Clergy Debt Reduction

It’s more than student loans

You can get help with two types of debt: Student loans of the clergy and unsecured debt of the clergy (and spouse, if married). The student loan maximum is $100,000 and the consumer debt loan maximum is $80,000.

Confidentiality is paramount

We do not reveal participant names or other sensitive personal information to anyone other than those required to process the loan application and loan documents. Information will be restricted, locked, and spoken of only during privileged communication.

Your interest rate is hard to beat

The interest rate is set at 1.5% simple interest for all loans. By comparison, federal student loan interest rates range from 3.73% to 6.28% depending on your degree. And private student loan rates vary widely based on the lender.

You can include income tax debt from prior years

Income taxes for clergy can be overwhelming, particularly if you get behind. This is primarily because of the parsonage/housing allowance and self-employment tax nature of clergy compensation. Depending on the church payroll and clergy elections, pastors don’t always pay income taxes through payroll withholding. It’s easy to get behind with quarterly payments, creating a large balance due each April.

When did this start?

The Clergy Debt Reduction Loan Program was created in 2016 in partnership with the Western North Carolina Conference Board of Pension and Health Benefits and The Duke Endowment.