Employment means, generally, any service covered by social security performed by an employee for his or her employer. The rules on who is an employee and who is an employer are contained in §§ 404.1005 through 404.1010. Section 404.1004 states the general rule on the kinds of work covered as employment. Exceptions to the general rule are contained in §§ 404.1012 through 404.1038 which explain the kinds of work excluded from employment. All of these rules apply to current work unless otherwise indicated.

(a) General requirements of employment. Unless otherwise excluded from coverage under §§ 404.1012 through 404.1038, the work you perform as an employee for your employer is covered as employment under social security if one of the following situations applies:

(1) You perform the work within the United States (whether or not you or your employer are a citizen or resident of the United States).

(2) You perform the work outside the United States and you are a citizen or resident of the United States working for—

(i) An American employer; or

(ii) A foreign affiliate of an American employer that has in effect an agreement covering your work under section 3121(l) of the Code.

(3) You perform the work on or in connection with an American vessel or American aircraft and the conditions in paragraphs (a)(3) (i) and (ii) are met. Your citizenship or residence does not matter. The citizenship or residence of your employer matters only if it affects whether the vessel is an American vessel.

(i) You enter into the contract of employment within the United States or the vessel or aircraft touches at a port or airport within the United States during the performance of your contract of employment on the vessel or aircraft.

(ii) You are employed on and in connection with the vessel or aircraft when outside the United States.

(4) Your work is designated as employment or recognized as equivalent to employment under a totalization agreement. (See § 404.1913. An agreement may exempt work from coverage as well as extend coverage to work.)

(5) Your work performed after December 31, 1994, is in the employ of an international organization pursuant to a transfer from a Federal agency under section 3582 of title 5 of the United States Code and both the following are met:

(i) Immediately before the transfer, your work for the Federal agency was covered employment; and

(ii) You would be entitled, upon separation from the international organization and proper application, to reemployment with the Federal agency under section 3582.

(b) Explanation of terms used in this section—(1) American employer means—

(i) The United States or any of its instrumentalities;

(ii) A State, a political subdivision of a State, or an instrumentality of any one or more States or political subdivisions of a State;

(iii) An individual who is a resident of the United States;

(iv) A partnership, if at least two-thirds of the partners are residents of the United States;

(v) A trust, if all of the trustees are residents of the United States; or

(vi) A corporation organized under the laws of the United States or of any State.

(2) American aircraft means an aircraft registered under the laws of the United States.

(3) American vessel means a vessel documented or numbered under the laws of the United States. It also includes a vessel neither documented nor numbered under the laws of the United States, nor documented under the laws of any foreign country, if its crew is employed solely by one or more citizens or residents of the United States, or corporations organized under the laws of the United States or of any State.

(4) Citizen of the United States includes a citizen of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

(5) Foreign affiliate refers to a foreign affiliate as defined in section 3121(l)(6) of the Code.

(6) On and in connection with refers to the performance of work on a vessel or aircraft which concerns the vessel or aircraft. Examples of this kind of work are the services performed on a vessel by employees as officers or crew members, or as employees of concessionaires, of the vessel.

(7) On or in connection with refers to work performed on the vessel or aircraft and to work which concerns the vessel or aircraft but not actually performed on it. For example, shore services in connection with repairing, loading, unloading, or provisioning a vessel performed by employees as officers or crew members, or as employees of concessionaires, of the vessel are included, since this work concerns the vessel though not performed on it.

(8) State refers to the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

(9) United States when used in a geographical sense means the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

You must be an employee for your work to be covered as employment for social security purposes. You are an employee if you are—

(a) A corporation officer as described in § 404.1006;

(b) A common-law employee as described in § 404.1007 (unless you are, after December 31, 1982, a qualified real estate agent or direct seller as described in § 404.1069); or

(c) An agent-driver or commission-driver, a full-time life insurance salesman, a home worker, or a traveling or city salesman as described in § 404.1008.

If you are an officer of a corporation, you are an employee of the corporation if you are paid or you are entitled to be paid for holding office or performing services. However, if you are a director of a corporation, we consider you to be self-employed when you work as a director.

(a) General. The common-law rules on employer-employee status are the basic test for determining whether you and the person or firm you work for have the relationship of employee and employer. Even though you are considered self-employed under the common-law rules, you may still be an employee for social security purposes under § 404.1006 (relating to corporation officers) or § 404.1008 (relating to workers in four specific jobs). In general, you are a common-law employee if the person you work for may tell you what to do and how, when, and where to do it. The person or firm you work for does not have to give these orders, but needs only the right to do so. Whether or not you are a common-law employee is not always clear. Several aspects of your job arrangement are considered in determining whether you are an employee or are self-employed under the common-law rules.

(b) Factors that show employee status. Some aspects of a job arrangement that may show you are an employee are as follows:

(1) The person you work for may fire you.

(2) The person you work for furnishes you with tools or equipment and a place to work.

(3) You receive training from the person you work for or are required to follow that person's instructions.

(4) You must do the work yourself.

(5) You do not hire, supervise, or pay assistants (unless you are employed as a foreman, manager, or supervisor).

(6) The person you work for sets your hours of work, requires you to work full-time, or restricts you from doing work for others.

(7) The person you work for pays your business or traveling expenses.

(8) You are paid by the hour, week or month.

(c) Factors that show self-employed status. Some aspects of a job arrangement or business venture that may show you are self-employed are as follows:

(1) You make a profit or suffer a loss.

(2) You are hired to complete a certain job and if you quit before the job is completed you may be liable for damages.

(3) You work for a number of persons or firms at the same time.

(4) You advertise to the general public that you are available to perform services.

(5) You pay your own expenses and have your own equipment and work place.

(d) Questions about your status. If there is a question about whether you are working as an employee or are self-employed, we or the Internal Revenue Service will make a determination after examining all of the facts of your case.

(a) General. In addition to common-law employees and corporation officers, we consider workers in the four types of jobs described in paragraphs (b) through (e) of this section to be employees if their services are performed under the following conditions:

(1) Under the work arrangement the worker is expected to do substantially all of the work personally.

(2) The worker must not have a substantial investment in the facilities used to do the work. Facilities include such things as a place to work, storage space, equipment, machinery and office furniture. However, facilities do not include tools, equipment or clothing of the kind usually provided by employees nor transportation such as a car or truck.

(3) The work must be performed as part of a continuing work relationship between the worker and the person for whom the work is done. The work performed must not be a single transaction. Part-time and regular seasonal work may be performed as part of a continuing work relationship.

