Payroll for churches: Clergy Payroll Tax Rules
The Clergy Payroll Tax Rules carries 5 published figures read from 6 sources' own pages, from 0.90 to 15.30 percent, read 18 October 2026.
Sacristo sells its own paid plan in this category (our pricing). It is not counted here: every figure in this index is another provider's own published price, read from its own page.
6 of the 15 named sources read in full publish a figure; 9 publish none, read 18 October 2026.
By rule
| Breakdown | Median | Range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| rulesocial security wage base | 184,500USD | 184,500 to 184,500USD | 1 |
| ruleOASDI self-employment rate | 12.4% | 12.4 to 12.4% | 1 |
| rulestandard mileage rate | 70cents | 70 to 70cents | 1 |
| ruleadditional Medicare rate | 0.9% | 0.9 to 0.9% | 1 |
| ruleForm 4029 notice | 60day | 60 to 60day | 1 |
| rulesocial security rate | 6.2% | 6.2 to 6.2% | 1 |
| ruleMedicare rate | 1.45% | 1.45 to 1.45% | 1 |
| ruleSECA rate | 15.3% | 15.3 to 15.3% | 1 |
| ruleself-employment tax threshold | 400USD | 400 to 400USD | 1 |
| ruleForm 1099 threshold | 600USD | 600 to 600USD | 1 |
Every figure, with its source
One row per source: the figure the source's own page publishes, the page, and the day it was read. A figure that is not on a page we read is not on this one.
The sentence each figure was read from (10)
- SSA contribution and benefit base, read 2026-10-17:
The OASDI tax rate for wages paid in 2026 is set by statute at 6.2 percent for employees and employers, each. Thus, an individual with wages equal to or larger than $184,500 would contribute $11,439.00 to the OASDI program in 2026, and his or her employer would contribute the same amount.
- IRS Publication 1828, Tax Guide for Churches and Religious Organizations, read 2026-10-18:
unincorporated individual or an entity $600 or more in any calendar year for
- IRS Instructions for Schedule SE (Form 1040), read 2026-10-17:
However, if you had other earnings of $400 or more subject to SE tax, enter “Exempt—Notary” and the amount of your net profit as a notary public from Schedule C on the dotted line to the left of Schedule SE, line 3.
- IRS Publication 517 (HTML), Social Security and Other Information for Members of the Clergy, read 2026-10-17:
The business standard mileage rate for 2025 is 70 cents per mile.
- IRS Publication 517 (HTML), Social Security and Other Information for Members of the Clergy, read 2026-10-17:
You must notify the IRS within 60 days if you are no longer a member of the religious group, or if you no longer follow the established teachings of this group.
- IRS self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare taxes), read 2026-10-17:
The self-employment tax rate is 15.3%.
- SSA contribution and benefit base, read 2026-10-17:
The OASDI tax rate for self-employment income in 2026 is 12.4 percent.
- IRS Publication 15-A (HTML), Employer's Supplemental Tax Guide, read 2026-10-17:
The social security tax rate is 6.2% each for the employee and employer.
- IRS Publication 15-A (HTML), Employer's Supplemental Tax Guide, read 2026-10-17:
The Medicare tax rate is 1.45% each for the employee and employer, unchanged from 2025.
- IRS Publication 517 (HTML), Social Security and Other Information for Members of the Clergy, read 2026-10-17:
In addition, all wages and self-employment income that are subject to Medicare tax are subject to a 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax to the extent they exceed the applicable threshold for an individual's filing status.
Read in full, publishes no figure
9 named sources were read in full on the dates shown and print no usable figure. They are counted, never filled in.
