Donate
For the priests of the parish, accommodation costs are met by the parish including all utilities. Housekeeping expenditure should be managed by a sum paid into the priest's personal account by standing order for housekeeping. The amount currently recommended is £500 per month (unless the priest chooses to receive less). This arrangement does not apply to married priests, whose remuneration is explained in the Clergy Finance Guidelines.
Cash should never be reserved from the offertory to provide a housekeeping purse: the offertory collection should be banked in full. This is to ensure correct revenue recognition and maximum use of the credit claimed through the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme up to £8,000 per church per year can be claimed. This claim is only available on cash donations that have been paid into the bank.
Where priests receive a housekeeping allowance as described above, the parish credit card should not be used to purchase groceries, although items of furniture/equipment and the costs of parish hospitality will continue to be met by the parish and not out of the priest’s personal housekeeping allowance. Media subscriptions for the presbytery, such as TV and broadband, are viewed as a legitimate domestic/parish office cost to be met by the parish.
The personal support of the priest is funded through the Christmas and Easter offerings, plus Mass stipends and stole fees. This income is booked into a restricted parish fund for the support of the clergy and the whole amount can be drawn by the priest. The parish can claim Gift Aid on Christmas and Easter offerings. When the Gift Aid claim is credited to the parish, the part of the income that arises from the Christmas and Easter offerings should be added to the fund for the support of clergy.
Mass offerings received from the faithful are an important part of the income priests are entitled to receive. However, no minimum amount may be stipulated for the offering of a Mass.
Each priest appointed to ministry in a parish is entitled to receive a Christmas offering of £3,000 and an Easter offering of £2,500. With other stole fees and stipends this should ensure that all serving priests have personal income of at least £7,000. These amounts are reviewed annually. Where receipts to the clergy fund are not sufficient, the parish general fund will be used to provide these offerings.
Cheques made out to the priest personally on any occasion are regarded as gifts to the individual, not donations to the charity, and they cannot be Gift Aided.
Former Anglican priests with dependents have different remuneration policies to ensure adequate provision for the household. Parishes provide for the priest's domestic expenditure and personal remuneration through a stipend, which has been benchmarked against Church of England stipends and is reviewed annually. This stipend is in the region of £30,000 and is the only income that Former Anglican priests with dependents are entitled to withdraw from the parish: stole fees, Mass stipends and Christmas and Easter Offerings should be retained within the general fund of the parish.
In addition to this salary. the Parish provides accommodation and pays for water, council tax and office overheads (phone, broadband) but all other costs including food and heat, light and power are funded through the Priest’s stipend. Domestic costs should not be paid for using the Parish credit card.
In parishes served by a married former Anglican, Christmas and Easter offerings, stole fees and Mass stipends are retained by the Parish to fund the stipend and are not paid over to the Priest.
All incardinated or secular priests serving in the Diocese can join a healthcare scheme paid by their parish. The cost is £650 per year, regardless of age. The Scheme benefits and rules can be found in the online handbook.
Suggested supply rates are as follows:
Sunday Mass with a sermon: £100, plus Mass offering and travel expenses
All weekend Masses including sermons and confessions: £200, plus Mass offering and travel expenses
A weekday Mass: £50, plus Mass offering and travel expenses
A funeral Mass: £200, whatever is normally paid to the priest by the undertaker, to a minimum of £200 plus travel expenses
A wedding Mass or service: £200, whatever is normally paid to the priest by the couple, to a minimum of £200 plus travel expenses.
Parish priests may wish to have a parish credit card. The current product available is called the Corporate Card. This is issued by HSBC and the balance is settled by automatic monthly debit from the linked parish bank account. To receive a parish credit card, please contact Maggie Wares; E: coopa@abdiocese.org.uk.
All receipts for purchases undertaken using the parish credit card should be stored in the parish office for six years like any other financial records of the parish. These should be available to the parish bookkeeper and finance committee and should be filed with the credit card statements for inspection by the Diocesan auditors. The parish credit card must not be used for the priest's personal expenditure. It should not be used to withdraw cash from the ATM or branch.
Priests can make a mileage claim from the parish for all mileage undertaken on parish or diocesan business. A log of journeys undertaken should be maintained and filed in support of the claim. Like all finance records supporting the expenditure of the parish, these should be retained for six years.
Care should be taken to ensure that the HMRC mileage allowances are observed: up to 10,000 miles, the current reimbursement rate is 45p per mile. Over 10,000 miles per tax year, this reduced to 25p per mile. Motorcycle and bicycle rates differ and are published on the HMRC website.
With the permission of the Vicar General, priests can receive a loan of up to £10,000 to purchase a car. The form needed to record this transaction can be requested from the Finance Office, E: finance@abdiocese.org.uk.
All priests under the age of 65 should ensure that they are making Class 2 National Insurance contributions to secure their state pension. The cost can be reclaimed from the parish in which the priest serves, or if he is on sabbatical or appointed to non-parochial work, it can be reimbursed by the Diocese.
It is recommended that priests lodge a copy of their will with the Vicar General, as well as information relating to the appointment of individuals with Lasting Power of Attorney. Please also submit computer passwords to the Vicar General so that password-protected information relating to the parish can be recovered and preserved in the event of death or incapacity.
These documents will be stored securely in the Vicar General's safe.
