{"id":662,"date":"2015-05-05T16:30:45","date_gmt":"2015-05-05T20:30:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/missions\/?p=662"},"modified":"2015-05-05T16:30:45","modified_gmt":"2015-05-05T20:30:45","slug":"missionary-support-cost-of-living-taxes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/missions\/missionary-support-cost-of-living-taxes\/","title":{"rendered":"Missionary Support – Cost of Living & Taxes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"CurtisAfter nearly 40 years of marriage, my wife and I are still amazed at how much consumer goods, housing and taxes go up every year.\u00a0 Imagine living in a place where the cost of living <\/a>is 20 … 30 … 40% higher than in the U. S. or housing costs double the U.S. dosts and taxes are higher, too!\u00a0 What do you do?\u00a0 Hopefully, your employer tracks all that data and adjusts your compensation to allow you to maintain your standard of living in the host country.<\/p>\n

First,<\/strong> <\/em>let’s talk about the overall cost of living excluding housing costs.<\/p>\n

Faith Global Missions<\/a>\u00a0subscribes to cost of living tables based on objective data that enables us to adjust support needs based on cost of living differentials.\u00a0 That means we add a cost of living allowance <\/a>to the missionary’s support estimate.\u00a0This is based on the missionary’s spendable income, family size and the cost of living in the host country.\u00a0This is an adjustment to give the missionary the same purchasing power that his\/her salary would give in the U.S.<\/p>\n

Second,<\/strong><\/em> let’s discuss the cost of housing on the mission field.<\/p>\n

In many parts of the world the cost of rent and utilities is higher than at home.\u00a0\u00a0Housing costs don’t necessarily track with\u00a0consumer prices, so\u00a0the cost of housing expenses is figured separately from\u00a0consumer prices.\u00a0 Faith Global Missions<\/a> collects this data to have a good understanding of the difference in housing costs.\u00a0 A foreign housing allowance is added to the base support which enables the missionary to have modest, affordable housing in the host country.<\/p>\n

Third,<\/strong><\/em> Let’s\u00a0talk about (YUK!)<\/em> <\/strong>taxes.\u00a0 I’m glad I don’t have to pay foreign taxes! Aren’t you?<\/p>\n

I’m grateful for all the wonderful benefits we enjoy as residents of the United States as\u00a0a result of paying our taxes, but I don’t want to pay more taxes than I owe.\u00a0 Jesus said, \u201cRender to Caesar the things that are Caesar\u2019s, and to God the things that are God\u2019s,\u201d Mark 12:17<\/a>, so we\u00a0want to pay the taxes we owe.\u00a0 Our missionaries often find themselves in situations where they must pay taxes to the country in which they are ministering.\u00a0 Sometimes these taxes are considerably higher than U.S. taxes.\u00a0 That can easily add 40% to the salary needs of a missionary.<\/p>\n

This tax situation gets very complicated sometimes. Some countries have tax treaties with the U.S., some have social security treaties, while others hav no treaties which means the missionary pays taxes to both countries.\u00a0 Our missionaries are all obligated to pay the SECA taxes in the U.S.\u00a0 That is\u00a0the Social Security and Medicare taxes for ministers.\u00a0 It amounts to 15.3% of income and there are no deductions. Now add 40% for foreign taxes and may pay as much as 55.3% of his gross compensation in taxes.<\/p>\n

In summary,<\/em><\/strong> please hear me when I say, “There is no need to feel sorry for our missionaries.”<\/p>\n

Try to understand that when a missionary serving with Faith Global Missions tells you he\/she needs $7,500 or more\u00a0in monthly support, that missionary is not living high on the hog.\u00a0 We just want them to maintain the same standard of living they would have in the U.S.\u00a0 I am so thankful for Paul’s words\u00a0as a missionary to his supporting church in Philippi said, “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Please post your comments and questions here or on our Facebook page at\u00a0Facebook.com\/FaithGlobal<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After nearly 40 years of marriage, my wife and I are still amazed at how much consumer goods, housing and taxes go up every year.\u00a0 Imagine living in a place where the cost of living is 20 … 30 … 40% higher than in the U. S. or housing costs double the U.S. dosts and… read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[21098,13262],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nMissionary Support - Cost of Living & Taxes - Faith Global Missions Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/missions\/missionary-support-cost-of-living-taxes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Missionary Support - Cost of Living & Taxes - Faith Global Missions Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After nearly 40 years of marriage, my wife and I are still amazed at how much consumer goods, housing and taxes go up every year.\u00a0 Imagine living in a place where the cost of living is 20 … 30 … 40% higher than in the U. 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