Housing allowance safe for ministers to claim

Housing allowance safe for ministers to claim

The minister’s housing allowance is safe following a decision by the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) not to appeal a Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In a statement FFRF officials said they felt a Supreme Court decision in their favor was unlikely and “concluded that any decision from the current court would put the kibosh on challenging the housing allowance for several generations.” 

In 2017, FFRF won a district court ruling that declared the minister’s housing allowance unconstitutional. That decision was stayed, pending the resolution of all appeals. It was overturned early in March 2019. The minister’s housing allowance was codified in federal tax law in 1954. (TAB)