paying taxes??

Question

I have a question on taxes and social security or FICA taxes..Okay i am a member of a strict religious order and I also work a side job. One of the strict tenants of our prder is that we possess no wordly possessions and all money that I earn must be given over to our monastic order. I would like to ask if there is any paperwork i can file that would hand my paycheck over to our priests without income taxes or FICA taxes being taken out. because i am violating a oath I took to give our order everything I earn. Please help as i am conflicted on this

Answer 1

There might possibly be an exemption from social security available if you are a member of a recognized religious sect. You would have to apply for an exemption and be granted it by the IRS - it isn't automatic, and if you're just trying to scam the system, don't expect to have your request approved. See IRS Pub 517 http://www.irs.gov/publications/p517/ar02.html#d0e1069 - search for "members of recognized religious sects". The form to use is form 4029, see http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4029.pdf - even if this is approved, it doesn't exempt you from federal income tax, just takes you out of the social security system.

Answer 2

The government doesn't care what you're reasons are for not wanting to pay taxes regardless of whether or not they are legitimate. You have to pay any and all taxes on income that you earn in the US unless you want them coming after you. I think it's absolutely ridiculous that your "order" would ask you to do this. I don't know what kind of crap you've gotten yourself into but I think you should reconsider what you're doing with your life. Also, how the hell are you even on the Internet if you can't posses anything? You clearly don't have a computer at your "home" nor could you go out into public to a library or campus to get onto a computer if you don't have any clothing on. This sounds a little fishy to me.