Church wants to buy Pastor a car!

[Schoolbuskid]

My church wants to buy our pastor a car, but exactly how does that work? If anyone knows? Like whose  names would the car be in and who would be responsible for payment?

[Watchmann]

If the church is truly buying it for your pastor it will be his and the title will be in his name.  It's a gift.  The church pays.

[Anonymous]

IF they do it that way- he will have to claim it as income for tax purposes.

They will likley buy it and treat it as a company car- The church would keep title on the car-   

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Watchmann wrote:

If the church is truly buying it for your pastor it will be his and the title will be in his name.  It's a gift.  The church pays.

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[Schoolbuskid]

So it would be in the churches name? Who would sign all the documents?

[Anonymous]

An officer of the company- or equivilent

Like it or not Churches are businesses-

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Schoolbuskid wrote:

So it would be in the churches name? Who would sign all the documents?

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[Anonymous]

Remember, if the church is on the title, they will need to carry insurance on it for liability reasons.

The best bet is to give the pastor an auto allowance (the income can be speciified to only go towards an auto.  Personally, I would figure out what price of car you wanted to purchase him, factor the payments out on a 36 month loan, and use that as an amount for an allowance.  This way the church is not liable for it in any way, the pastor gets the car he picks out, and everyone makes out.  Also, if the pastor leaves he is already responsible for the car payment, so there is no weird transition, or who owns what. 

[MattH]

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@Anonymous wrote:

An officer of the company- or equivalent

Like it or not Churches are businesses-

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@Schoolbuskid wrote:

So it would be in the churches name? Who would sign all the documents?

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The title of the person who will sign things will depend on the denomination, but it might be something like "Treasurer," or "Warden," or whoever signs things like utility bills and contracts for routine maintenance.

HOWEVER, I strongly suggest speaking to a lawyer or financial adviser who is familiar with the special tax laws that apply to religious organizations. It needs to be a person who specializes in this area, so an accountant who mostly works with individuals and for-profit business would NOT be an appropriate choice. Specific details of how the transaction is structured could have major tax implications so you emphtically do not want to rely on the advice of amateurs in an Internet discussion board.

[Schoolbuskid]

Thanks Everyone, i will let them know what we kind of have to do in order to complete the process.

[ziontemple75]

yes the church can do that the car needs to go in the church name

[lajntx]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Like it or not Churches are businesses-

Does that make them "People Too" my friend?

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