3. Taxable Wages(p8)

Cash wages that you pay to employees for farmwork are generally subject to social security and Medicare taxes. 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.

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, on 
page 25.

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 $1,700 in 2010.

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 or on wages paid to alien workers admitted under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act on a temporary basis to perform agricultural labor (that is, "H-2(A)" visa workers).