Housing Allowance During Retirement

How does Housing Allowance work when you’re retired?

Requirements:

To take a distribution with special housing allowance tax treatment, you must be at least age 59½ and receive a Housing Allowance Authorization letter from your church or governing organization.

Distributions:

You are responsible for contacting Envoy Financial to request the Housing Allowance distribution. You must also submit the Housing Allowance Authorization letter from your organization. You will receive one check or one electronic payment (ACH) for the total amount of the distribution without tax withholding.

You have a responsibility to account for your actual housing expenses and keep accurate records to provide proof of any amount excluded from gross income when filing your federal income taxes. You should report any amounts not used for qualified housing expenses as taxable income on your personal tax returns.

Making Changes:

Unless the authorization letter states the Housing Allowance is a fixed amount and to be continued each year, you must get a new authorization letter and request a distribution each year.

In the event that you set up a recurring Housing Allowance distribution, your payments will continue unless you contact us to stop the payment or until your account balance is depleted.

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* Envoy does not offer legal or tax advice and encourages that you consult with a lawyer and/or professional tax advisor for personalized tax advice.