Scripture does not command a tithe on unemployment, disability or VA benefits, and no pastor worth listening to will shame you for a season when the money is tight. Christians handle it in three common ways: give 10% of the benefit, give a smaller percentage, or give a small fixed amount and trust God with the rest. On a $1,600 monthly benefit, those choices look like $160, $80 or $20.
Put it into practice
Try three different percentages in our Tithe Calculator and see what each does to your month. If you are building a bare-bones plan, the free Biblical Budget Template (PDF, no signup) helps you list the essentials first.
A word first, to the person reading this tonight
If you searched for this page because a paycheck stopped, or an illness or an injury changed your work, you are already carrying enough. This page will not add a load. Its job is to lay out the options and let you choose what you can do with a clear conscience.
Receiving help is not a spiritual failure. The Bible speaks often of God's care for people in need, and it tells the people of God to open their hands to the poor (Deuteronomy 15:11). Government benefits and church help both belong to that provision. A believer who receives a benefit and a believer who gives from a salary sit in the same family.
The question of a tithe on those benefits is a fair one, and many sincere Christians ask it. The rest of this page gives you the range of answers, so you can decide.
Income type by common Christian practice
The table below covers the most common benefits. The percentages on the right are examples from pastors and Christian counselors, and none of them is a command. Whether a benefit is taxable or not depends on the program and your situation, so check with a tax professional.
| Income type | Where it comes from | Common Christian practice | On $1,600 a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment benefits | State program, temporary | Many tithe on it as income, others give a smaller share until work resumes | $160, or $80, or a fixed $20 |
| Disability benefits (SSDI, private policy) | Federal program or insurance you paid into | Often treated like ordinary income, since it replaces wages | $160 |
| Supplemental Security Income | Needs-based federal program | Many choose a small, steady gift because the amount is set for basic needs | $20 to $80 |
| VA disability compensation | Federal payment for service-connected conditions | Many tithe on it in full, some give a percentage after essential costs | $160 or less |
| Retirement Social Security | Federal program you paid into | See our separate page; many tithe on it | $160 |
| Food assistance and housing help | Aid in kind or a benefit card | Generally not tithed, since it goes straight to food and shelter | $0 |
The last row shows a common line among pastors: help that arrives as groceries or a rent voucher meets a basic need, and few teachers ask a family to tithe on it. Cash benefits that replace a paycheck sit closer to income, and the practices differ.
Three ways Christians decide
1. The full tenth. The reasoning runs like this. A benefit takes the place of wages, and God asks for the first part of increase. People who hold this view often say the act of giving first, even from a thin month, teaches trust. It suits a household that has some margin, or one that has always tithed and does not want the habit to break.
2. A smaller percentage. Others say the tithe was written for a farmer with a harvest, and a benefit that barely covers rent is a different situation. They give 5%, 3% or 1% and raise it as income returns. This position keeps the habit alive without pushing the family into missed bills. Our page on how to start tithing when you are broke walks through this approach.
3. A fixed small gift. A family picks an amount they can give every month without fear, such as $10 or $20, and treats it as their offering. The number matters less than the steadiness. Some also give time, such as serving in the church kitchen or helping with the youth group. Time is a real gift, and it costs nothing you do not have.
Some Christians also believe the New Testament sets the tithe aside in favor of giving that is proportionate to what a person has (2 Corinthians 8:12). Our page on whether tithing is required in the New Testament shows this view. On that reading, a benefit recipient gives according to what they have and owes nothing beyond it.
What the Bible says
Two stories help here, and each needs careful reading.
In 1 Kings 17:8-16, Elijah meets a widow in Zarephath who is gathering sticks for a last meal for herself and her son. She has a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. Elijah asks her to make him a small cake first, and promises that the jar and the jug will not run out until the rain returns. She obeys, and the flour and oil last through the famine.
Do not read this story as a formula. Elijah spoke a specific word from God to a specific woman. It does not promise that a gift from a tight budget will bring a matching return. It shows a person who gave from very little because God had spoken, and it shows God's care for her. If you feel led to give from scarcity, this story is a comfort. If you do not, nothing in it condemns you.
In Mark 12:41-44, Jesus watches people put money into the temple treasury. Rich donors give large sums, and a poor widow gives two small coins. He says she put in more than all the others, because they gave out of their abundance and she gave out of her poverty. Jesus measures the gift by what it costs the giver. Our page on the widow's mite explores that passage.
Paul makes the same point about the churches of Macedonia. In a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty overflowed in a wealth of generosity (2 Corinthians 8:2). He adds that if the desire is there, the gift is acceptable according to what a person has, and not according to what he does not have (2 Corinthians 8:12). That verse is the anchor for anyone giving during a hard season.
Scripture also gives a stern word about providing for your household (1 Timothy 5:8). During a hard season, paying rent and buying groceries falls within that word. A family that puts food on the table first is obeying, and does not need to feel guilty about it.
A practical plan for a lean month
1. List the essentials first. Housing, food, utilities, transportation to work or medical care, insurance, and minimum debt payments. Write the totals.
2. Decide a giving number. Choose from the three ways above. Pick a figure you can hold without fear, and write it in the budget as a line item, just like the rent.
3. Give first. Move the gift out on the day the benefit arrives. Even a small gift given first teaches the habit that matters when income returns.
4. Ask for help early. Many churches run food pantries, benevolence funds and job networks. Calling early keeps a small gap from becoming a large one.
5. Keep a step-up plan. Decide in advance what percentage you will return to when work resumes. Write it down while you are calm, and your future self will thank you.
6. Look for income gently. Part-time and flexible work can fit around disability and unemployment rules, so ask the agency that pays you what limits apply before you take a job.
7. Include your spouse. Money stress strains marriages. Decide the giving number together, and revisit it every month.
Questions that come up
Do I tithe on unemployment if I was already tithing on my wages? Your wages were tithed when you earned them. Unemployment benefits are new money that arrives after the job ends, so the question applies to them fresh. Many Christians keep giving a share, even a reduced one.
What if I receive several benefits at once? Total the cash you actually receive and apply your percentage to the total. Leave aside anything that arrives as food or a direct payment to a landlord.
What about back pay? A lump sum of back benefits covers months you already lived through. Many people use it first for bills that piled up, and then tithe on it once those bills are caught up.
Should I stop giving completely? That is between you, your spouse and God. Many who go to zero for a season say they later regret how long the pause lasted. A small gift keeps the habit alive.
Can my church help me? Many churches will. Asking is part of the body of Christ working the way Paul describes it (Galatians 6:2). A quiet conversation with a pastor or deacon costs nothing.
What about taxes? Some benefits are taxable and others are not, and the rules change. Check with a tax professional before you rely on any tax claim, including the ones on this page.
Internal study path
Keep going with tithing on Social Security, how to start tithing when you are broke, tithing while in debt, the widow's mite, Bible verses for hard times, God will provide, and our tithing hub.