Form 4361 is the Application for Exemption From Self-Employment Tax for Use by Ministers, Members of Religious Orders and Christian Science Practitioners. It lets an eligible member of the clergy who is opposed to public insurance on religious grounds opt out of self-employment tax on ministerial earnings. It's due by the return due date, with extensions, for the second year you earn $400 or more, and once approved it can't be undone.
This guide follows Form 4361 (Rev. January 2011, still the current revision) and Publication 517 for 2025, as of October 2026.
Who can apply
- An ordained, commissioned or licensed minister of a church.
- A member of a religious order who hasn't taken a vow of poverty.
- A Christian Science practitioner.
A commissioned or licensed minister in a church that also ordains ministers can be treated the same way if they perform substantially all the religious functions of the denomination. Line 6 asks how your powers differ from an ordained minister's, with a copy of the bylaws attached.
What counts as ministerial earnings
Ministerial service is the work you do in the exercise of your ministry, the duties your religious order requires, or your profession as a Christian Science practitioner. Ministerial earnings are the self-employment earnings from that work. If your church assigns you to an organization that isn't religious or an integral agency of one, those services can still count as ministerial.
A member of a religious order who has taken a vow of poverty doesn't need this form. The form says those members are automatically exempt from self-employment tax on earnings for services performed for the order.
The grounds have to be religious
The exemption isn't a tax choice. You have to be conscientiously opposed, because of your own religious considerations or your denomination's principles, to accepting public insurance that pays out for death, disability, old age or retirement, or toward medical care. That includes Social Security. Pub. 517 adds that you must file for reasons other than economic ones.
Before filing, you also have to tell the ordaining, commissioning or licensing body of your church or order that you're opposed. Then, once your form arrives, the IRS mails you a statement describing the grounds for the exemption under section 1402(e). You certify that you've read it and seek the exemption on those grounds by signing a copy under penalties of perjury.
The deadline that catches people
File by the due date, including extensions, of your return for the second tax year in which you had at least $400 of net self-employment earnings, any of it from ministerial services. The years don't have to be in a row.
Pub. 517's examples show how it plays out. A minister with $450 of ministerial earnings in 2025 and $500 in 2026 must file by the due date of the 2026 return. If approval hasn't come by April 15, 2027, the self-employment tax for 2026 is due by that date anyway, so you pay and wait. Self-employed ministers usually cover that through estimated tax payments during the year.
Net earnings mean earnings after expenses. In Pub. 517's third example, a minister ordained in 2023 earned $700 net from ministry that year, then received $1,000 in 2024 with related expenses over $1,000, so 2024 had no net ministerial earnings. Bookstore income in the same year doesn't count toward the test either, because none of it was from ministry.
What the form asks
| Line | What you enter |
|---|---|
| 1 | Your name as on Form 1040, Social Security number and address |
| 2 and 3 | Which category you're in, and the date you were ordained, licensed or commissioned, with a supporting document |
| 4 | The legal name, address and EIN of the ordaining body or order |
| 5 | The first 2 years after that date with net self-employment earnings of $400 or more, any from ministry |
| 6 | For licensed or commissioned ministers, how your powers differ from an ordained minister's |
| 7 | Your signed certifications and request for exemption |
How far back it reaches
An approved exemption applies to all tax years ending after 1967 in which you had $400 or more of net self-employment earnings, any from ministry. In Pub. 517's example, a minister ordained in 2022 with qualifying earnings in 2022 and 2025 who files on February 19, 2026, gets an exemption effective for 2022 and later years. Pub. 517 also covers whether self-employment tax already paid for earlier years can be refunded.
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What it doesn't do
The form's own caution is worth reading. Form 4361 isn't proof of an exemption from income tax withholding or Social Security tax, of the right to the parsonage allowance exclusion, or of the church's status. It only covers self-employment tax on ministerial earnings, and other self-employment income stays taxable on Schedule SE.
Why it's a one-way door
Pub. 517 says that once the exemption is approved, it's irrevocable. You can't later decide you'd like Social Security coverage for your ministry earnings. And if you ever elected coverage by filing Form 2031 for 1986, 1987, 2000 or 2001, or before 1968, you can't be exempt at all.
Filing and approval
Mail the original and two copies, with supporting documents, to the Internal Revenue Service Center, Philadelphia, PA 19255-0733. The exemption only exists once the IRS returns a copy to you marked approved, so keep that copy with your tax records for good.
The verdict
Count your years of $400 or more in ministry earnings now, because the window closes with your second year's return. Only file if your opposition to public insurance is religious, since approval is permanent. Pay self-employment tax while you wait, and keep the approved copy.
Frequently asked questions
Who can file Form 4361?
Ordained, commissioned or licensed ministers, members of religious orders without a vow of poverty, and Christian Science practitioners.
When is Form 4361 due?
By the due date, including extensions, of the return for the second year you had $400 or more of net self-employment earnings, any of it from ministry.
Can I revoke a Form 4361 exemption?
No. Pub. 517 says an approved exemption is irrevocable.
Where do I mail Form 4361?
The original and two copies go to the Internal Revenue Service Center, Philadelphia, PA 19255-0733.
Does Form 4361 exempt me from income tax?
No. It only covers self-employment tax on ministerial earnings, not income tax or withholding.
