Religious practitioners

You may need to withhold tax from payments you make to a religious practitioner for services they perform:

• in pursuit of their vocation as a religious practitioner
• as a member of a religious institution.

Payments may include those you have made in the course or furtherance of any of your enterprises.

Find out about:

• Defining religious practitioners and institutions
• Types of payments

Defining religious practitioners and institutions

A religious practitioner is a:

• minister of religion
• student at an institution who is undertaking a course of instruction in the duties of a minister of religion
• full-time member of a religious order
• student at a college conducted solely for training people to become members of religious orders.

A religious institution is a not-for-profit body that promotes religious purpose. The beliefs and practices of the members of that body constitute a religion.

Generally, private schools, private universities and residential colleges will not be considered religious institutions. However, Bible colleges, seminaries and theological colleges may come within the definition of a religious institution.

See also:

• Taxation Ruling TR 2019/3: Fringe benefits tax: benefits provided to religious practitioners