Income of Members of Religious Orders

Income of Members of Religious Orders. A. This type of income is treated as follows: 1. The existence of a vow of poverty is a factor in determining whether cash is considered wages or net earnings from self-employment. 2. The existence of a vow of poverty is also a factor in determining if payments made by a member to the order can be considered contributions for food, clothing, or shelter. The treatment of income to members of religious orders (nuns, monks, priests, etc.) who take a vow of poverty is determined by the source and nature of such income, as follows: a) Cash or in-kind remuneration for members of religious orders who take a vow of poverty is considered wages if: 1) An individual receives compensation from the order as an active, working member of that order, whether or not the religious order has elected Title II coverage. e.g., an individual works at a hospital owned by the order. 2) An active, working member of a religious order receives compensation for performing services from an agency of the church supervising the order or from an affiliated institution, whether or not the religious order has elected Title II coverage, e.g., an individual teaches at a school which is an affiliate of the order’s supervising church. 3) A member of a religious order receives compensation from a third party for services performed as an employee, e.g., an individual works for a private firm as a computer programmer. b) Remuneration for members of religious orders who take a vow of poverty is considered earnings from self-employment only when a member engages in self-employment activity unrelated to his membership in the order, e.g., an individual writes articles for nature magazines on a free-lance basis. c) Any income provided by the order to a member who has taken a vow of poverty, which does not fall under one of the above provisions is unearned income to the member even if turned over to the order. d) Any income or resources turned over by the member to the order are considered to be in fulfillment of the vow of poverty and are not considered contributions for food, clothing, or shelter received from the order. e) Unearned income received by a member from any source other than the order (such as a Title II or VA benefits) is income to the member even if the member turns it over to the order.