Q: Is a love offering collected for a pastor and used to pay student loan still taxable if the money doesn’t go directly to the pastor?

A:

Short answer: Yes, per Corey Pfaffe, CPA.

Long answer: See post at Mr. Pfaffe’s MinstryCPA blog.

P.S. I agree with his answer, by the way.  Good followup advice to the pastor.  Check out his post.

This is something that churches often don’t quite understand.  Love offerings for a specific person are taxable to the person.  Disbursements on behalf of a staff person are usually going to be taxable.  Here is the rule of thumb: unless there is a specific exclusion for an item, something your staff receive from the church or ministry is taxable.