Financial Guidance

The resources section of this website contains many helpful documents which can be downloaded. Here you will find information about budgeting, gift aid, charity accounting, taxation and legacies.

Key information which most churches will need includes:

Standard Stipend
The Trustees of the Baptist Union have set the Standard Stipend as follows:

Year	Standard Stipend	% Increase	Relevant Inflation Rate	Manse Value
2025	£29,575	3.40%	3.4%
2024	£28,600	7.92%	10.4%	£7,612
2023	£26,500	7.07%	7.0%	£7,134

The review of the Standard Stipend takes place in March and April each year, using inflation figures for February and March and is then approved by Baptist Union Trustees and published in May of each year. This is to enable churches and other organisations to incorporate the figure into their financial planning in good time.  The relevant inflation rate in the table above is the value for CPI in March of the prior year published by the Office for National Statistics.  For example, for the 2023 stipend the relevant inflation rate it is the value of CPI in March 2022.

Please note that the manse value relates only to the calculation of Pensionable Income for the Baptist Pension Scheme. It is not intended to be a guide to the level of housing allowance to be paid to a minister in lieu of provision of a manse, which should be agreed between a church and minister based on the housing market in their area. The manse value should also not be treated as taxable income or a taxable benefit.

As part of the Pension Family Solution the Manse Value used in the pensionable income calculation for ministerial members of the Baptist Pension Scheme will be increased each year in line with the September CPI figure for the previous year.  This will usually be confirmed in late October.  For 2023 it was increased by 6.7%, in line with the published figure for CPI in September 2023. 

For more about remuneration of ministers, please see our Ministerial remuneration guidance

Baptists Together Church Subscription and payment
The 2024 Baptists Together Annual Subscription for those churches not paying by Direct Debit has been set by the Baptist Union at £5.75 per church member (rounded down to the nearest 5p).
 
For 2024, a discounted rate of £5.50 per member has been agreed for those paying by Direct Debit to reflect the reduced administration and banking costs involved.  To take advantage of this saving, a Direct Debit Form must be submitted before 31 January 2024.
This discounted rate increase is in line with the September 2023 inflation of 6.7%.
 
Our preferred form of payment is the following order:
 
1) Direct Debit
There are two payment options available either annual or quarterly. The annual payment will be taken on or around the end of February every year. The quarterly payments will be taken on or around the first week of March, 15 May, 15 August and 15 November. A direct Debit mandate form can be found in Guidance Leaflet F10: Direct Debit Instruction Form (www.baptist.org.uk/resources/F10)
 
2) BACS bank transfer
For bank transfers please email us at subscriptions@baptist.org.uk stating your Church Name and Church Number so we can provide you with details of how to make a payment.
 
3) Cheque
Please make cheques payable to "Baptist Union of Great Britain" and send payment to
Subscriptions, Baptist Union of Great Britain, Baptist House, PO Box 44, Didcot, OX11 8RT
 
If you have any subscription enquires then either email us at subscriptions@baptist.org.uk or send us a letter.
 
Donation contact details
Please note that Baptist Union of Great Britain (BUGB) and BMS World Mission (BMS) are separate charities, so if you wish to give money to both organisations, please ensure separate payments are made to the correct organisations.
 
Mail should be addressed as follows:
 

Baptist Union of Great Britain PO Box 44 129 Broadway Didcot OX11 8RT

BMS World Mission PO Box 49 129 Broadway Didcot OX11 8XA

If you wish to save on postage, we are happy to pass on any letters or cheques to BMS, but please enclose them in a separate, sealed envelope marked for BMS

Postage costs for Home Mission donations
Just in case you have no alternative but to pay by cheques, to reduce postage costs please could you indicate if you require an acknowledgement or receipt by post or whether you have an email address we can reply to.

Deposit Rates
For information on Deposit Accounts and rates please visit our Deposit Accounts page.

Loan Rates
For more information on loans to churches please visit our Loan Fund page.

Mileage Rates
The HMRC Approved Mileage Rates for private cars and vans are 45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles in each tax year and 25p per mile for subsequent miles.

Charity Numbers
Only churches that are registered with the Charity Commission have their own charity number.  Most churches are still ‘excepted from registration’ under The Charities (Exception from Registration) Regulations 1996; churches with an annual income under £100,000 do not need to register.  The ‘Excepting Regulations’ will apply until 31 March 2031.  Churches wishing to incorporate as CIOs need to register irrespective of income.

Many churches assume that as they are in membership of the Baptist Union they are able to use the registered charity numbers for the Baptist Union Corporation and the Baptist Union of Great Britain. This is not the case. Also, churches should not use the registered charity number of their local Association.

Further information can be found in guideline leaflet C06 Churches and Charity Registration

Grants from Home Mission
For information on grants from Home Mission please visit our Grants from Home Mission page.

Annual Accounts
Each year we publish the Annual Accounts for both the Baptist Union of Great Britain and the Baptist Union Corporation.