Leave it to the Wall Street Journal to ask the most unexpected question about the first-ever American Pope: Does Pope Leo XIV need to file a U.S. tax return?
Patrick Madrid dove into this quirky conundrum on his show, and as bizarre as it sounds, it sparked a fascinating discussion on faith, finance, and the IRS.
Patrick explained that U.S. citizens are required to file federal tax returns, even if they live overseas. So on paper, yes, Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost in Illinois, might fall under that obligation.
But here’s the twist: Pope Leo is a member of the Augustinian order and has taken a vow of poverty. That means he doesn’t actually own anything personally. Any income he may have received in the past would’ve gone directly to his religious order, which is tax-exempt.
So, despite the letter of the law, there’s not much for the IRS to tax. His housing, food, and clothing as Pope are all covered by the Vatican. In short, there’s no bank account with “Pope Leo” on it collecting interest anywhere.
Patrick and Cyrus had some fun imagining a scenario where Pope Leo walks into a corner store in his papal whites to buy a candy bar. Cyrus quipped, “Are you going to ring him up, or just hand it over and ask for a blessing?”
Some legal experts say it might be wise for the Pope to file, at least symbolically. Filing helps prevent identity theft, it trigger the IRS’s statute of limitations clock, and it demonstrates civic responsibility.
But as Patrick noted, “Pope Leo’s not going to sit down at his desk with a calculator and TurboTax open.” And it’s hard to imagine an IRS audit letter addressed to “His Holiness, Vatican City.”
It’s the kind of question that only arises when centuries of Church tradition collide with the modern legal world. And while Pope Leo XIV may be the spiritual shepherd of 1.4 billion Catholics, he’s also—technically—an American citizen.
But as Cyrus jokingly summed it up: “You’re the Pope. You don’t have to file.”
So don’t expect a 1040 from Vatican City anytime soon.
