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Summary
- The Amish pay federal and state income taxes, sales, property, estate and school taxes, and many pay for both public and Amish schools.
- Self-employed members of churches that oppose insurance can be exempt from Social Security and Medicare taxes under section 1402(g) of the Internal Revenue Code, added in 1965.
- Each person applies on IRS Form 4029 and waives all Social Security and Medicare benefits; the exemption does not cover income tax.
- In United States v. Lee (1982) the Supreme Court held that the 1965 exemption did not cover Amish employers or employees.
- Since 1988, section 3127 exempts wages only when both the employer and the employee belong to a qualifying church and hold approved exemptions.
- The Amish ground their payment of taxes in Matthew 22:21 and Romans 13, as set out in the Dordrecht Confession of 1632.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture quotations from the King James Version (Matthew 22:21; Romans 13:7; 1 Timothy 5:8). Acts 5:29 is quoted as the Young Center gives it.
- Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, Elizabethtown College, “Frequently Asked Questions,” Amish Studies. https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/frequently-asked-questions/
- Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, “Government,” Amish Studies. https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/social-organization/government/
- Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, “Mutual Aid,” Amish Studies. https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/cultural-practices/mutual-aid/
- Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, “Beliefs,” Amish Studies. https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/religion/beliefs/
- 26 U.S. Code § 1402(g), “Members of certain religious faiths,” with statutory notes (added by Pub. L. 89–97, § 319(c), July 30, 1965). Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/1402
- 26 U.S. Code § 3127, “Exemption for employers and their employees where both are members of religious faiths opposed to participation in Social Security Act programs” (added by Pub. L. 100–647, Nov. 10, 1988). Legal Information Institute. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/3127
- 26 U.S. Code § 5000A(d)(2)(A), religious conscience exemptions, and statutory note on Pub. L. 115–97, § 11081. Legal Information Institute. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/5000A
- Internal Revenue Service, Form 4029, “Application for Exemption From Social Security and Medicare Taxes and Waiver of Benefits” (Rev. November 2018), with instructions. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4029.pdf
- United States v. Lee, 455 U.S. 252 (1982). Legal Information Institute. https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/455/252
- Laure Cioffi, “Amish in western Pennsylvania played an important role in …,” The Vindicator (Youngstown, Ohio), October 7, 2001. https://vindyarchives.com/news/2001/oct/07/amish-in-western-pennsylvania-played-an-important/
- “The Amish and Taxes; U.S. Notes Its ‘Unpleasant Task’ in Collecting …,” The New York Times, May 22, 1961. https://www.nytimes.com/1961/05/22/archives/the-amish-and-taxes-us-notes-its-unpleasant-task-in-collecting-from.html
- Kristyn Rohrer and Lauren Dundes, “Sharing the Load: Amish Healthcare Financing,” Healthcare 4, no. 4 (2016): 92. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5198134/
- The Dordrecht Confession of Faith (1632), article XIII, “Of the Office of the Secular Authority.” https://www.nobts.edu/baptist-center-theology/confessions/Dordrecht_Confession_of_Faith.pdf
- Third Way, “Taxes,” Mennonite glossary. https://thirdwaycafe.com/glossary/taxes/
- Third Way, “Health,” Mennonite glossary. https://thirdwaycafe.com/glossary/health/
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