(b) Agent-driver or commission-driver. This is a driver hired by another person to distribute meat products, vegetable products, fruit products, bakery products, beverages (other than milk), or laundry or dry-cleaning services. We consider you an agent-driver or commission-driver if you are paid a commission based on your sales or the difference between the price you charge your customers and the amount you pay for the goods or services. It makes no difference whether you drive your own truck or the company's truck or whether you solicit the customers you serve.

(c) Full-time life insurance salesman. A full-time life insurance salesman's main activity is selling life insurance or annuity contracts, or both, mostly for one life insurance company. If you are a full-time life insurance salesman, you are probably provided office space, stenographic help, telephone, forms, rate books and advertising materials by the company or general agent, without cost to you.

(d) Home worker. A home worker is a person who works away from the place of business of the person he or she works for, usually at home. If you are a home worker and you work according to the instructions of the person you work for, on material or goods furnished by that person, and are required to return the finished product to that person (or another person whom he or she designates), you are an employee.

(e) Traveling or city salesman. The main activity of a traveling or city salesman is taking orders for merchandise for another person or firm. The salesman gets orders from wholesalers, retailers, contractors, or operators of hotels, restaurants or other firms whose main business is furnishing food or lodging or both. The salesman sells merchandise to others for resale or for use in their own business. We consider you a traveling or city salesman if most of your work is done for a single person or firm even though you have incidental sideline sales activities. However, you are not an employee under this paragraph as to those sideline sales. If you take orders for a number of persons or firms as a multiple line salesman, you are not a traveling or city salesman.

A person is an employer if he or she employs at least one employee. Sometimes it is not clear who a worker's employer is, since the employer does not always pay the worker's wages. When there is a question about who the employer is, we use the common-law rules to identify the employer (see § 404.1007).

A farm crew leader furnishes workers to do agricultural labor for another person, usually a farm operator. If the crew leader pays the workers (the money can be the crew leader's or the farm operator's), the crew leader is deemed to be the employer of the workers and is self-employed. However, the crew leader is not deemed the employer of the workers if there is a written agreement between the crew leader and the farm operator naming the crew leader as an employee. If the crew leader does not have this agreement and does not pay the workers, we use the common-law rules to determine the crew leader's status.

(a)(1) In general, your social security benefits are based on your earnings that are on our records. (Subpart I of this part explains how we keep earnings records.) Basically, you receive credit only for earnings that are covered for social security purposes. The earnings are covered only if your work is covered. If you are an employee, your employer files a report of your covered earnings. If you are self-employed, you file a report of your covered earnings. Some work is covered by social security and some work is not. Also, some earnings are covered by social security and some are not. It is important that you are aware of what kinds of work and earnings are covered so that you will know whether your earnings should be on our records.

(2) If you are an employee, your covered work is called employment. This subpart explains our rules on the kinds of work that are covered as employment and the kinds that are not. We also explain who is an employee.

(3) If your work is employment, your covered earnings are called wages. This subpart explains our rules on the kinds of earnings that are covered as wages and the kinds that are not.

(4) If you work for yourself, you are self-employed. The subpart explains our rules on the kinds of self-employment that are covered and the kinds that are not.

(5) If you are self-employed, your covered earnings are called self-employment income which is based on your net earnings from self-employment during a taxable year. This subpart explains our rules on the kinds of earnings that are covered as net earnings from self-employment and the kinds that are not. We also explain how to figure your net earnings from self-employment and determine your self-employment income which is the amount that goes on our records.

(b) We include basically only the rules that apply to current work or that the law requires us to publish as regulations. We generally do not include rules that are seldom used or do not apply to current work because of changes in the law.

(c) The Social Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code (Code) have similar provisions on coverage of your earnings because the one law specifies the earnings for which you will receive credit for benefit purposes and the other the earnings on which you must pay social security taxes. Because the Code (title 26 U.S.C.) has some provisions that are not in the Act but which may affect you, you may need to refer to the Code or the Internal Revenue Service regulations (title 26 of the Code of Federal Regulations) to get complete information about your social security coverage.

(d) The rules are organized in the following manner:

(1) Sections 404.1003 through 404.1010 include the rules on employment. We discuss what we mean by employment, what work is covered as employment for social security purposes, and describe the kinds of workers who are considered employees.

(2) In §§ 404.1012 through 404.1038 we discuss various types of work that are not covered as employment for social security purposes.

(3) The rules on wages are found in §§ 404.1041 through 404.1059. We describe what is meant by the term wages, discuss the various types of pay that count as wages, and state when the pay counts for Social Security purposes. We include explanations of agriculture labor, domestic services, service not in the course of the employer's business, and home worker services under wages because special standards apply to these services.

(4) Our rules on self-employment and self-employment income are found in §§ 404.1065 through 404.1096. We discuss what we mean by self-employment, what we mean by a trade or business, what types of activities are considered self-employment, how to determine self-employment income, and how net earnings from self-employment are figured.

(a) General definitions. As used in this subpart—

The Act means the Social Security Act, as amended.

The Code means the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended.

We, our, or us means the Social Security Administration.

You or your means any person whose earnings from employment or self-employment are included or excluded under social security.

(b) Other definitions. For ease of reference, we have placed other definitions in the sections of this subpart in which they are used.

Certain kinds of work performed by an employee are excluded from employment. They are described in §§ 404.1014 through 404.1038 and are exceptions to the general rule in § 404.1004 on the kinds of work that are covered as employment. In general, if the work performed by an employee is excluded from employment, the work is not covered under social security. However, certain kinds of work performed by an employee, even though excluded from employment, are covered as self-employment for social security purposes. In addition, if part of the work performed by an employee for the same employer is included as employment and part is excluded from employment, all the work may be included or all may be excluded as described in § 404.1013.

(a) If part of your work for an employer during a pay period is covered as employment and part excluded, all of your work during that period is considered covered if at least one-half of your time in the pay period is in covered work. If you spend most of your time in a pay period doing work that is excluded, all of your work in that period is excluded.

(b) A pay period is the period for which your employer ordinarily pays you. It cannot be more than 31 consecutive days. If the actual period is not always the same, your usual pay period will be used for applying the included-excluded rule.

(c) The included-excluded rule does not apply and your covered work will be counted if—

(1) Part of your work is covered by the Railroad Retirement Tax Act and part by the Social Security Act; or

(2) You have no usual pay period of 31 consecutive days or less, or you have separate pay periods for covered and excluded work.

(a) General. If you are a student and do work of a household nature in or about the club rooms or house of a local college club or local chapter of a college fraternity or sorority, and are enrolled and regularly attending classes at a school, college, or university, your work is not covered as employment.

