3 Tax Moves Pastors Can Still Make Before April 15

As April 15 approaches, there’s still time for pastors and ministry leaders to take meaningful action to wrap up the 2024 tax season and to position themselves for a stronger year ahead.

Whether you’ve already filed or you’re just getting ready to, these three steps can help you steward your finances more intentionally and avoid unnecessary stress going forward.

1. Maximize Your 2024 Retirement Contributions

Even though the calendar says 2025, you can still make Traditional IRA contributions for the 2024 tax year up until April 15. That means there’s still time to reduce your taxable income and strengthen your retirement savings.

The 2024 contribution limit is:

• $7,000 for most individuals

• $8,000 if you're age 50 or older

This is a great opportunity for late savers or anyone who had extra income at the end of the year and didn’t yet allocate it. If you’re unsure whether an IRA contribution makes sense for your situation, talk with your advisor or tax professional.

2. Review and Update Your Housing Allowance Designation

You cannot go back and make changes to your 2024 housing allowance—but this is an excellent time to evaluate what’s in place for the rest of 2025.

Start by asking:

• Has the housing allowance been clearly designated in writing by the church board for 2025?

• Does the amount reflect rising costs, especially with utilities, insurance, and mortgage rates continuing to increase?

• If you’re using the actual expenses method for reporting, are your records current and organized?

If you are including actual expenses, be sure you have documentation to back that up. Store digital copies of all housing-related receipts, statements, and bills. Don’t just toss them in a shoebox. Keep them in a cloud folder, PDF archive, or shared drive where you can easily retrieve them if needed.

Need a refresher on housing allowance rules and strategy? Check out Navigating the Housing Allowance for a detailed breakdown.

And remember—any new designation made in 2025 only applies moving forward, not retroactively.

3. Evaluate Your Estimated Tax Payments and Withholding Strategy

You also can’t change your 2024 estimated tax payments at this point, but now is the time to make sure you’re set up well for 2025.

Take a few minutes this week to:

• Review your current income streams (church salary, side income, love offerings, etc.)

• Compare them to what your 2025 estimates are based on

• Adjust your quarterly estimated payments if your income has increased or changed significantly

Also, check with your church to see if they are willing to handle your tax payments through voluntary withholding via payroll. For many pastors, this removes the stress of tracking quarterly deadlines and helps avoid underpayment penalties.

Withholding is not required, but it is allowed—and for some, it’s a game-changer.

Final Word

You can’t undo what’s already been done for 2024 but you can make smart, strategic moves this week that set you up for a healthier financial year ahead.

Whether it’s maximizing retirement savings, tightening your housing allowance documentation, or finally switching from quarterly payments to payroll withholding, this is the moment to act.

Take one step today and move forward with clarity, not chaos.

And if you need help navigating it all, I’d be glad to walk with you. Reach out here.