Audit Team to Lead Discernment around Employee Retention Tax Credit

Along with other churches and businesses across the country, Holy Trinity applied for an Employee Retention Tax Credit [ERTC] from the Internal Revenue Service [IRS] in December 2023.  The congregation qualified for an ERTC because our income over the second, third and fourth quarters of 2020 as well as the first, second and third quarters of 2021 was less than the same quarters in 2019.

 Due to a backlog in applications, the IRS didn’t process our application until July 2025, at which time we received a credit in the form of checks totaling $283,794.41.  That amount has been temporarily deposited to the church’s Special Gifts Fund.  Holy Trinity’s Audit Team will be leading Council’s discernment of a faithful way to share, apply and invest those funds across ministries of the congregation and preschool alike, each of which retained its staff leadership during the course of the pandemic.  That discernment will be reported as part of the 2025 Annual Meeting that will be conducted on Sunday, January 25, 2026.  Co-chairs of the Audit Team are Council Treasurer Nicole Carothers and Financial Secretary Peter Ward.