(b) Explanation of terms—(1) Work of a household nature means the type of work done by cooks, waiters, butlers, maids, janitors, laundresses, furnacemen, handymen, gardeners, housekeepers and housemothers.

(2) A local college club or local chapter of a college fraternity or sorority does not include an alumni club or chapter. Also, if the club rooms or house are used mostly for supplying board or lodging to students or nonstudents as a business, the work done is not excluded by this section.

(a) General. If you work as an employee of a relative, the work is excluded from employment if—

(1) You work while under age 18 in the employ of your parent;

(2) You do nonbusiness work (see § 404.1058(a)(3) for an explanation of nonbusiness work) or perform domestic service (as described in § 404.1057(b)) as an employee of your parent while under age 21;

(3) You do nonbusiness work as an employee of your son, daughter, or spouse; or

(4) You perform domestic service in the private home of your son, daughter or spouse as an employee of that son, daughter or spouse unless—

(i) The son or daughter has a child (either natural, adopted or stepchild) living in the home who is under age 18 or, if older, has a mental or physical condition that requires the personal care and supervision of an adult for at least four continuous weeks in the calendar quarter in which the work is done; and

(ii) The son or daughter is a widower or widow, or is divorced and has not remarried, or has a spouse living in the home who, because of a physical or mental condition, is incapable of taking care of the child and the condition is present for at least four continuous weeks in the calendar quarter in which the work is done.

(b) Family work for other than sole proprietor. Work for a corporation is not excluded under this section, and work for a partnership is not excluded unless the required family relationship exists between the employee and each of the partners.

Farm work done by foreign workers lawfully admitted to the United States on a temporary basis to do farm work is not covered as employment. The excluded work includes any services connected with farm operations.

(a) If you are a sharefarmer, your services are not covered as employment, but as self-employment.

(b) You are a sharefarmer if you have an arrangement with the owner or tenant of the land and the arrangement provides for all of the following:

(1) You will produce agricultural or horticultural commodities on the land.

(2) The commodities you produce or the income from their sale will be divided between you and the person with whom you have the agreement.

(3) The amount of your share depends on the amount of commodities you produce.

(c) If under your agreement you are to receive a specific rate of pay, a fixed sum of money or a specific amount of the commodities not based on your production, you are not a sharefarmer for social security purposes.

(a) General. If you are a civilian employee of the United States Government or an instrumentality of the United States, your employer will determine the amount of remuneration paid for your work and the periods in or for which such remuneration was paid. We will determine whether your employment is covered under Social Security, the periods of such covered employment, and whether remuneration paid for your work constitutes wages for purposes of Social Security. To make these determinations we will consider the date of your appointment to Federal service, your previous Federal employing agencies and positions (if any), whether you were covered under Social Security or a Federal civilian retirement system, and whether you made a timely election to join a retirement system established by the Federal Employees' Retirement System Act of 1986 or the Foreign Service Pension System Act of 1986. Using this information and the following rules, we will determine that your service is covered unless—

(1) The service would have been excluded if the rules in effect in January 1983 had remained in effect; and

(i) You have been continuously performing such service since December 31, 1983; or

(ii) You are receiving an annuity from the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund or benefits for service as an employee under another retirement system established by a law of the United States and in effect on December 31, 1983, for employees of the Federal Government other than a system for members of the uniformed services.

(2) The service is under the provisions of 28 U.S.C. 294, relating to the assignment of retired Federal justices and judges to active duty.

(b) Covered services—(1) Federal officials. Any service for which you received remuneration after 1983 is covered if performed—

(i) As the President or the Vice President of the United States;

(ii) In a position placed in the Executive Schedule under 5 U.S.C. 5312 through 5317;

(iii) As a noncareer appointee in the Senior Executive Service or a noncareer member of the Senior Foreign Service;

(iv) In a position to which you are appointed by the President, or his designee, or the Vice President under 3 U.S.C. 105(a)(1), 106(a)(1), or 107(a)(1) or (b)(1) if the maximum rate of basic pay for such position is at or above the rate for level V of the Executive Schedule;

(v) As the Chief Justice of the United States, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, a judge of a United States court of appeals, a judge of a United States district court, including the district court of a territory, a judge of the United States Claims Court, a judge of the United States Court of International Trade, a judge of the United States Tax Court, a United States magistrate, or a referee in bankruptcy or United States bankruptcy judge; or

(vi) As a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner of or to the Congress.

(2) Legislative Branch Employees. Service you perform for the legislative branch of the Federal Government for which you are paid remuneration after 1983 is generally covered by Social Security if such service is not covered by the Civil Service Retirement System or by another retirement system established by a law of the United States and in effect on December 31, 1983, for employees of the Federal Government other than a system for members of the uniformed services.

(3) Election to become subject to the Federal Employees' Retirement System or the Foreign Service Pension System. Your service is covered if:

(i) You timely elect after June 30, 1987, under either the Federal Employees' Retirement System Act or the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement Act, to become subject to the Federal Employees Retirement System provided in 5 U.S.C. 8401 through 8479; or

(ii) You timely elect after June 30, 1987, to become subject to the Foreign Service Pension System provided in 22 U.S.C. 4071 through 4071(k).

(4) Subsequent Federal civilian service. If you perform Federal civilian service on or after November 10, 1988, which is described in paragraph (b)(1), (b)(2), or (b)(3) of this section you will continue to be covered for any subsequent Federal Civilian Service not excluded under paragraph (c) of this section.

(c) Excluded Service. Notwithstanding § 404.1018a and this section, your service is not covered if performed—

(1) In a penal institution of the United States as an inmate thereof;

(2) As an employee included under 5 U.S.C. 5351(2) relating to certain interns, student nurses, and other student employees of hospitals of the Federal Government, other than as a medical or dental intern or a medical or dental resident in training;

(3) As an employee serving on a temporary basis in case of fire, storm, earthquake, flood, or other similar emergency; or

(4) Under any other statutory provisions that would require exclusion for reasons other than being in the employ of the Federal Government or an instrumentality of such.

(d) Work as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Work performed as a volunteer or volunteer leader within the meaning of the Peace Corps Act, 22 U.S.C. 2501 through 2523, is covered as employment.

(e) Work as Job Corps Enrollee. Work performed as an enrollee in the Job Corps is considered to be performed in the employ of the United States.

