I know I need to pay SE Tax but am trying to get a more accurate estimated taxes. Is there a way to reduce income by the amount spent for housing for members of clergy?

sowersdad2 · ‎January 29, 2020

Rea_M · ‎January 29, 2020

Recording your own expenses helps you easily manage your business transactions. Rest assured that I'm here to help you categorize them in your QuickBooks Self-Employed (QBSE) account.

Expenses needed to run a self-employed business are generally tax-deductible. You can designate your housing expenses under Schedule C: Home office expenses. Let me guide you how.

Go to the Transactions menu.
Select Add transaction.
Enter all necessary information like the date, description of the transaction, and its amount.
Select the home office category that fits your expenses (ex. Utilities (home office)).
Click Save.

Please refer to the screenshot below for your visual reference.

I'd also suggest consulting your accountant to help you in categorizing your expenses. This way, you'll be paying the right amount for estimated taxes.

If you wish to know more about Schedule C categories that are available in QBSE, you can check out the QuickBooks Self-Employed Schedule C Categories breakdown article. This contains columns that indicate where a specific category appears on reports.

Please let me know if you have other tax concerns. I'm just around to help.

View solution in original post

Ryan_M · ‎January 29, 2020

Hi @sowersdad2,

In QuickBooks Self-Employed, any positive transaction marked as Personal will fall into the Personal Income bucket.

Any transaction under this bucket won't be included in the calculations for your estimated taxes. With that said, I suggest reviewing your transactions to see if they've been tagged correctly. Make changes to them if necessary.

To differentiate both personal and business income, check out these articles:

I'll be around if you need further assistance. Drop a comment below, and I'll get back to you.

sowersdad2 · ‎January 29, 2020

As clergy, I have an amount “designated” as housing allowance which is excluded from income tax but not self employment tax. I know quickbooks SE is not specific to clergy but was wondering if there was a way to designate housing expenses within the product. I apologize for making this more complex than maybe it is; it is my first year as a full time pastor.

Rea_M · ‎January 29, 2020

Hello there, sowersdad2.

Recording your own expenses helps you easily manage your business transactions. Rest assured that I'm here to help you categorize them in your QuickBooks Self-Employed (QBSE) account.

Expenses needed to run a self-employed business are generally tax-deductible. You can designate your housing expenses under Schedule C: Home office expenses. Let me guide you how.

Go to the Transactions menu.
Select Add transaction.
Enter all necessary information like the date, description of the transaction, and its amount.
Select the home office category that fits your expenses (ex. Utilities (home office)).
Click Save.

Please refer to the screenshot below for your visual reference.

I'd also suggest consulting your accountant to help you in categorizing your expenses. This way, you'll be paying the right amount for estimated taxes.

If you wish to know more about Schedule C categories that are available in QBSE, you can check out the QuickBooks Self-Employed Schedule C Categories breakdown article. This contains columns that indicate where a specific category appears on reports.

Please let me know if you have other tax concerns. I'm just around to help.

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I know I need to pay SE Tax but am trying to get a more accurate estimated taxes. Is there a way to reduce income by the amount spent for housing for members of clergy?