Couples Paying tithing online

[horrocksd]

My husband and I have always just paid a single tithe each month for our combined income. We just put both our names on the hand written slip we put in the envelope and turn in with a single amount that reflected our combined income. Now that I am using the online tithing resource, it looks like we have to have separate accounts and pay separately for it to "count" toward our individual names. First, is that correct? Secondly, on the records of the church then, whose name has 35 years of "joint" tithes gone under when we were paying by envelope?

[eblood66]

Now that I am using the online tithing resource, it looks like we have to have separate accounts and pay separately for it to "count" toward our individual names. First, is that correct?

The church associates each donation with just one member. I think this is mostly just a mechanism to simplify the accounting although there may be legal implications that I don't know about.

In the online tool there are two settings that adjust how donations can be coordinated between spouses. The first setting (Display spouse name) will cause your spouse's name to also be included on any tithing or tax statement that is generated. If you both make donations online you will both have separate statements with the donations linked to your name but both statements will show both names. The second setting (Allow spouse to view my donations) will let your spouse see the donations linked to your name in your donation history. If both of you set that setting then you will both be able to see both histories online. There will still be two statements but each of you can print both of them with one action.

But all of that is just accounting. From a spiritual standpoint, if you consider your donations to be joint donations you can both declare yourself full tithe payers regardless of whose names the donations are linked to.

Secondly, on the records of the church then, whose name has 35 years of "joint" tithes gone under when we were paying by envelope?

I can't say for how things were handled 35 years ago but for at least the last 7 or 8 years all donations are linked to one member. If you wrote both names on the slip then the clerk would have had to choose one name to link them to. Personally, I choose the name listed first on the slip (although if the couple change the order from slip to slip, I use the same name each time). If both names are listed I also try to set the 'Display spouse name' setting for the donor.