A Televangelist Lives in a $7 Million Mansion. He Pays No Property Tax on It

• Kenneth Copeland’s 18,000-square-foot home is classed as a tax-free church parsonage
• The exemption saves about US$150,000 a year in property tax
• About US$3,000 in tax is paid on 24 more acres of lakefront land
• A county appraiser said the home looks “out of place” among parsonages

Televangelist Kenneth Copeland, leader of Eagle Mountain International Church in Tarrant County, Texas, avoids roughly US$150,000 a year in property tax on his lakeside mansion because the house is officially treated as a church parsonage, Religion Unplugged reported on 28 December 2021, drawing on an investigation by the Houston Chronicle.

The six-bedroom home, built in 1999, covers some 18,000 square feet and is valued at US$7 million. Under Section 11.20 of the Texas Tax Code, a clergy residence can be exempt from property tax. That exemption covers one acre, but Copeland also owns another 24 acres of lakefront land around the house, and only about US$3,000 in tax is paid on it. The Chronicle reported that agricultural exemptions keep that bill low. Copeland has a reported net worth of US$750 million.

Tarrant County chief appraiser Jeff Law said the property “definitely looks out of place and unusual compared to other parsonages we have,” and indicated the county would ask the church to reapply for the exemption.

Copeland has never hidden his wealth. In a 2019 interview he said: “I’m a very wealthy man.”

The parsonage exemption exists so that congregations can house their ministers without being taxed on a modest manse. Critics argue it was never meant to shelter a multimillion-dollar lakefront estate. For readers in Jamaica and the diaspora, where prosperity preaching has a strong following, the case is a useful test: a tax break designed to help churches serve their communities can end up subsidising a lifestyle. Church members who give generously are entitled to ask how property held in the church’s name is used, and whether it is paying its fair share.

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