Change of Tithing Batch

OK, if there is an obvious answer or this is answered somewhere else, please tell me. Besides that, here's my question:

I had a member of my ward call me this last week. When they came in for Tithing Settlement they noticed a Tithing payment missing. They had mailed it in to the Bishop and he had it, but was not able to bring it in after he had received it. So, the member panicked a little and paid a second time. Now, they have two payments of Tithing in December.

The member was wondering if I could move one of the payments to January. I told him I would look into it. From what I can research I can delete the donation from the batch, but I wouldn't know how to then forward that donation into a batch for January (which of course we haven't done as of today--but we will do tomorrow).

Any suggestions? I did tell him that he just might need to remember at the end of 2009 that he did make that payment early. However, thinking about it more, this might cause problems with taxes. Will someone point me in the right direction, please?

pbhanney wrote:I did tell him that he just might need to remember at the end of 2009 that he did make that payment early. However, thinking about it more, this might cause problems with taxes. Will someone point me in the right direction, please?

I don't know if it is the right direction, but your advise above to the member seems the most appropriate. Unless the member in question is well off financially, the effect on taxes is probably negligible. Then again, I am not a licensed tax professional and cannot offer tax advise.

In the future, I would remind members that Tithing Settlement is to review one's donations for the year up to that point, and to declare one's tithing status to the bishop. It does not mean that no further donations for that year can be made after tithing settlement. For some reason, a lot of members have this misconception.

Additionally, I would remind the member that mailed donations received in one year (i.e. 2009) but postmarked in the previous year (i.e. 2008) will be processed as though they had been received on the last day of the previous year (i.e. 31 December 2008).

pbhanney wrote:So, the member panicked a little and paid a second time. Now, they have two payments of Tithing in December.

I do not think there is anything you can do, especially if both checks already have been deposited. When the dust settled, there were two tithing payments in December. Even if you cancel the donation, you cannot undo the actual deposit.

If the member is not overly concerned with the tax implications, I would think that a simple reassurance from the bishop that their full tithe paying status is secure should be sufficient. I used to have to do this all the time when folks got paid on December 31st and wanted to drop by the house to get their last tithing payment in for the year.

It was so much easier when we just harvested the crops in the fall, sent one-tenth of the sugar beets to the bishop's storehouse, and called it good. [grin]