No need to incorporate a church in order to gain tax-exempt status. Only nonprofits need to incorporate.

QUESTION.
I am trying to incorporate a new business, a church, as a nonprofit in the state of New Jersey. I am not clear what is the difference or the benefit if I file a certificate of incorporation using "Title 16" form or filing the Public Records Filing for New Business Entity form. Please advise. Thank you in advance.

ANSWER.
Your email is puzzling a little. You mention business, church, and nonprofit all in one sentence. My take on what you are up to is that you want to incorporate a church. There is no need to do that because a church is tax-exempt. A church is a religious organization and cannot be taxed. A church is NOT a nonprofit organization. A nonprofit organization is by definition a tax-exempt entity that is not religious.

SCORE exists to help people start and run small businesses and small nonprofits. It is an arm of the US government. As such, it is not allowed to help form religious organizations.

I hope my comments are helpful to you. It appears you really did not need much, if any, help from me. If you think I have misinterpreted your email, then feel free to send me a follow-on question or questions via email. Good luck! Regards, -Jeff

Jeff Lippincott
SCORE.org Counselor
Princeton, NJ
scoreprinceton @ aol.com
www.scoreprinceton.org
www.jlippin.com