Due to a retroactive change by the Canadian Revenue Agency, ministers who rent or own their homes and qualify for residence deductions will have to file an additional tax form before they are granted a reduction of income tax at source.
Since 2005, eligible employees who told their employer via an annual T1223 form that they would be making a clergy residence deduction claim did not have to fill out the additional T1213 form. With the new changes, such employees must submit the T1213 form and receive written approval from the CRA before they are allowed an income tax deduction.
Ministers living in a manse provided by the employer will not have to file the additional form because the amount dispensed by a provided-housing taxable benefit will usually equal that of the clergy residence deduction. – C.P.
