Knight v. Comm'r of Internal Revenue

• Decision Date: 30 January 1989
• Docket Number: 27182-87.,Docket Nos. 45505-86
• Citation: 92 T.C. 199,92 T.C. No. 12
• Parties: JOHN G. AND ROSE ANNE KNIGHT, Petitioners v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
• Court: U.S. Tax Court

92 T.C. 199

92 T.C. No. 12

JOHN G. AND ROSE ANNE KNIGHT, Petitioners

v.COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent

Docket Nos. 45505-86

27182-87.

United States Tax Court

Filed January 30, 1989.

P, a licentiate of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, served as a supply pastor at Shiloh Cumberland Presbyterian Church. There he preached, conducted the worship service, visited the sick, performed funerals, and ministered to the needy. Because P was not ordained, he could not moderate the session, administer sacraments, or solemnize marriages. R determined that P was a ‘duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister.‘ Because P had not timely filed a Form 4361, Application for Exemption from Self-Employment Tax for Use by Ministers, Members of Religious Orders and Christian Science Practitioners pursuant to sec. 1402(e), R determined that P was liable for self-employment tax for his 1984 and 1985 tax years. P argues that he was an employee of the church and therefore was not subject to self-employment tax. Section 1402(c)(2). HELD, to determine whether P is a duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister we will apply a facts and circumstances test. Wingo v. Commissioner, 89 T.C. 922 (1987). HELD FURTHER, to the extent Lawrence v. Commissioner 50 T.C. 494 (1968) implied a stricter test, Wingo specifically retreated from that holding as did Silverman v. Commissioner 57 T.C. 727 (1972). HELD FURTHER, applying the Wingo test, P is a licensed minister within the meaning of ‘duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister. ‘ Consequently, P is liable for self-employment tax pursuant to section 1401. Wilson L. Waller, for the petitioners.

Rebecca A. Dance, for the respondent.

WILLIAMS, JUDGE:

In these consolidated cases the Commissioner determined deficiencies in petitioners' 1984 and 1985 self-employment tax in the amounts of $798 and $1,112.85, respectively. The issue we must decide is whether petitioner John G. Knight (‘petitioner‘) performed services as a ‘duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister‘ of a church so as to subject him to self-employment tax pursuant to section 1401. ¹

FINDINGS OF FACT

Some of the facts have been stipulated and are so found. Petitioners were husband and wife during the years in issue and resided in Jackson, Tennessee when their petition was filed.

On May 18, 1980, petitioner was presented as a candidate for ministry in the Cumberland presbyterian Church (‘CPC‘) ² The CPC, organized in 1810, is an established religious body in the United States. Petitioner became a ‘licentiate‘ of the CPC on May 16, 1981. Becoming a licentiate of the CPC is a solemn occasion and a serious and necessary step toward ordination. Pursuant to the church constitution, when a candidate is licensed, the person presiding over the licensing addresses the candidate as follows:

In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the great head of the church, and by the authority which he has given to the church for its edification, the presbytery now licenses you to preach the gospel and perform other functions of ministry as set forth in the Constitution. To this end may the blessing of God rest upon you and the Spirit of Christ fill your heart. Amen.

On February 19, 1984, Shiloh Cumberland Presbyterian Church (‘Shiloh ‘) contracted for petitioner's services as a ‘licentiate minister of the Gospel‘ in the CPC, in exchange for $15,600 per year, a parsonage, and payment of petitioner's heat bill. Petitioner served Shiloh during 1984 and 1985. Petitioner briefly served two other small churches in 1984 before being called to Shiloh.

At Shiloh during 1984 and 1985, petitioner preached, conducted the worship service, visited the sick, performed funerals, and ministered to the needy. Under the CPC Constitution, because petitioner was not ordained he could not moderate or vote in the session (the local church's governing body), administer the sacraments (the Lord's Supper and baptism), or solemnize marriages. Moreover, petitioner could not be a member of the presbytery or the synod and could not be a commissioner to the General Assembly.

Petitioner reported his income for the 1984 and 1985 taxable years from Shiloh and the other churches in which he ministered in 1984 on Schedule C, profit or (Loss) From Business or profession. Petitioner did not timely file a Form 4361, Application for Exemption from Self-Employment Tax for Use by Ministers, Members of Religious Orders and Christian Science practitioners, pursuant to section 1402(e). Shiloh did not issue a W-2 Form to petitioner for the taxable years 1984 and 1985 and did not withhold taxes with respect to the services provided by petitioner. Respondent determined that as a duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister performing services in the exercise of his ministry, petitioner was liable for self-employment tax for his 1984 and 1985 tax years.