(f) Work by Volunteer in Service to America. Work performed and training received as a Volunteer in Service to America is considered to be performed in the employ of the United States if the volunteer is enrolled for a period of service of at least 1 year. If the enrollment is for less than 1 year, we use the common-law rules in § 404.1007 to determine the volunteer's status.

(g) Work for international organizations. Work performed for an international organization by an employee who was transferred from a Federal agency is generally covered as employment if, immediately before the transfer, the employee's services for the Federal agency were covered. (See §§ 404.1004(a)(5) and 404.1034(c).)

(h) Meaning of “continuously performing”—(1) Absence of less than 366 days. You are considered to be continuously performing service described in paragraph (a)(1)(i) of this section if you return to the performance of such service after being separated from such service for a period of less than 366 consecutive days, regardless of whether the period began before, on, or after December 31, 1983.

(2) Other absences. You are considered to be continuously performing service described in paragraph (a)(1)(i) of this section regardless of the length of separation or whether the period of separation began before, on, or after December 31, 1983, if you—

(i) Return to the performance of such service after being detailed or transferred from such service to an international organization as described under 5 U.S.C. 3343 or under 5 U.S.C. 3581;

(ii) Are reemployed or reinstated after being separated from such service for the purpose of accepting employment with the American Institute of Taiwan as provided under 22 U.S.C. 3310;

(iii) Return to the performance of such service after performing service as a member of a uniformed service including service in the National Guard and temporary service in the Coast Guard Reserve and after exercising restoration or reemployment rights as provided under 38 U.S.C. chapter 43; or

(iv) Return to the performance of such service after employment by a tribal organization to which section 105(e)(2) of the Indian Self-Determination Act applies.

(a) General—remuneration paid prior to 1984. If you worked as a civilian employee of the United States Government or an instrumentality of the United States, your work was excluded from employment if that work was covered by a retirement system established by law. Your work for an instrumentality that was exempt from Social Security tax was also excluded. Certain other work for the United States or an instrumentality of the United States was specifically excluded and is described in this section.

(b) Work covered by a retirement system—remuneration paid prior to 1984. Work you did as an employee of the United States or an instrumentality of the United States was excluded from employment if the work was covered by a retirement system established by a law of the United States. If you had a choice as to whether your work was covered by the retirement system, the work was not covered by that system until you chose that coverage. In order for the exclusion to apply, the work you did, rather than the position you held, must have been covered by the retirement system.

(c) Work that was specifically excluded—remuneration paid prior to 1984. Work performed by an employee of the United States or an instrumentality of the United States was excluded if it was done—

(1) As the President or Vice President of the United States;

(2) As a Member of the United States Congress, a Delegate to Congress, or a Resident Commissioner;

(3) In the legislative branch of the United States Government;

(4) By a student nurse, student dietitian, student physical therapist or student occupational therapist who was assigned or attached to a Federal hospital, clinic, or medical or dental laboratory;

(5) By a person designated as a student employee with the approval of the Office of Personnel Management who was assigned or attached primarily for training purposes to a Federal hospital, clinic, or medical or dental laboratory, other than a medical or dental intern or resident in training;

(6) By an employee who served on a temporary basis in case of fire, storm, earthquake, flood, or other similar emergency;

(7) By a person to whom the Civil Service Retirement Act did not apply because the person's services were subject to another retirement system established by a law of the United States or by the instrumentality of the United States for which the work was done, other than the retirement system established by the Tennessee Valley Authority under the plan approved by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare on December 28, 1956; or

(8) By an inmate of a penal institution of the United States, if the work was done in the penal institution.

(d) Work for instrumentalities of the United States exempt from employer tax—remuneration paid prior to 1984. (1) Work performed by an employee of an instrumentality of the United States was excluded if—

(i) The instrumentality was exempt from the employer tax imposed by section 3111 of the Code or by section 1410 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1939; and

(ii) The exemption was authorized by another law specifically referring to these sections.

(2) Work performed by an employee of an instrumentality of the United States was excluded if the instrumentality was not on December 31, 1950, subject to the employer tax imposed by section 1410 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1939 and the work was covered by a retirement system established by the instrumentality, unless—

(i) The work was for a corporation wholly owned by the United States;

(ii) The work was for a Federal land bank association, a production credit association, a Federal Reserve Bank, a Federal Credit Union, a Federal land bank, a Federal intermediate credit bank, a bank for cooperatives, or a Federal Home Loan Bank;

(iii) The work was for a State, county, or community committee under the Agriculture Marketing Service and the Commodity Stabilization Service, formerly the Production and Marketing Administration; or

(iv) The work was by a civilian, who was not paid from funds appropriated by the Congress, in activities conducted by an instrumentality of the United States subject to the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Defense or Secretary of Transportation at installations intended for the comfort, pleasure, contentment, and mental and physical improvement of personnel of the Defense Department or the Coast Guard, such as—

(A) Army and Air Force Exchange Service;

(B) Army and Air Force Motion Picture Service;

(C) Coast Guard Exchanges;

(D) Navy Ship's Service Stores; and

(E) Marine Corps Post Exchanges.

(3) For purposes of paragraph (d)(2) of this section, if an employee has a choice as to whether his or her work was covered by a retirement system, the work was not covered by that system until he or she chose that coverage. The work done, rather than the position held, must have been covered by the retirement system.

(e) Work as a Peace Corps Volunteer—remuneration paid prior to 1984. Work performed as a volunteer or volunteer leader within the meaning of the Peace Corps Act, 22 U.S.C. 2501 through 2523, was covered as employment.

(f) Work as Job Corps Enrollee—remuneration paid prior to 1984. Work performed as an enrollee in the Job Corps was considered to be performed in the employ of the United States.

(g) Work by Volunteer in Service to America—remuneration paid prior to 1984. Work performed and training received as a Volunteer in Service to America was considered to be performed in the employ of the United States if the volunteer was enrolled for a period of service of at least one year. If the enrollment was for less than one year, we used the common-law rules in § 404.1007 to determine the volunteer's status.

(a) General. The work of a Federal, State, or local government employee not otherwise subject to Social Security coverage may constitute Medicare qualified government employment. Medicare qualified government employment means any service which in all ways meets the definition of “employment” for title II purposes of the Social Security Act, except for the fact that the service was performed by a Federal, State or local government employee. This employment is used solely in determining eligibility for protection under part A of title XVIII of the Social Security Act (Hospital Insurance) and for coverage under the Medicare program for end-stage renal disease.

(b) Federal employment. If, beginning with remuneration paid after 1982, your service as a Federal employee is not otherwise covered employment under the Social Security Act, it is Medicare qualified government employment unless excluded under § 404.1018(c).

