The finances of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) are not a matter of public record.A 2018 church Q&A states "The Church is not a financial institution or a commercial corporation [and] chooses not to publish the details of its finances...". In the absence of official statements, people interested in knowing the LDS Church's financial status and behavior, including both members of the LDS Church and others, have attempted to estimate or guess. According to the church, their funding comes from the donations of its members and the principal expense is in constructing and maintaining facilities.

In the United States, the church has been designated as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization since 1941 and has not publicly disclosed its financial statements since 1959.Stack, Peggy Fletcher. "Order to release financial data has LDS Church, courts on collision course". Salt Lake Tribune. July 13, 2007. Accessed 13 July 2007. The church does disclose its financials in the United Kingdom - provided by the Charity Commission based on the Charities Act and Canada where it is required to do so by law. In the UK, these financials are audited by the UK office of PricewaterhouseCoopers.

As of 2023, the church's net worth is estimated by external sources to be around $265 billion, up almost $29 billion from the year before. This estimate would make the LDS Church one of the wealthiest religious institutions in the world.

History

In the 1880s and 1890s, the LDS Church fell into severe financial distress due to several factors that were exacerbated by the nationwide economic depression that began with the Panic of 1893.

Under the provisions of the anti-polygamy Edmunds–Tucker Act of 1887, which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled was constitutional in its 1890 decision Late Corporation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints v. United States, the U.S. government had confiscated church property, including tithing money donated by members (real estate such as churches and temples was never seized, though the Edmunds-Tucker act allowed for such seizures). Additionally, the LDS Church had borrowed extensively to finance a variety of infrastructural developments such as gristmills and after the 1893 financial crisis, the church was unable to make timely payments on their loans. Wilford Woodruff, church president from 1889 to 1898, privately expressed doubt that the church would ever pay its debts.Taylor, Samuel W. (1978). Rocky Mountain Empire: The Later-Day Saints Today. NY: Macmillan Pub. Co., Inc., 1978, p.65-69. Eventually the LDS Church obtained the backing of investment bank Kuhn, Loeb & Co. to issue bonds backed by the labor of Utah residents.

Shortly after Lorenzo Snow became president of the church in 1898, he began reemphasizing the payment of tithing (giving 10% of one's income to the church); by 1907 the church was out of the debt it had been in. Since then it has not used debt to fund its operations, even for capital projects. An early pioneer venture of the church was ZCMI which lasted from 1868 to divesting ZCMI Center Mall in 2007.

During the late 1950s and early 1960s, the church greatly increased spending on buildings under the leadership of Henry Moyle. Moyle's reasoning was that by building larger meetinghouses, the church would attract more converts. The accelerated building program led to a $32 million deficit in 1962. It was Moyle who convinced David O. McKay to discontinue publishing an annual financial statement in order to hide the extent of the spending. Eventually, McKay relieved Moyle from his administrative responsibilities and spending was reined in.

In 1941, the church obtained a designation with the IRS as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization, which it currently maintains. Donations are tax-deductible in the United States.

In 1997, Time magazine called the LDS Church one of the world's wealthiest churches per capita.

From 1915 to 1959, the church made detailed public disclosures of its finances at its annual April general conference. Since then, however, the church has given a more brief report from its internal Auditing Department. Due to its public silence on detailed matters of finances, interested parties both inside and outside the church have made various attempts to estimate or guess at the church's financial details such as income and net worth. The Widow's Mite Report is a third-party organization which attempts to use publicly available information to track, analyze, and report on the church's finances to the public.The mission of Widow’s Mite: Pursue and tell the truth about LDS finances without judgment. Salt Lake Tribune. July 16, 2023. Accessed February 7, 2025.

In 2021, James Huntsman, a former member of the church and son of Jon Huntsman, Sr. sued to recover tithing he had paid when a church member, which he argued was obtained from him fraudulently. In 2025, the lawsuit was unanimously dismissed by a panel of 11 judges.Unanimous 9th Circuit panel dismisses Huntsman tithing lawsuit, church responds. Walsh, Tad. Deseret News. January 31, 2025. Accessed September 4, 2026. During the legal proceedings, the church fought to keep its internal financial information out of the public record, which its lawyer called "extremely sensitive."

Modern source of funding

According to the LDS Church, most of its revenues come in the form of tithes and fast offerings contributed by members. Tithing donations are used to support operations of the church, and are transferred from local units directly to church headquarters in Salt Lake City, where the funds are centrally managed. As of 2012, the church brought in $7 billion annually from tithing.