OPINION

Section 1401 imposes a tax on an individual's self-employment income which is defined as the ‘net earnings from self-employment‘ derived by an individual during a taxable year. Section 1402(b). Net earnings from self-employment is the gross income derived by an individual from any trade or business carried on by that individual less the deductions attributable to that trade or business. Section 1402(a). Pursuant to section 1402(c)(4), a ‘duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister of a church in the exercise of his ministry ‘ is engaged in carrying on a trade or business unless the minister is exempt from self-employment tax pursuant to section 1402(e). Unless an exemption certificate is timely filed, the minister is liable for self-employment tax on income derived from the ministry. Section 1402(c)(4). Petitioner has stipulated that he has not filed a timely exemption from self-employment tax. Petitioner will, therefore, be liable for self-employment tax if he performed services for Shiloh as a ‘duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister‘ of the CPC in the exercise of duties required by the CPC.

Petitioner, relying on the court-reviewed opinion of Lawrence v. Commissioner, 50 T.C. 494 (1968), argues first that because he has not been formally ordained by the CPC, is precluded from administering the CPC's sacraments, and cannot participate in church government, he is not a minister subject to section 1402(c). Petitioner argues that he was an employee of the CPC and was not subject to self-employment tax. Section 1402(c)(2). The status of Lawrence is muddied, and subsequent cases have largely confined the authority of the case to a statement that the taxpayer failed to carry his burden of proof. Silverman v. Commissioner, 57 T.C. 727, 730 (1972), affd. in an unreported case (8th Cir. 1973, 73-2 USTC par. 9546, 32 AFTR2d 73-5379); Wingo v. Commissioner, 89 T.C. 922, 933 (1987). We believe the principles that have emerged since Lawrence in construing the phrase ‘duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed‘ compel a decision for respondent in this case.

Congress used the phrase ‘ordained, commissioned, or licensed‘ perhaps to allow for differences in methods and technology among various religious groups in investing their religious leaders with ministerial or priestly authority. ³ Some groups describe this investiture as ‘ordination,‘ others as ‘commissioning,‘ and others as ‘licensing.‘ Applying the statute narrowly could have had the salutary effect of avoiding an inquiry in every case into the nature of a ‘minister's‘ duties to decide whether religious offices were equivalent among differing religions. Compare Silverman v. Commissioner, supra, and Wingo v. Commissioner, supra. These later cases have construed the statutory phrase more broadly. Cf. Ballinger v. Commissioner, 728 F.2d 1287 (10th Cir. 1984), affg. 78 T.C. 752 (1982). Under existing principles we must inquire in each case into not only whether the taxpayer is ‘ordained, commissioned, or licensed‘ but also whether the taxpayer's duties and functions were appropriate for a ‘duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister.‘

In determining whether an individual is a ‘duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister‘ for purposes of section 1402, we have applied the principles pertinent to deciding whether an individual is a ‘minister of the gospel‘ for purposes of section 107(2). Wingo v. Commissioner, supra at 932. Consequently, case authority construing who is a ‘minister of the gospel‘ for purposes of section 107 has equal force in construing who is a ‘duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed‘ minister for purposes of section 1402.

In Salkov v. Commissioner, 46 T.C. 190 (1966), we decided that a Jewish cantor was a ‘minister of the gospel‘ for purposes of section 107(2) and that he could exclude from gross income the rental allowance used to provide his home. Accord, Silverman v. Commissioner, supra (part-time cantor qualified). In Salkov and in Wingo we note that the words ‘duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed‘ were disjunctive. In Salkov we reasoned that the taxpayer was ‘commissioned‘ by the Cantors Assembly of America and installed by his congregation. We so held notwithstanding that a rabbi is the only ordained minister in the Jewish religion. Salkov v. Commissioner, supra at 197. In Wingo we applied the Salkov principles and held that a local pastor who was neither a ‘full member‘ of the United Methodist annual conference nor an ordained elder was nonetheless a ‘duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister‘ because ‘he assumed and performed all of the duties and functions of a minister.‘ 89 T.C. at 937.

Under the reasoning of Salkov, Silverman and Wingo, the phrase ‘duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed‘ is applicable to various classes of ministry within a particular religious body. Petitioner, a licentiate of the CPC, is licensed to ‘preach the gospel...