(c) State and local government employment. If, beginning with service performed after March 31, 1986, your service as an employee of a State or political subdivision (as defined in § 404.1202(b)), Guam, American Samoa, the District of Columbia, or the Northern Mariana Islands is excluded from covered employment solely because of section 210(a)(7) of the Social Security Act which pertains to employees of State and local governments (note §§ 404.1020 through 404.1022), it is Medicare qualified government employment except as provided in paragraphs (c) (1) and (2) of this section.

(1) An individual's service shall not be treated as employment if performed—

(i) By an individual employed by a State or political subdivision for the purpose of relieving that individual from unemployment;

(ii) In a hospital, home, or other institution by a patient or inmate thereof as an employee of a State, political subdivision, or of the District of Columbia;

(iii) By an individual, as an employee of a State, political subdivision or the District of Columbia serving on a temporary basis in case of fire, storm, snow, earthquake, flood, or other similar emergency;

(iv) By an individual as an employee included under 5 U.S.C. 5351(2) (relating to certain interns, student nurses, and other student employees of hospitals of the District of Columbia government), other than as a medical or dental intern or a medical or dental resident in training; or

(v) By an election official or election worker paid less than $100 in a calendar year for such service prior to 1995, or less than $1,000 for service performed in any calendar year after 1994 and before 2000, or, for service performed in any calendar year after 1999, less than the $1,000 base amount, as adjusted pursuant to section 218(c)(8)(B) of the Social Security Act to reflect changes in wages in the economy. We will publish this adjustment of the $1,000 base amount in the Federal Register on or before November 1 preceding the year for which the adjustment is made.

(2) An individual's service performed for an employer shall not be treated as employment if—

(i) The service would be excluded from coverage under section 210(a)(7) of the Social Security Act which pertains to employees of State and local governments;

(ii) The service is performed by an individual who—

(A) Was performing substantial and regular service for remuneration for that employer before April 1, 1986;

(B) Was a bona fide employee of that employer on March 31, 1986; and

(C) Did not enter into the employment relationship with that employer for purposes of meeting the requirements of paragraphs (c)(2)(ii) (A) and (B) of this section; and

(iii) After March 31, 1986, but prior to the service being performed, the employment relationship with that employer had not been terminated.

(a) Your work as a member of a uniformed service of the United States is covered under Social Security (unless creditable under the Railroad Retirement Act), if—

(1) On or after January 1, 1957, the work is service on active duty or active duty for training but not including service performed while on leave without pay; or

(2) On or after January 1, 1988, the work is service on inactive duty training.

(b) You are a member of a uniformed service if—

(1) You are appointed, enlisted, or inducted into (or a retired member of)—

(i) One of the armed services (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard); or

(ii) A component of one of the armed services, including any reserve component as defined in Veterans' Benefits, 38 U.S.C. 101 (except the Coast Guard Reserve as a temporary member);

(2) You are a commissioned officer (including a retired commissioned officer) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or the Regular or Reserve Corps of the Public Health Service;

(3) You are a member of the Fleet Reserve or Fleet Marine Corps Reserve;

(4) You are a cadet at the United States Military, Coast Guard, or Air Force Academy, or a midshipman at the United States Naval Academy;

(5) You are a member of the Reserve Officers Training Corps, the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps, or the Air Force Reserve Officers Training Corps, when ordered to annual training duty for 14 days or more including periods of authorized travel to and from that duty; or

(6) You are selected for active military or naval training under the Military Selective Service Act or are provisionally accepted for active duty in the military or naval service and you are ordered or directed to a place for final acceptance or entry upon active duty and are on the way to or from, or at, that place.

(a) General. If you work as an employee of a State, a political subdivision of a State, or any wholly owned instrumentality of one or more of these, your work is excluded from employment unless—

(1) The work is covered under an agreement under section 218 of the Act (see subpart M of this part); or

(2) The work is covered transportation service as defined in section 210(k) of the Act (see paragraph (c) of this section).

(3) You perform services after July 1, 1991, as an employee of a State (other than the District of Columbia, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or American Samoa), a political subdivision of a State, or any wholly owned instrumentality of one or more of the foregoing and you are not a member of a retirement system of such State, political subdivision, or instrumentality. Retirement system has the meaning given that term in section 218(b)(4) of the Act, except as provided in regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury. This paragraph does not apply to services performed—

(i) As an employee employed to relieve you from unemployment;

(ii) In a hospital, home, or other institution where you are a patient or inmate thereof;

(iii) As an employee serving on a temporary basis in case of fire, storm, snow, earthquake, flood, or other similar emergency;

(iv) As an election official or election worker if the remuneration paid in a calendar year for such service prior to 1995 is less than $100, or less than $1000 for service performed in any calendar year after 1994 and before 2000, or, for service performed in any calendar year after 1999, less than the $1000 base amount, as adjusted pursuant to section 218(c)(8)(B) of the Social Security Act to reflect changes in wages in the economy. We will publish this adjustment of the $1000 base amount in the Federal Register on or before November 1 preceding the year for which the adjustment is made.

(v) As an employee in a position compensated solely on a fee basis which is treated, pursuant to section 211(c)(2)(E) of the Act, as a trade or business for purposes of inclusion of the fees in net earnings from self-employment; or

(4) The work is covered under § 404.1021 or § 404.1022.

(b) Medicare qualified government employment. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of this section, your work may be covered as Medicare qualified government employment (see § 404.1018b(c) of this subpart).

(c) Covered transportation service—(1) Work for a public transportation system. If you work for a public transportation system of a State or political subdivision of a State, your work may be covered transportation service if all or part of the system was acquired from private ownership. You must work as an employee of the State or political subdivision in connection with its operation of a public transportation system for your work to be covered transportation service. This paragraph sets out additional conditions that must be met for your work to be covered transportation service. If you work for a public transportation system but your work is not covered transportation service, your work may be covered for social security purposes under an agreement under section 218 of the Act (see subpart M of this part).

(2) Transportation system acquired in whole or in part after 1936 and before 1951. All work after 1950 for a public transportation system is covered transportation service if—

(i) Any part of the transportation system was acquired from private ownership after 1936 and before 1951; and

(ii) No general retirement system covering substantially all work in connection with the operation of the transportation system and guaranteed by the State constitution was in effect on December 31, 1950.

(3) Transportation system operated on December 31, 1950, no part of which was acquired after 1936 and before 1951. If no part of a transportation system operated by a State or political subdivision on December 31, 1950, was acquired from private ownership after 1936 and before 1951, work for that public transportation system is not covered transportation service unless performed under conditions described in paragraph (b)(4) of this section.

