How the compensation cap works

The calculator on the For Missionaries → Compensation cap page estimates the monthly personal support limit Homeward would permit for a worker in your situation — based on role, experience, family, and the two locations involved.

It is an estimate, not a guarantee of payment, and it is not a tax, immigration, or employment determination. Nothing you enter is saved or sent anywhere; the calculation runs live and the page holds no record of it.

The methodology follows the procedures of the US Department of State and accounts for family situation, your origin location, and your ministry location — including risk, hardship, and price differences between the two.

Walking the four steps

There is no submit button. The estimate appears by itself once every required field is valid, and it updates a few seconds after you stop typing. Until then the result panel lists exactly what is still missing.

Step 1 — Ministry

Foreign Ministry Pattern — how your overseas work is arranged:
- Permanent — based overseas year-round.
- Seasonal — at least 180 days overseas each year, in a small number of extended stays.
- Short-Term — fewer than 180 days overseas each year.
- Domestic — serving inside your own country.
Ministry country and Primary ministry city or locality — skipped for Domestic. If your location is not listed, “choose the listed city whose economic zone it belongs to. If none of them fits, choose Other / not listed.” The economic zone, not the city name, is what drives the figure.
Days away — for Permanent, every day away from your primary ministry location counts, whether the travel is personal or ministry.
Days overseas per year and Longest continuous stay overseas — for Seasonal (180–360 days, with the longest stay at least 90) or Short-Term (0–179 days).

Step 2 — Origin location

The country and city you live in and draw your cost of living from. The same guidance applies: if you do not live in a listed city, choose the one whose economic zone you are part of, or Other / not listed.

Step 3 — Family

Family situation (single or married), whether your spouse is also in ministry, and the number of children with an age for each. Family situation changes the cap substantially, which is why it is asked so plainly.

Step 4 — Roles

Role — your occupation, from a searchable list.
Years of full-time experience — 0 to 80.
Other income — annual income from other sources, in US dollars, if you have any.
Annual ministry revenue — only for the ministry executive role, in millions of US dollars. That role requires at least $4 million in annual ministry revenue.

If your spouse is also in ministry, a matching block asks their role, experience, other income, and — where relevant — their ministry revenue.

Reading the result

The headline figure is an annual amount rounded to the nearest $100, with the exact monthly figure beneath it. A recap restates what you entered, so you can see which inputs produced the number. Two lists — What raises this cap and What holds it down — name the factors that moved it.

While you work through the steps the result panel keeps pace with you: before the required fields are complete it reads “Almost there” and lists each outstanding item, and it briefly shows “Calculating…” whenever the estimate recomputes. If the option lists — roles, cities, countries — fail to load, the page says so and offers a retry; the calculator cannot produce a figure from stale choices.

The disclaimer shown with the result reads, in full:

This personal support limit calculator is an estimate of how much support a missions worker would be permitted to receive through Homeward Missions. It is not a guarantee of payment. Each individual’s work and circumstances will be reviewed and qualified before any grants are authorized. Limits are subject to change without notice.

What happens next in a real review

The cap is one input among several. An actual support amount depends on the reviewed service amount for the individual, the policy cap, and the project funds available. Separately authorized housing and project business expenses sit outside the monthly cap — they are not deducted from it.