IRS Form 4361, Application for Exemption From Self-employment Tax for Use by Ministers, Members of Religious Orders and Christian Science Practitioners , is a fiscal instrument used by individuals who generate revenue through exercising their religious duties or profession and want to qualify for a self-employment tax exemption.
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If you are willing to prove to the government you will not accept public insurance that would pay for your healthcare or make a similar payment in the event of your retirement, disability, or death, you will be allowed not to pay self-employment tax.
This document was released by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on January 1, 2011 - previous editions of the application are now outdated. An IRS Form 4361 fillable version is available for download below.
Follow these Form 4361 instructions to ask the IRS for a self-employment tax exemption given to certain religious workers:
Check the guidelines the IRS offers to taxpayers below the certification portion of the form - you are entitled to request an exemption only if you are a church minister, a religious order member who did not renounce their possessions, or a person who practices Christian Science.
Write down your personal details - full name and social security number . Note that the name you include on this form is supposed to match the one you indicate on your regular income statement. Add your contact information - mailing address and telephone number (the latter is optional since the tax authorities will reach out to you by sending a formal letter).
Check only one box to specify your status whether you belong to a religious order, ordained priest, Christian Science follower, or licensed minister . Record the date you started your work formally and attach a document that confirms your claim.
Provide information about the religious order or ordaining body - state their name, address, and employer identification number . List the first two years that followed the date you entered previously during which you earned $400 or more working in a specified position. Elaborate more about the regulations and bylaws of your denomination if your authority is different from the ordained minister's.
Confirm you never agreed to live by the vow of poverty or tried to withdraw from social security benefits in the past. Sign and date the form.
Once you finished completing the paperwork, you have to send the original document and two copies to the Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service Center, Philadelphia, OA 19255-0733 . Do not forget to enclose supplementary documentation that further supports the statements you have made in writing. Submit the papers before the deadline for your annual tax return. You will learn about the approval upon receiving one of the copies with the formal confirmation your request has been granted.