Well, to burst your bubble, churches DO pay taxes.
Under Section 4(3), Article XIV of the Constitution, it is stated that charitable institutions, churches and parsonages or convents appurtenant thereto, mosques, non-profit cemeteries, and all lands, buildings, and improvements, actually, directly and exclusively used for religious, charitable, or educational purposes shall be exempt from taxation.
It also states that;
“(3) All revenues and assets of non-stock, non-profit educational institutions used actually, directly, and exclusively for educational purposes shall be exempt from taxes and duties.”
However, that doesn’t mean that non-stock, non-profit organizations like the churches are absolutely exempted from taxes.
In a Supreme Court court decision (Lladoc vs. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 14 SCRA 292), it was held that the tax exemption of charitable and religious institutions under the Constitution refers only to real property exemption and not to other types of taxes.
This is supported by the Real Property Tax Code which states;
Sec. 40. Exemptions from Real Property Tax.
(c) Charitable institutions, churches, personages or convents appurtenant thereto, mosques, and all land, buildings, and improvements actually, directly and exclusively used for religious or charitable purposes.
But again, the tax exemption of churches do not cover all types of income and activities. Income from properties and activities conducted for profit by non-stock, non-profit corporations is subject to income tax.(Sec. 30, Tax Code)
Which means, income earned by a church from the sale or lease of its real property is actually subject to tax. Interest income from bank deposits and other types of investments are likewise subject to the final withholding taxes.
Schools or educational institutions under the care of churches that invest in stocks is also subject to income tax.
What About The Donations? Shouldn’t Those Be Taxed As Well?
Let’s do our assignments once more.
The National Internal Revenue Code states that donations to churches shall be tax exempt.
Another issue in favor of exempting church collections is the donor’s tax floor which states that donations amounting Php100,000 and below is exempt. Visit the Donor’s Tax section of the BIR website to see the matrix.
Where Do Our Church Donations Go?
Before we talk too much about how corrupt the churches are, take a look at the following costs that church administrators have to take care of out of the few pesos and centavos you are contributing when attending worship services or Masses.
1) Repairs and maintenance of Church structures.
2) Church maintenance: electricity, gas, cost of light bulbs, cost of cleaning services (janitor), cleaning materials, routine painting, etc., new roof about every 15 years or so., routine plumbing, carpet cleaning/replacement.
3) Lawn and gardening services.
4) Fire insurance, legal insurance, health insurance for staff.
5) Parking lot maintenance and repair; rental of land on which lot is located if not owned.
6) Construction, new additions or building, if congregation grows too large for existing structure
7) Staff salaries: pastor/priest, secretary, asst pastors, deacons, choir/music director, altar knights, catechists, counselors.
8) Materials for study classes: Bibles, books on theology, etc. for catechism classes, marriage seminars, etc.
9) Music pieces, organs, guitar, pianos, sound systems, amplifiers, microphones, speakers, etc.
10) Costs of celebrations such as Christmas, Easter, Communion, Confirmations
11) Office supplies/mailing: office space and furniture, paper supplies, etc. and mailings to the congregation and other institutions.
12.) Renewals of yearly licensing as a church (non and other legal costs of maintaining a non-profit religious institution.
13) Charity projects, youth groups, aid to foreign missions, etc.
14) And a whole lot of other stuff you don’t see being done by church workers.
So before you say anything against your church or religious organization, whether it’s Catholic, Evangelical, INC, Islam, Buddhism, check yourself first.
Maybe you’re the one who’s not paying the right taxes.
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Photo credit: Yla Corotan
well said sir ben.indeed if you are contributing to your church you should know where are those donations go
Hi Louis! That’s right. People should not give to church out of necessity. When they give, they offer themselves unconditionally. But they have to know that when they give, it is expected that the donation offered are to be used for the good of the church and the poor. Apparently, the long list I gave are just some of the things that donations are spent on.
But to sum up my post, YES, the church pay all other types of taxes except for donor’s tax (if it falls below Php100,000) and real property tax.
great post!. 🙂 must read especially on those who likes to speak against these institutions due to mere ignorance. Thanks for this one. 🙂
Hi Rogie! Thank you for liking my post. That’s exactly one of my purposes why I wrote this article. Cheers to your blog as well! 🙂
Thanks Burn. 🙂 Will frequent your blog for sure. I’ve been seeing lots of interesting articles here.
Your post addresses none of the issues of churches not being taxed enough. Why should my taxes be supporting the construction of new churches? Paying the salaries of church pastors? These are not charitable. These costs are to spread the message of (insert deity here). Therefore these taxes are unconstitutional.
Who said your taxes go to the construction of new churches or paying the salaries of church pastors? The government is not appropriating budget for such activities, duh. If government did that, then that would be unconstitutional. But government is not doing that because it is not collecting taxes from churches. The churches fend for themselves finding funds to construct new churches and pay the salaries of church people.
What about donation by non-stock, non- profit entity to another non-stock, non-profit entity.. is it exempt from Donor’s tax.