(4) Addition after 1950 to existing transportation system. Work for a public transportation system part of which was acquired from private ownership after 1950 as an addition to an existing transportation system is covered transportation service beginning with the first day of the third calendar quarter following the calendar quarter in which the addition was acquired if—

(i) The work is performed by an employee who—

(A) Worked in employment in connection with the operation of the addition before the addition was acquired by the State or political subdivision; and

(B) Became an employee of the State or political subdivision in connection with and at the time of its acquisition of the addition;

(ii) On that first day, work performed by that employee is—

(A) Not covered by a general retirement system; or

(B) Covered by a general retirement system which contains special provisions that apply only to employees described in paragraph (c)(4)(i)(B) of this section;

(iii) The existing transportation system was operated by the State or political subdivision on December 31, 1950; and

(iv) Work for the existing transportation system was not covered transportation service because—

(A) No part of the system was acquired from private ownership after 1936 and before 1951; or

(B) The general retirement system described in paragraph (c)(2)(ii) of this section was in effect on December 31, 1950.

(5) Transportation system acquired after 1950. All work for a public transportation system is covered transportation service if—

(i) The transportation system was not operated by the State or political subdivision before 1951;

(ii) All or part of the transportation system was first acquired from private ownership after 1950; and

(iii) At the time the State or political subdivision first acquired any part of its transportation system from private ownership, it did not have a general retirement system covering substantially all work performed in connection with the operation of the transportation system.

(6) Definitions. (i) The term general retirement system means any pension, annuity, retirement, or similar fund or system established by a State or by a political subdivision of a State for employees of the State, the political subdivision, or both. The term does not include a fund or system which covers only work performed in positions connected with the operation of the public transportation system.

(ii) A transportation system (or part of a system) is considered to have been acquired from private ownership by a State or political subdivision if—

(A) Before the acquisition, work performed by employees in connection with the operation of the system (or an acquired part) constituted employment under the Act; and

(B) Some of these employees became employees of the State or political subdivision in connection with and at the time of the acquisition.

(iii) The term political subdivision includes an instrumentality of a State, of one or more political subdivisions of a State, or of a State and one or more of its political subdivisions.

If you work as an employee of the District of Columbia or a wholly owned instrumentality of the District of Columbia, your work is covered as employment unless—

(a) Your work is covered by a retirement system established by a law of the United States; or

(b) You are—

(1) A patient or inmate of a hospital or penal institution and your work is for that hospital or institution;

(2) A student employee (a student nurse, dietitian, or physical or occupational therapist, but not a medical or dental intern or resident in training) of a District of Columbia hospital, clinic, or medical or dental laboratory;

(3) An employee serving temporarily in case of fire, storm, snow, earthquake, flood, or other similar emergency; or

(4) A member of a board, committee, or council of the District of Columbia paid on a per diem, meeting, or other fee basis.

(c) Medicare qualified government employment. If your work is not covered under Social Security, it may be covered as Medicare qualified government employment (see § 404.1018b(c) of this subpart).

(a) Work in American Samoa, Guam, or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Work in American Samoa, Guam, or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands for a private employer is covered as employment the same as in the 50 States. Work done by a resident of the Republic of the Philippines working in Guam on a temporary basis as a nonimmigrant alien admitted to Guam under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act is excluded from coverage regardless of the employer.

(b) Work for American Samoa or a political subdivision or wholly owned instrumentality of American Samoa. Work as an officer or employee (including a member of the legislature) of the government of American Samoa, its political subdivisions, or any wholly owned instrumentality of any one or more of these, is covered as employment (unless the work is covered by a retirement system established by a law of the United States). The officer or employee is not considered as an employee of the United States, an agency of the United States, or an instrumentality of the United States, for purposes of title II of the Act. We consider any pay for this work to have been paid by the government of American Samoa, or the political subdivision or the wholly owned instrumentality of American Samoa.

(c) Work for Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), or a political subdivision or wholly owned instrumentality of Guam or the CNMI. Work as an officer or employee (including a member of the legislature) of the government of the CNMI, its political subdivisions, or any wholly owned instrumentality of any one or more of these, is covered as employment beginning October 1, 2012. Work as an officer or employee (including a member of the legislature) of the government of Guam, its political subdivisions, or any wholly owned instrumentality of any one or more of these, is excluded from coverage as employment. However, the exclusion does not apply to employees classified as temporary or intermittent unless the work is—

(1) Covered by a retirement system established by a law of Guam or the CNMI;

(2) Done by an elected official;

(3) Done by a member of the legislature; or

(4) Done in a hospital or penal institution by a patient or inmate of the hospital or penal institution.

(d) Medicare qualified government employment. If your work is not covered under Social Security, it may be covered as Medicare qualified government employment (see § 404.1018b(c) of this subpart).

(a) General. If you are a duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister of a church, the work you do in the exercise of your ministry is excluded from employment. However, it is treated as self-employment for social security purposes. If you are a member of a religious order who has not taken a vow of poverty, the same rule applies to the work you do in the exercise of your duties required by that order. If you are a member of a religious order who has taken a vow of poverty, the work you do in the exercise of duties required by the order (the work may be done for the order or for another employer) is covered as employment only if the order or autonomous subdivision of the order to which you belong has filed an effective election of coverage. The election is made under section 3121(r) of the Code. For the rules on self-employment coverage of ministers and members of religious orders who have not taken vows of poverty, see § 404.1071.

(b) What is an ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister. The terms ordained, commissioned, or licensed describe the procedures followed by recognized churches or church denominations to vest ministerial status upon qualified individuals. If a church or church denomination has an ordination procedure, the commissioning or licensing of a person as a minister may not make him or her a commissioned or licensed minister for purposes of this subpart. Where there is an ordination procedure, the commissioning or licensing must be recognized as having the same effect as ordination and the person must be fully qualified to exercise all of the ecclesiastical duties of the church or church denomination.

(c) When is work by a minister in the exercise of the ministry. (1) A minister is working in the exercise of the ministry when he or she is—

(i) Ministering sacerdotal functions or conducting religious worship (other than as described in paragraph (d)(2) of this section); or

(ii) Working in the control, conduct, and maintenance of a religious organization (including an integral agency of a religious organization) under the authority of a religious body constituting a church or church denomination.

(2) The following rules are used to decide whether a minister's work is in the exercise of the ministry:

(i) Whether the work is the conduct of religious worship or the ministration of sacerdotal functions depends on the tenets and practices of the religious body which is his or her church or church denomination.

