Policy and Principles
The bishop holds tithing declaration beginning on or after September 1 and finishing by December 15 of each year. The tithing status of a member is declared either by the member at tithing declaration or by the bishop.
Members are encouraged to attend tithing declaration to make their declaration to the bishop in person. It is not necessary for a donor to have paid all donations for the year before making a declaration. Donations made after tithing declaration but on or before December 31, including members who have moved into the ward after December 15, will be included in the annual tithing declaration and in the Official Tax Statement for the year.
The bishop makes the declaration for all members who do not declare their own status.
Tithing Status Definitions
- Full-Tithe Payer: All donors whose tithing is “‘one-tenth of all their interest annually,’ which is understood to mean income” (First Presidency Letter, Mar. 19, 1970; see also Doctrine and Covenants 119:4).
- Tithing status is normally the same for husband and wife who donate together. It may be different if they donate separately.
- Converts baptized during the year who have paid a full tithe since baptism are full-tithe payers.
- Full-time missionaries serving from your ward are full-tithe payers. (However, missionaries should pay tithing on personal income beyond the amounts they receive for their support.)
- Members who had no income during the year are full-tithe payers. (Church welfare assistance is not counted as income.)
- Some members may have paid tithing to Church headquarters or in a previous ward. These donors should declare tithing status in the ward where they live at the time of tithing declaration.
- Part-Tithe Payer: All donors who have paid tithing but the amount is less than a full tithe.
- Non-Tithe Payer: Ward members who have not contributed tithing during the year.
Procedures
To record a tithing declaration:
- From Leader and Clerk Resources, click Finance and then click Tithing Declaration.
- On the “Tithing Declaration” tab, for each member, click Full, Part, or Non, and then click Declared by Bishop or Declared by Member.
- By default, the member list is organized by household. Options are available to display the member list in alphabetical order and to display the donation amounts. Clicking on the name of the member will display his or her MRN and (if male) whether he is a Melchizedek Priesthood holder. The Participant Information button will take you to the member’s participant record, which will display the details of his or her donations.
- For each member who did not attend tithing declaration, click Full, Part, or Non, and then click Declared by Bishop.
- When the declaration status and “declared by” values are completed, a check mark will appear in the Done column.
- When the declaration status and “declared by” option is complete, a check mark will appear in the Done column. After January 1, when all declarations are complete, a “Declarations Complete” message will display, and the information will be made available to the stake president. After completing declarations, any future changes are automatically saved.
- There will be a Dashboard reminder if declarations are not complete to help leaders finalize the declaration status of the ward. To print a copy for the bishop to use during tithing declaration, click the Print button.