- IRS About Publication 517, read 2026-09-11: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- IRS: Members of the clergy, read 2026-09-11: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- SSA Social Security and Medicare tax rates, read 2026-09-11: every candidate on the page was refused
- IRS Topic 417, earnings for clergy, read 2026-10-09: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- IRS About Form 4361, read 2026-09-11: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- eCFR 26 CFR 1.107-1, rental value of parsonages, read 2026-10-17: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- eCFR 26 CFR 1.1402(a)-11, ministers and members of religious orders, read 2026-10-17: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- IRS definition of church, read 2026-09-11: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- IRS minister's compensation and housing allowance FAQ, read 2026-10-17: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
Methodology
Every row is a verbatim sentence read from the named source's own page through our fetch service on the date shown, hash-pinned to the stored read (the sha of the page's visible text; the raw page is mirrored to R2).
6 of the 15 named sources that could be read published a usable figure; 9 published none and are recorded as not published, never filled in; 0 could not be read (blocked, dead or unreachable) and count nowhere.
The headline figures (median, minimum, maximum, quartiles) are over ONE figure per source for each breakdown it prices, in % (a source's median where its page yielded several accepted sentences for one breakdown), so a page that gives figures for several breakdowns gives one for each and N counts 5 figures, never sentences; 52 candidate sentence(s) were refused by a reviewer with the reason recorded.
The fuller derivation this dataset is chartered to grow into (not yet what the figures above are; they are each source's own published figure as read): one row per rule per year - dual status, the housing or parsonage allowance and its lesser-of limit, the FICA/SECA split, the SECA rate and wage base, the Form 4361 election and its deadline, the standard mileage rate - each quoted verbatim from the authority with the effective date, and the changed-since between years, which is the thing a church treasurer misses and which no single IRS page shows as a series
52 candidate sentences on these pages were refused by a reviewer; each refusal and its reason is recorded in the review ledger.
Sources (15)
- IRS Publication 517 (HTML), Social Security and Other Information for Members of the Clergy(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- IRS About Publication 517(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- IRS: Members of the clergy(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- IRS Publication 15-A (HTML), Employer's Supplemental Tax Guide(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- IRS self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare taxes)(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- IRS Instructions for Schedule SE (Form 1040)(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- SSA contribution and benefit base(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- SSA Social Security and Medicare tax rates(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- IRS Topic 417, earnings for clergy(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- IRS About Form 4361(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- eCFR 26 CFR 1.107-1, rental value of parsonages(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- eCFR 26 CFR 1.1402(a)-11, ministers and members of religious orders(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- IRS Publication 1828, Tax Guide for Churches and Religious Organizations(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- IRS definition of church(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- IRS minister's compensation and housing allowance FAQ(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
Cite or embed this figure
Cite or embed this figure
The Clergy Payroll Tax Rules carries 5 published figures read from 6 sources' own pages, from 0.90 to 15.30 percent, read 18 October 2026.
6 of the 15 named sources read in full publish a figure; 9 publish none, read 18 October 2026.
Clergy Payroll Tax Rules, rule social security wage base: median 184,500 USD across 1 source, read 18 October 2026.
Clergy Payroll Tax Rules, rule OASDI self-employment rate: median 12.40 percent across 1 source, read 18 October 2026.
Clergy Payroll Tax Rules, rule standard mileage rate: median 70 cents across 1 source, read 18 October 2026.
Clergy Payroll Tax Rules, rule additional Medicare rate: median 0.90 percent across 1 source, read 18 October 2026.
Clergy Payroll Tax Rules, rule Form 4029 notice: median 60 day across 1 source, read 18 October 2026.
Clergy Payroll Tax Rules, rule social security rate: median 6.20 percent across 1 source, read 18 October 2026.
Clergy Payroll Tax Rules, rule Medicare rate: median 1.45 percent across 1 source, read 18 October 2026.
Clergy Payroll Tax Rules, rule SECA rate: median 15.30 percent across 1 source, read 18 October 2026.
Clergy Payroll Tax Rules, rule self-employment tax threshold: median 400 USD across 1 source, read 18 October 2026.
Clergy Payroll Tax Rules, rule Form 1099 threshold: median 600 USD across 1 source, read 18 October 2026.
Cite as: "Sacristo Clergy Payroll Tax Rules", updated 2026-10-19, https://sacristo.com/datasets/clergy-payroll-tax-rules/.
Download the CSV (10 rows, computed 2026-10-19)