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4.3.a Pay Day
Payment of wages is normally done via direct deposit on or around the 15th day of the month, except as otherwise required by applicable state law. For employees without the direct deposit service, paychecks are normally mailed on or around the 15th day of the month, except as otherwise required by applicable state law. If the 15th day of the month falls on a weekend or bank holiday, paychecks are normally deposited or mailed on the workday closest to, and prior to the 15th day of the month. Paychecks are mailed to the last address on record with GCM. Employees bear full responsibility to ensure that the address on file with GCM is current and accurate.
4.3.b Requesting a Salary Advance
A request for a salary advance must be made using the Salary Advance Form (Go to the GCM website to obtain this form). The granting or denial of a salary advance request is within the sole discretion of GCM. All such requests must be submitted to the Finance Department. An advance on salary is "salary early" and is not "extra salary." Employees who are granted a salary advance will, in most cases, have the advance subtracted from their next paycheck. The pay stub will show the regular gross pay but will show the advance being subtracted as a draw, which is indicated by DRW.
4.3.c Designation of Parsonage Allowance
Parsonage allowance, also referred to as housing allowance, is one of several special tax benefits applied to qualified ministers. This benefit permits a qualified minister to exclude from taxable income the portion of compensation, designated by the employer, as a "parsonage allowance" and actually expended by the minister for qualified housing costs.
To be eligible for a parsonage allowance, a minister must satisfy four basic requirements established by the Internal Revenue Service regulations:
- The individual must have "ministerial status," that is, the minister must be duly ordained, licensed, or commissioned as a minister, as defined by the IRS.
- The individual with ministerial status must be performing primarily "ministerial services," as defined by the IRS.
- The employing church or other qualifying organization must designate in advance of receipt a specific amount of the individual's compensation as a parsonage allowance.
- The individual, if otherwise qualified, may exclude only that portion of the designated parsonage allowance actually expended for qualified housing costs as recognized by the IRS.
It is the individual taxpayer (i.e., the employee) who must determine whether to claim an exclusion from taxable income on his or her annual tax return for a parsonage allowance, and therefore bears ultimate legal responsibility for that decision. GCM employees who believe that they may be eligible for the parsonage allowance and wish to request that GCM designate a portion of their annual compensation as a parsonage allowance must submit a Parsonage Request Form (Go to the GCM website for this form) Missionary Resources. GCM employees may request further information regarding the parsonage allowance from Missionary Resources. Any materials provided by GCM are informational only, and should not be relied upon by the employee as the basis for claiming a parsonage allowance. Employees should consult with a tax advisor before claiming the parsonage allowance exclusion.
4.3.c.1 Parsonage Review Requests
Parsonage amounts are normally set annually by the GCM Board of Directors, but shall continue at that amount for future years unless and until modified by subsequent Board action. Should the employee's actual housing expenses change during an interim period, the employee may request that GCM review the parsonage amount and designate a new amount that more accurately reflects the employee's actual housing expenses. Requests for review and re-designation of parsonage allowance must be made using Parsonage Request Form (Go to the GCM website for this form) to Missionary Resources. The decision to designate a new parsonage allowance is within the sole discretion of GCM, and any re-designation will operate only prospectively from the date of the re-designation.
4.3.d Back Pay and Back Parsonage
When an employee does not have sufficient funds in the account for which he or she is responsible to receive a full paycheck, the employee incurs a "shortcheck" for the earnings that were not able to be paid. Short checked earnings are accrued and tracked by GCM as "backpay" than an employee is eligible to receive in the event that he or she has excess funds in the account for which he or she is responsible in a pay period, after GCM fully pays the current month's wages and payroll expenses. GCM will generally compensate employees for back pay which has been acquired within the current year and past two years, subject to an employee fulfilling his or her obligation to raise the required amount of support for GCM.
In the case of a GCM commissioned/ordained minister or pastor who does not have sufficient funds in the account for which he or she is responsible to receive his or her approved parsonage, "back parsonage" is not available. GCM does allow staff members to accrue "backpay" for any parsonage they did not receive in a given month. However, this backpay will be paid as "taxable" wages when the employee raises sufficient funds for the account for which he or she is responsible to be paid as backpay. If the commissioned minister/pastor is also a 401K participant (not including Roth participants), and has a pay period in which his or her taxable earnings do not exceed or equal his or her 401K contribution, GCM will also reclassify a portion of the employee's parsonage as "taxable" earnings to make the 401K contribution.
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4.3.e Payroll Related Requests and/or Changes
4.3.e.1 Federal W-4's
If an employee wants to change the number of Federal allowances elected, the amount of Federal Tax withheld, or has a change in marital status, the employee must complete and send a new Federal W-4 Form (Go to the GCM website for this form) to Missionary Resources. These requests must be received by the 20th of the month in order to affect the following paycheck.
4.3.e.2 State Withholding Allowance Certificate
If an employee moves to a new state, or plans to work in another state more than three consecutive months, the employee must complete a State Withholding Allowance Certificate if the new state requires such a certificate. These certificates may be obtained from Human Resources. Employees bear full responsibility to complete the certificate and send it to Missionary Resources by the 20th of the first month in which the employee is working in the new state.
4.3.e.3 Address Changes
Employees must notify GCM of address changes no later than fourteen (14) days before the change of address becomes effective. Address changes must be made utilizing the Address and Information Change Form (Go to the GCM website for this form).
4.3.e.4 Direct Deposit Election and Changes
To elect the direct deposit service or to make changes to your current service, complete the Direct Deposit Agreement Form (Go to the GCM website for this form) and submit to the Finance Department. This form must be received no later than the 20th of the month in order to go into effect by the 15th of the following month. Employees may choose to have their paycheck automatically deposited into a checking account and/or a savings account. Participants will receive a Direct Deposit Advice Slip each month that contains the same information that a pay stub would have, however, this is not a check. It is the responsibility of the employee to notify GCM when changing bank accounts or financial institutions or when any changes are made to his or her direct deposit account. GCM is not responsible for any deposit errors that result from delay or failure to notify GCM of changes in direct deposit information.
4.3.e.5 Changing Amount Withheld for the 401(k) Plan
Employees enrolled in the GCM 401(k) plan may reduce or increase their monthly contributions monthly. Information on how to make modifications to the employee contribution amount or how to discontinue their contribution can be found on Staff.net under Benefits.
4.3.f Last Pay Check
Employees exiting employment with GCM will generally receive their last paycheck on or around the 15th day of the month, unless otherwise specified by state law.
4.3.g Severance Pay
Severance pay is an extension of salary beyond the last day of employment in order to cushion the impact of job loss or layoff. In most cases, when an employee voluntarily exits employment, GCM will not pay severance. However, GCM reserves the right to grant severance pay on a case-by-case basis. Questions about severance pay may be directed to Missionary Resources.
