Your housing allowance, worked out by Pub. 517
Drop your 2026 housing costs. Glebetally works out how much of your housing allowance or parsonage is excluded from income tax, the excess to report, the nondeductible Schedule C share and your self-employment tax — and what to designate for 2027. It runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
How it works
- Drop your 2026 housing costs (CSV or Excel) — or try the sample, download the template, or type totals.
- Enter the designated allowance, the fair rental value and your salary.
- Read the exclusion, the line 1h excess and the SE figure, and give them to whoever prepares your return. With Pro, take the designation draft to the December meeting.
Why Glebetally
For pastors, priests, rabbis, imams and other ministers of the gospel with a housing allowance or a parsonage — and the treasurers and preparers who help them — who want Pub. 517's numbers from the bank export they already have.
From the export you already have
Any CSV or Excel with a date and an amount. Rent, mortgage, property tax, insurance, repairs, furnishings and utilities are spotted; groceries, phone, internet and transfers are left out and listed.
The three limits, applied
The exclusion is the smallest of the designated allowance, what you actually spent and the fair rental value plus utilities. Glebetally shows which one limits you and the excess for Form 1040 line 1h.
Parsonage or allowance
Living in a church-provided home? The fair rental value and the utility allowance up to actual utilities are excluded. Glebetally handles both cases.
Self-employment tax too
Worksheet 3 adds the allowance back for Schedule SE: 92.35% at 15.3% up to $184,500 for 2026. Worksheet 2 works out the nondeductible share of Schedule C expenses from weddings and funerals.
Ready for the December designation
Your yearly cost pace shows what to ask the board to designate for 2027 — before it's paid, as Pub. 517 requires.
Print or export
Print the worksheet, or with Pro get an Excel workbook, every cost as it was treated, and a draft 2027 designation resolution.
Simple pricing
Free for the exclusion, Worksheets 1–3, SE tax and every check. Pro for the full breakdown, the exports and the designation draft.
Free
- Any number of rows
- The exclusion, Worksheets 1–3, SE tax and every check
- Three cost categories, print with a footer
- No signup, nothing uploaded
7-day pass
- 7 days of Pro, no subscription
- Every category, print without footer
- Excel workbook and costs CSV
- Draft 2027 designation resolution
Pro Monthly
- Everything in Pro
- For the December designation and filing season
- All exports
- Cancel anytime
Pro Yearly Best value
- Everything in Pro
- Re-check costs any time of year
- Costs less than 6 months of monthly
Prices in USD. Secure checkout and sales tax handled by our payment partner. Already bought? Enter your license key.
Tools & guides
- Clergy housing allowance calculator
- Parsonage and housing allowance worksheets, filled in
- Setting the 2027 Housing Allowance: The December Designation
- Housing Allowance and Self-Employment Tax: Worksheet 3
- What Counts for the Housing Allowance (and What Doesn't)
- An alternative to MyHousingAllowance for the year-end worksheet
FAQ
What does Glebetally do?
It reads your 2026 housing costs and works out IRS Publication 517 Worksheets 1–3: how much of your housing allowance (or parsonage value) is excluded from income tax, the excess allowance to report on Form 1040 line 1h, the nondeductible share of Schedule C expenses, and your net earnings and tax for Schedule SE. It doesn't file anything.
Is my data uploaded?
No. Your file is read by JavaScript in your browser tab and never sent to us or anyone else. Costs aren't stored, so closing the tab clears them. Settings can be saved in this browser.
How much of my housing allowance is tax-free?
If you own or rent, the smallest of: the amount your church designated in advance, the amount you actually spent to provide a home, and the home's fair rental value furnished plus utilities (Pub. 517). For a parsonage, its fair rental value plus any utility allowance up to actual utility costs.
Is the housing allowance subject to self-employment tax?
Yes, unless you have an approved Form 4361 exemption. The whole allowance, or the parsonage's fair rental value plus any utility allowance, is added to your net earnings for Schedule SE (Pub. 517 Worksheet 3).
When must the allowance be designated?
In advance of payment, by an official action of the church — usually at the December meeting for the next year. Glebetally's cost pace helps pick the amount; Pro drafts the resolution text.
Which files can I use?
CSV, tab-separated or Excel with a date and an amount on each row; a description and category are optional and help sort the rows. Or skip the file and type your totals.
What's free?
Importing any number of rows, the exclusion, the excess allowance, Worksheets 1–3, SE tax and every check, plus three categories of the cost breakdown on screen and in print (with a footer). Pro shows and prints every category without the footer and exports the Excel workbook, the costs CSV and the 2027 designation draft.
What isn't covered?
State rules, Schedule A itemized deductions, retirement-plan housing distributions, ministers who are also church employees under FICA, dual-status aliens, and the reasonable-compensation test. Internet, cable and phone are left out because Pub. 517 doesn't list them — add them yourself if your adviser says they count.
Is this tax advice?
No. Glebetally applies IRS Publication 517 Worksheets 1–3 to the data you provide. Ask your tax adviser what applies to you.