How do you tithe? I’m not sure if I’m doing it right.
I saw this the other day but do you base your 10% off what actually lands in your bank account? Or the bigger number, before taxes and everything else gets pulled out? And what about the random money that just shows up out of nowhere, like tax returns or credit card points?
What if you are behind on your savings?
Some people put it in the offering plate, others give online or set up an automatic transfer. The automatic transfer is what works for me, I do 10% on gross, before taxes, since that’s the actual increase I received. But I know solid believers who go off take-home pay because that’s the money they can actually touch. I don’t think God is up there with a calculator auditing us either way.
Tax refunds I usually skip since that’s just my own money coming back. I don’t count credit card points as income at all.
As for being behind on the rainy-day fund, don’t treat the tithe like a bill you put off until things feel comfortable, because that day never really comes. When my spouse and I were in a tight season, we kept giving something consistently, even when we couldn’t hit the full 10%, and worked our way back up from there.
God cares more about honesty and willingness.
Pick a definition of income and stick with it, rather than trying to classify every dollar perfectly. Gross or take-home both work, but I use take-home since that’s the money I actually have to manage.
I tithe off a running note. My own earnings go on it, along with gifts, and then 10% of that total goes to my church as its own line in the budget. Reimbursements stay off. Same with cash from selling something I already owned, since that’s money I already had in a different shape.
Being behind on savings used to make me freeze giving until the balance looked caught up. It never did. What helped was treating the tenth and a small savings transfer as two separate moves on the same day, so neither one had to live on leftovers. I wasn’t always able to hold that line, but that’s a story for another day.
Giving consistently has worked for me, even when it’s been below 10% in a tight season. It keeps the habit going so I’m still giving when things get harder, not just when it’s easy.
Doing the tithe and the savings transfer together gets rid of that debate about which one comes first.
The running note is smart too. If you only tithe off what hits your paycheck, gifts and odd income slip through the cracks.
The line you drew on selling stuff you already owned is one I’ve gone back and forth on myself, since sometimes something sells for way more than I paid. Do you hold that rule even when the sale turns a real profit, or does that change the math?
I split the sale into two parts. What I originally paid is my own money changing shape, so that stays off the note.
So if I bought a guitar for $300 and it sells for $700, I tithe on the $400.
One exception: if I’m buying things with the intent to resell, that isn’t selling what I already owned.
It doesn’t come up often, but having the rule settled ahead of time keeps a big sale from turning into a debate with myself.
The Law of Moses and Christ’s teaching both point to tithing as a shared baseline. Consistency matters more than the method. Calculating from gross or take-home still honors that same commitment either way.
Caring for family who need help is obedience to God too. Look at Mark 7:9-13. Jesus pushes back on people who used religious giving as an excuse to neglect their parents.
Gross versus net, the heart behind the giving matters more than gaming that math.
The early church didn’t have a rigid tithing formula. People gave according to their ability and what the community needed.
When I had steady work, 10% went out joyfully, sometimes to church, sometimes straight to whoever needed it. Now I’m unemployed, about a month in.
The priority is keeping the lights on and dodging late fees, and that feels like the wisdom God gave me for this season. But I’m keeping track of what I want to give once things stabilize.
Has anyone else found that tracking future giving intentions helps during lean times?
When I was between jobs a few years back, I kept a list like yours, but I wrote it like an IOU with a running dollar total. It grew every week, and by month three I was reading it like a bill collector was standing behind me.
What helped was rewriting it as names and needs instead of a total. ‘Help with the youth camp fund.’ That kept my eyes on people instead of on a number I couldn’t touch yet. When work came back, I knew where I wanted the money to go.
I also added a second column for what I could give right then. Unemployment frees up time, so that column got rides to appointments and sitting with someone in the hospital. It kept the giving habit alive while the wallet was closed.
2 Corinthians 8:12 carried me through that stretch: if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one doesn’t have. Keeping the lights on isn’t you failing to give.
I give what I can cheerfully, without tracking percentages.
Tithing a strict 10% was an Old Testament requirement for Israel. We’re not under that system anymore.
My church gets the first portion because that’s where I get fed spiritually. Other ministries and causes get smaller amounts when I feel led. I’ve never bothered to calculate if it adds up to some specific percentage of my income.
Anyone else find praying about it clears up the overthinking? I keep getting stuck on specifics (gross vs net, what counts as income).
Maybe just give cheerfully and let God sort out whether my math was perfect or not.
The treasurer framing is what shifted things for me. I’m managing God’s resources instead of giving away my own money.
But has anyone else found that thinking this way changes how you handle the rest of your budget too, not just the giving?
It did for me. Once the tenth stopped being the “God part,” the other ninety stopped being the “my part.”
The biggest change was with larger purchases. I wait a week on anything over a couple hundred dollars and ask if I’d be comfortable explaining it to the Owner.
Paying bills on time and building savings used to feel like the opposite of generosity. Now they feel like part of the same faithfulness. Luke 16:10: whoever can be trusted with little can be trusted with much.
It can tip into guilt over every cup of coffee. A steward’s still allowed to enjoy what he’s been given.
If you ever pick up side work or freelance stuff, sort out the tithing question early.
A few years ago I started selling sourdough at our Saturday farmers market and tithed 10% of every sale. A couple months in, after flour and jars plus the booth fee came out, I was paying to bake. So I asked my pastor.
He said for a small business you give on what you profit, not the gross sales, since the sales money isn’t yours yet.
If you give on gross, the refund was already covered, so skipping it makes sense.
I tithe on take-home. For years I skipped my refund too, until one spring I got back about $2,400 and realized I’d never given on any of it. It was withheld before my paycheck hit the bank.
Now I check if a dollar has gone through my giving.
Cashback is a discount, not income. Points are basically a rebate on money I already spent (and already tithed on).
Referral bonuses or survey gift cards are different though. That’s new money, so those go on my list.
On the scale of things worth stressing over, the ‘am I calculating this perfectly’ worry is maybe a 3/10. Pick a method (gross or net, either works) and stay consistent with it.
I’ve wondered about this too. Splitting the 10% between church and other causes, I mean. Some people feel strongly it should all go to the local church, but I pray through it and redirect part of it when I feel led, to someone in need or a specific cause.