(ii) Work in the control, conduct, and maintenance relates to directing, managing, or promoting the activities of the religious organization. Any religious organization is considered to be under the authority of a religious body constituting a church or church denomination if it is organized and dedicated to carrying out the tenets and principles of a faith according to either the requirements or sanctions governing the creation of institutions of the faith.

(iii) If a minister is working in the conduct of religious worship or the ministration of sacerdotal functions, the work is in the exercise of the ministry whether or not it is performed for a religious organization. (See paragraph (d)(2) of this section for an exception to this rule.)

(iv) If a minister is working for an organization which is operated as an integral agency of a religious organization under the authority of a religious body constituting a church or church denomination, all work by the minister in the conduct of religious worship, in the ministration of sacerdotal functions, or in the control, conduct, and maintenance of the organization is in the exercise of the ministry.

(v) If a minister, under an assignment or designation by a religious body constituting a church, works for an organization which is neither a religious organization nor operated as an integral agency of a religious organization, all service performed by him or her, even though the service may not involve the conduct of religious worship or the ministration of sacerdotal functions, is in the exercise of the ministry.

(vi) If a minister is working for an organization which is neither a religious organization nor operated as an integral agency of a religious organization and the work is not performed under an assignment or designation by ecclesiastical superiors, then only the work done by the minister in the conduct of religious worship or the ministration of sacerdotal functions is in the exercise of the ministry. (See paragraph (d)(2) of this section for an exception to this rule.)

(d) When is work by a minister not in the exercise of the ministry. (1) Work performed by a duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister of a church which is not in the exercise of the ministry is not excluded from employment.

(2) Work performed by a duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister of a church as an employee of the United States, or a State, territory, or possession of the United States, or the District of Columbia, or a foreign government, or a political subdivision of any of these, is not in the exercise of the ministry, even though the work may involve the ministration of sacerdotal functions or the conduct of religious worship. For example, we consider service performed as a chaplain in the Armed Forces of the United States to be work performed by a commissioned officer and not by a minister in the exercise of the ministry. Also, service performed by an employee of a State as a chaplain in a State prison is considered to be performed by a civil servant of the State and not by a minister in the exercise of the ministry.

(e) Work in the exercise of duties required by a religious order. Work performed by a member of a religious order in the exercise of duties required by the order includes all duties required of the member of the order. The nature or extent of the work is immaterial so long as it is service which the member is directed or required to perform by the member's ecclesiastical superiors.

A religious order whose members are required to take a vow of poverty, or any autonomous subdivision of that religious order, may elect to have social security coverage extended to the work performed by its members in the exercise of duties required by that order or subdivision. The rules on the election of coverage by these religious orders are described in 26 CFR 31.3121(r). The rules on determining the wages of members of religious orders for which an election of coverage has been made are described in § 404.1046.

(a) After 1983. Work done after 1983 by an employee in the employ of a religious, charitable, educational, or other organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Code which is exempt from income tax under section 501(a) of the Code is covered as employment unless the work is for a church or church-controlled organization that has elected to have services performed by its employees excluded (see § 404.1026). (See § 404.1059(b) for special wage rule.)

(b) Before 1984. Work described in paragraph (a) of this section which was done before 1984 is excluded from employment. However, the exclusion does not apply to work done during the period for which a form SS-15, Certificate Waiving Exemption From Taxes Under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act, was filed (or was deemed to have been filed) with the Internal Revenue Service.

(a) General. If you work for a church or qualified church-controlled organization, as described in this section, your employer may elect to have your services excluded from employment. You would then be considered to be self-employed and special conditions would apply to you. See § 404.1068(f) for those special conditions. The employer's election of the exclusion must be made with the Internal Revenue Service in accordance with Internal Revenue Service procedures and must state that the church or church-controlled organization is opposed for religious reasons to the payment of Social Security employment taxes. The exclusion applies to current and future employees. If you work in an unrelated trade or business (within the meaning of section 513(a) of the Code) of the church or church-controlled organization, the exclusion does not apply to your services.

(b) What is a church. For purposes of this section the term church means a church, a convention or association of churches, or an elementary or secondary school which is controlled, operated, or principally supported by a church or by a convention or association of churches.

(c) What is a qualified church-controlled organization. For purposes of this section the term qualified church-controlled organization means any church-controlled organization exempt from income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Code but does not include an organization which:

(1) Offers goods, services, or facilities for sale to the general public, other than on an incidental basis, or for other than a nominal charge which is substantially less than the cost of providing such goods, services, or facilities; and

(2) Normally receives more than 25 percent of its support from either governmental sources or receipts from admissions, sales of merchandise, performance of services or furnishing of facilities other than in an unrelated trade or business, or both.

We exclude from employment any work you do as an employee or employee representative as described in the Railroad Retirement Tax Act. However, railroad compensation can be counted for social security purposes under the conditions described in subpart O of this part.

(a) For purposes of this section, a school, college, or university has its usual accepted meaning. It does not, however, include any school, college, or university that is an instrumentality or integral part of a State or a political subdivision of a State for which work can only be covered by an agreement under section 218 of the Act. (See subpart M of this part.)

(b) If you are a student, any work you do as an employee of a school, college or university is excluded from employment, if you are enrolled in and regularly attending classes at that school, college, or university. The exclusion also applies to work you do for a private nonprofit auxiliary organization of the school, college, or university if it is organized and operated exclusively for the benefit of, to perform functions of, or to carry out the purposes of the school, college, or university. The organization must be operated, supervised, or controlled by, or in connection with, the school, college, or university.

(c) Whether you are a student for purposes of this section depends on your relationship with your employer. If your main purpose is pursuing a course of study rather than earning a livelihood, we consider you to be a student and your work is not considered employment.

If you are a student nurse, your work for a hospital or nurses training school is excluded from employment if you are enrolled and regularly attending classes in a nurses training school which is chartered or approved under State law.

(a) If you are under age 18. Work you do before you reach age 18 delivering or distributing newspapers or shopping news is excluded from employment. This does not include delivery or distribution to some point for further delivery or distribution by someone else. If you make house-to-house delivery or sale of newspapers or shopping news (including handbills and similar kinds of advertising material), your work is not covered while you are under age 18. Related work such as assembling newspapers is also excluded.

(b) If you are any age. No matter how old you are, work you do in connection with and at the time of the sale of newspapers or magazines to consumers is excluded from employment if there is an arrangement under which—

(1) You are to sell the newspapers or magazines at a fixed price; and

(2) Your pay is the difference between the fixed selling price and the amount you are charged for the newspapers or magazines (whether or not you are guaranteed a minimum amount of compensation or receive credit for unsold newspapers or magazines).

