W2 with no wages just box 14 filled

Question

My father is a retired member of the clergy. He received his first W2 just completely blank, no wages, no income, no taxes. The only information on it is Box 14 stating PARSONAGE and the amount. Does he still have to file taxes? I provide the majority of financial support for him and my mother. They live with me and I will claim them as dependents. How do I manage this W2 for him? I tried the FreeTaxUSA software to file for him but it says the IRS will not accept his W2 with wages blank or zero. I need advice. Thank you in advance.

Val · Answer

Oh great! Thank you so very much. I appreciate the response.

kiarab · Answer

Hello Val,

I found this from the IRS.

"Retired ministers. If you are a retired minister, you can exclude from your gross income the rental value of a home (plus utilities) furnished to you by your church as a part of your pay for past services, or the part of your pension that was designated as a rental allowance."

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p517#en_US_2024_publink100033613

Based on that, it sounds like the Parsonage/housing allowance reported in box 14 is excludable income and should not be included with your father's gross income.

He may not need to file a tax return, but should keep the W-2 as part of his records.

I'm also going to include a helpful quiz from the IRS which help people determine if they need to file a tax return or not.

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/check-if-you-need-to-file-a-tax-return