An independent analysis in 2024 estimated the church's net worth at approximately $293 billion, of which $206 billion is held in its investment portfolio, intended as a reserve or "rainy-day" fund. The analysis estimated that those investments could directly pay for all expected church costs for the next 30 years, and that earned interest on current reserve funds could hypothetically fund church operations perpetually at current levels.The report stated "As an endowment, invested reserves are sufficient to fund church programs forever, even if donations stopped completely." Lastly, it estimated that church members contribute between $5.5 billion and $6.5 billion annually in tithing.

Tithing outside the United States Financial records are required by law to be reported in some countries such as Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada.

+ Tithing receipts by country Year Australia*THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS AUSTRALIA, Australia Charities and not-for-profits Commission, 2023 Great BritainThe church of jesus christ of latter-day saints (great britain) - charity 242451. Charity Commission for England and Wales. The register of charities 2023. Canada*The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Canada Government of Canada, 2023 2016 A$30,462,681 £31,142,000 2017 A$32,089,024 £31,092,000 2018 A$34,744,045 £32,303,000 C$178,017,618 2019 A$34,987,420 £31,734,000 C$177,533,188 2020 A$29,825,902 £29,221,000 C$179,299,529 2021 A$35,108,544 £34,408,000 C$186,339,188 2022 A$40,156,155 C$184,567,959*All receipted donations, including tithing

Use of funds

The LDS Church states that it uses most of its financial resources to construct and maintain buildings and other facilities. The church also spends its funds on providing social welfare and relief and supporting missionary, educational, and other church-sponsored programs. Additionally, mission presidents, who serve full-time in these capacities, can receive compensation from the church in the form of housing, living allowances, and other benefits while they are on assignment. No funds are provided for services rendered.

Construction of facilities The church has stated it uses tithing funds to build new chapels and temples.Tithing. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. N.D. Accessed December 2, 2023.

Maintenance of facilities The church pays to maintain its chapels and temples around the world. These costs include repairs, utilities, grounds maintenance, and specialized custodial work. Members also assist with cleaning local chapels by providing general custodial work. These facilities are cost-centers for the church, and maintaining them represents a significant use of the church's funds.Hinckley, Gordon B. "The Widow's Mite ". BYU Speeches. 17 September 1985. The materials used in church classes and the budgets to run activities and other things done by the various congregations of the church are also centrally funded. It also funds the printing and distribution of manuals for classes, and funds all congregational activities through centralized budgeting.

Charitable expenditures

Church welfare

The LDS Church operates a welfare distribution system. It encourages members to strive to be self-sufficient, and then to seek financial assistance from family where possible, before seeking public or state-sponsored welfare or relying on church welfare resources.Church Handbook of Instructions. LDS Church. Chapter 22: Providing for Temporal Needs and Building Self-Reliance. N.d. Accessed September 4, 2026. See Section 22.3.2: Members strive to meet their basic needs through their own efforts and help from extended family. When this is insufficient, members may need help from other sources such as: *Government and community resources (see 22.12). *Church assistance. Church assistance might include help with short-term needs such as food, clothing, housing, or other basics. AgReserves Inc., Deseret Cattle and Citrus Ranch, and Farmland Reserve, Inc. are part of its welfare distribution system. Welfare resources are distributed by local bishops but maintained by the Presiding Bishopric.

An independent analysis in 2024 estimated that the church spent $905 million in 2024 "on a range of member welfare programs, including bishops’ storehouses, fast offering relief, family services counseling, employment aid, Deseret Industries and other outlets."

Humanitarian aid

Church humanitarian aid includes organizing food security, clean water, mobility, and healthcare projects, operating Deseret Industries thrift stores, and funding other organizations. The church reports that the value of all charitable donations in 2021 was $906 million. Independent reporting estimated that the church's charity organization, LDS Charities, gave a total of $177 million from 2008 to 2020.

In 2016, the church reported that it had spent a total of $1.2 billion on humanitarian aid over the previous 30 years.

In 2025, the church reported it provided $1.45 billion in humanitarian aid during 2024. The 2024 independent analysis by Widow's Mite estimated that the church spent $650 million, up from $88 million in 2020, and that humanitarian aid spending was on track to match church member welfare program expenditures, within the next one to three years.

Education The LDS Church uses donations to support all, or part, of the Church Educational System (CES). As part of CES, the church owns, operates, and subsidizes education at Brigham Young University, BYU–Idaho, BYU–Hawaii, and Ensign College. CES also includes the seminary program for secondary students (typically, ages 14–18), and institutes of religion for post-secondary students and adult learners. In 2011, approximately 730,000 individuals were enrolled in seminary and institute programs in 147 countries. CES courses of study are separate from religious instruction provided through church congregations.

The church also operates a handful of elementary and secondary schools in the Pacific Islands and Mexico.

Other programs