Welcome to the Finance Resource and information page. It is our goal to provide our churches and their hard-working financial and administrative personnel with as many documents, forms, links and current information as possible.
- The Episcopal Church Manual of Business Methods in Church Affairs (revised December 2019)
- Manual de métodos comerciales en asuntos de la Iglesia
- The Episcopal Church Records Retention Schedule
- Episcopal Diocese of Oregon Policies and Procedures Manual (revised December 2020)
- Audit Program Booklet
Fiscal Policies & Procedures: This presentation was given at Convention by McDonald Jacobs, the auditing firm that does the annual audit for the Diocesan finances. The presentation covers best practices for internal financial controls. Please feel free to use this presentation for your vestry, and administrative staff. Click here to download the presentation.
For 2021, the mileage reimbursement rates for the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon are:
- 56.0 cents per mile for diocesan staff being reimbursed for miles driven for staff business.
- 35.0 cents per mile for clergy and lay people who are not diocesan staff but who are engaged in Diocesan Committee and Commission business. (NOTE: This is the median rate between the IRS reimbursement rates for business and charitable purposes. See IRS rates below.)
For reference purposes, here is the IRS publication regarding mileage reimbursements for 2021 found at https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-issues-standard-mileage-rates-for-2021.
IR-2020-279, December 22, 2020
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today issued the 2021 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes.
Beginning on January 1, 2021, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be:
- 56 cents per mile driven for business use, down 1.5 cents from the rate for 2020,
- 16 cents per mile driven for medical, or moving purposes for qualified active duty members of the Armed Forces, down 1 cent from the rate for 2020, and
- 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations, the rate is set by statute and remains unchanged from 2020.
The standard mileage rate for business use is based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile. The rate for medical and moving purposes is based on the variable costs.
It is important to note that under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, taxpayers cannot claim a miscellaneous itemized deduction for unreimbursed employee travel expenses. Taxpayers also cannot claim a deduction for moving expenses, unless they are members of the Armed Forces on active duty moving under orders to a permanent change of station. For more details see Moving Expenses for Members of the Armed Forces.
Taxpayers always have the option of calculating the actual costs of using their vehicle rather than using the standard mileage rates.
Taxpayers can use the standard mileage rate but must opt to use it in the first year the car is available for business use. Then, in later years, they can choose either the standard mileage rate or actual expenses. Leased vehicles must use the standard mileage rate method for the entire lease period (including renewals) if the standard mileage rate is chosen.
Notice 2021-02 PDF, contains the optional 2021 standard mileage rates, as well as the maximum automobile cost used to calculate the allowance under a fixed and variable rate (FAVR) plan. In addition, the notice provides the maximum fair market value of employer-provided automobiles first made available to employees for personal use in calendar year 2021 for which employers may use the fleet-average valuation rule in or the vehicle cents-per-mile valuation rule.
If you are looking for the Diocesan Budget, Grants and Loans available, or Investment information (including the Diocesan Investment Fund and Socially Responsible Investment Fund) please visit our newly create Diocesan Finance & Investment page located under our Administrative tab.