A Tax Exemption for the Asking
Pastor Roger Dennis took a second look at his church's utility bill one day and noticed a curious line: "Sales Tax." Weren't churches such as his (Faith Lutheran, Wichita Falls, Texas) and other nonprofit organizations exempt from such payments?
A little investigation revealed the answer: Yes—if you ask.
"We had been paying both a city and state tax on electricity and gas," says the pastor. "A simple phone call to the utilities was all it took to stop the tax and also get a rebate." The savings amounted to between 3 and 4 percent of the bill.
Next Dennis called some of his fellow clergy or church administrators and found most of them unaware of the ruling that said exemption had to be requested. One pastor of a larger church said, "I wouldn't have thought to check the utility bills. We simply receive them and pay them."
The same exemption usually applies to church-owned parsonages. While laws vary from state to state, utility taxes are certainly worth researching and eliminating if possible.
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