirmed.

Benefits of Financial Reports for US Citizens

The Monthly Financial Report (MFR) is the tool that missionaries can use to become accountable to WWNTBM for their reimbursable expenses, rather than having all funds listed as personal earnings. Over the course of 2020, 82% of those eligible chose to submit MFRs. By doing so, they were able to reduce their 1099 Personal Earnings by a combined average of 26.27%. If you are not currently utilizing MFRs and would like information about how to begin, please contact our office.

Financial Status Report

We have uploaded a Financial Status Report to your SecureCloud account, showing figures for the fourth quarter of 2020. This is meant to show you the financial details that we have on file, such as your support estimate and the average amount of support you received this past quarter. This is the information we provide to pastors who may call about your ministry. We ask that all missionaries update their support estimate once every four years, or as their lives and ministries change. Please review this information and contact us if you have any questions.

New Baby

Gideon Josiah Brown was born on January 12. He weighed 7 pounds 12 ounces and was 21 inches long. Gideon is the son of Matthew and Nikki Brown. He joins older siblings Joshua (7), Julie (5), Judah (4), and Elijah (2). The Browns are missionaries to Cambodia. Please pray for their family and ministry!

New Uplift Format

We have recently changed our Uplift format! Starting in February, Uplift will become a weekly pre-recorded podcast only and available at any time on our Uplift website, uplift.wwntbm.com. Board Members David Landers, Fred Daniel, Jr., and Gene Krachenfels, along with Bro. John O’Malley will take turns hosting the podcast each week. We hope you find the conversations uplifting and challenging. The introductory episode for this new format can be found here.

Each quarter, we will provide a fellowship Zoom call for our mission family. We will communicate the dates and times to you at a later point.

You can subscribe to the podcast at uplift.wwntbm.com and receive emails or notifications when a new episode airs. The username is wwntbm and the password is gospel. All past episodes of Uplift will continue to be available on the site. You will find many encouraging devotionals and practical sessions.

We recently recorded a video that will show you how you can listen and subscribe to episodes of Uplift. Click here to view that video.

Continue to watch Headquarter Happenings for links to the latest episodes!