3. Wages and Other Compensation(p9)

Cash wages that you pay to employees for farmwork are generally subject to social security tax and Medicare tax. You may also be required to withhold, deposit, and report Additional Medicare Tax. See section 4 for more information. If the wages are subject to social security and Medicare taxes, they are also subject to federal income tax withholding. You may also be liable for FUTA tax, which is not withheld by you or paid by the employee. FUTA tax is discussed in section 10. Cash wages include checks, money orders, etc. Do not count as cash wages the value of food, lodging, and other noncash items.

For more information on what payments are considered taxable wages, see Publication 15 (Circular E).

Commodity wages are not cash and are not subject to social security and Medicare taxes or federal income tax withholding. However, noncash payments, including commodity wages, are treated as cash wages (see above) if the substance of the transaction is a cash payment. These noncash payments are subject to social security and Medicare taxes and federal income tax withholding.

Publications 15-A and 15-B discuss other forms of compensation that may be taxable.

Generally, the wages that you pay to family members who are your employees are subject to social security and Medicare taxes, federal income tax withholding, and FUTA tax. However, certain exemptions may apply for your child, spouse, or parent. See the table, How Do Employment Taxes Apply to Farmwork, in
section 12.

The wages of an employee who performs household services, such as a maid, babysitter, gardener, or cook, in your home are not subject to social security and Medicare taxes if you pay that employee cash wages of less than $1,800 in 2013.

Social security and Medicare taxes do not apply to cash wages for housework in your private home if it was done by your spouse or your child under age 21. Nor do the taxes apply to housework done by your parent unless:

• You have a child living in your home who is under age 18 or has a physical or mental condition that requires care by an adult for at least 4 continuous weeks in a calendar quarter, and
• You are a widow or widower, or divorced and not remarried, or have a spouse in the home who, because of a physical or mental condition, cannot care for your child for at least 4 continuous weeks in the quarter.

For more information, see Publication 926, Household Employer's Tax Guide.

You do not have to withhold or pay social security and Medicare taxes on amounts paid to share farmers under share-farming arrangements.

Report compensation of $600 or more paid to foreign agricultural workers who entered the country on H-2A visas in box 1 of Form W-2 but do not report it as social security wages (box 3) or Medicare wages (box 5) on Form W-2 because compensation paid to H-2A workers for agricultural labor performed in connection with this visa is not subject to social security and Medicare taxes. On Form W-2, do not check box 13 (Statutory employee), as H-2A workers are not statutory employees. An employer is not required to withhold federal income tax from compensation it pays an H-2A worker for agricultural labor performed in connection with this visa unless the worker asks for withholding and the employer agrees. In that case, the worker must give the employer a completed Form W-4. Federal income tax withheld should be reported in box 2 of Form W-2. These reporting rules apply when the H-2A worker provides his or her taxpayer identification number (TIN) to the employer.

For rules relating to backup withholding and reporting when the H-2A worker does not provide a TIN, see the Instructions for Form 1099-MISC and the Instructions for Form 945.