(c) If you are age 18 or older. If you have attained age 18, you are self-employed if you work under the arrangement described in paragraph (b) of this section. See § 404.1068(b).

(a) If you work on a boat engaged in catching fish or other forms of aquatic animal life, your work is not employment if you have an arrangement with the owner or operator of the boat which provides for all of the following:

(1) You do not receive any cash pay (other than as provided in paragraph (a)(2) of this section).

(2) You receive a share of the catch or a share of the proceeds from the sale of the catch.

(3) The amount of your share depends on the size of the catch.

(4) The operating crew of the boat (or each boat from which you receive a share if the fishing operation involves more than one boat) is normally made up of fewer than 10 individuals.

(b) Work excluded from employment under this section is considered to be self-employment (§ 404.1068(e)).

If you work as an employee of a foreign government in any capacity, your work is excluded from employment. If you are a citizen of the United States and work in the United States as an employee of a foreign government, you are considered to be self-employed (§ 404.1068(d)).

(a) If you work as an employee of an instrumentality of a foreign government, your work is excluded from employment if—

(1) The instrumentality is wholly owned by the foreign government;

(2) Your work is similar to work performed in foreign countries by employees of the United States Government or its instrumentalities; and

(3) The Secretary of State certifies to the Secretary of the Treasury that the foreign government grants an equivalent exemption for services performed in the foreign country by employees of the United States Government or its instrumentalities.

(b) Your work will not be excluded under this section if any of the conditions in paragraph (a) of this section are not met.

(c) If you are a citizen of the United States and work in the United States as an employee of an instrumentality of a foreign government and the conditions in paragraph (a) of this section are met, you are considered to be self-employed (§ 404.1068(d)).

(a) If you work as an employee of an international organization entitled to enjoy privileges, exemptions, and immunities as an international organization under the International Organizations Immunities Act (59 Stat. 669), your work is excluded from employment except as described in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section. The organization must meet the following conditions:

(1) It must be a public international organization in which the United States participates under a treaty or authority of an act of Congress authorizing, or making an appropriation for, participation.

(2) It must be designated by executive order to be entitled to enjoy the privileges, exemptions, and immunities provided in the International Organizations Immunities Act.

(3) The designation must be in effect, and all conditions and limitations in the designation must be met.

(b) Your work will not be excluded under this section if any of the conditions in paragraph (a) of this section are not met.

(c) Your work performed after December 31, 1994 will not be excluded under this section if you perform service in the employ of an international organization pursuant to a transfer from a Federal agency under section 3582 of title 5 of the United States Code and

(1) Immediately before such transfer you performed service with a Federal agency which was covered as employment; and

(2) You would be entitled, upon separation from the international organization and proper application, to reemployment with the Federal agency under section 3582.

(d) If you are a citizen of the United States and work in the United States as an employee of an international organization that meets the conditions in paragraph (a) of this section and you are not subject to coverage based on paragraph (c) of this section, you are considered to be self-employed (§ 404.1068(d)).

If you work as an employee of an organization which is registered, or which is required by a final order of the Subversive Activities Control Board to register under the Internal Security Act of 1950 as a communist action, communist-front, or communist-infiltrated organization, your work is excluded from employment. The exclusion is effective with the calendar year in which the organization is registered or the final order is in effect.

(a) Foreign students. (1) Foreign students (nonimmigrant aliens) may be temporarily in the United States under subparagraph (F) of section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to attend a school or other recognized place of study approved by the Attorney General. On-campus work or work under permission granted by the Immigration and Naturalization Service which is done by these students is excluded from employment. Other work done by these foreign students is not excluded from employment under this section.

(2) Foreign students (nonimmigrant aliens) may be temporarily in the United States under subparagraph (M) of section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to pursue a vocational or nonacademic technical education approved by the Attorney General. Work done by these students to carry out the purpose for which they were admitted is excluded from employment. Other work done by these foreign students is not excluded from employment under this section.

(b) Exchange visitors. (1) Exchange visitors (nonimmigrant aliens) may be temporarily in the United States under subparagraph (J) of section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to participate in exchange visitor programs designated by the Director of the United States Information Agency. Work done by these exchange visitors to carry out the purpose for which they were admitted and for which permission has been granted by the sponsor, is excluded from employment. Other work done by these exchange visitors is not excluded from employment under this section.

(2) Exchange visitors (nonimmigrant aliens) may be temporarily in the United States under subparagraph (Q) of section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to participate in an international cultural exchange program approved by the Attorney General. Effective October 1, 1994, work done by these exchange visitors to carry out the purpose for which they were admitted is excluded from employment. Other work done by these exchange visitors is not excluded from employment under this section.

(c) Spouse and children. Work done by a foreign student's or exchange visitor's alien spouse or minor child who is also temporarily in the United States under subparagraph (F), (J), (M), or (Q) of section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nationality Act is not excluded from employment under this section unless that spouse or child and the work that is done meets the conditions of paragraph (a) or (b) of this section.

If you work as an employee within the United States on or in connection with (as explained in § 404.1004(b)(8)) a vessel or aircraft that is not an American vessel (as defined in § 404.1004(b)(3)) or American aircraft (as defined in § 404.1004(b)(2)), your work is excluded from employment if—

(a) You are not a citizen of the United States or your employer is not an American employer (as defined in § 404.1004(b)(1)); and

(b) You are employed on and in connection with (as explained in § 404.1004(b)(7)) the vessel or aircraft when outside the United States.

Domestic services you perform in a private home of your employer are excluded from employment, regardless of the amount earned, in any year in which you are under age 18 if domestic service is not your principal occupation. The exclusion applies to the entire year if you are under age 18 in any part of the year. See § 404.1057.

(a) You and your employer (or, if the employer is a partnership, each of its partners) may file applications with the Internal Revenue Service for exemption from your respective shares of the Federal Insurance Contributions Act taxes on your wages paid by that employer if you and your employer (or, if the employer is a partnership, each of its partners)—

(1) Are members of a recognized religious sect or division of the sect; and

(2) Adhere to the tenets or teachings of the sect or division of the sect and for that reason are conscientiously opposed to receiving benefits from any private or public insurance that—

(i) Makes payment in the event of death, disability, old-age, or retirement; or

(ii) Makes payment for the cost of, or provides services for, medical care including the benefits of any insurance system established by the Act.

(b) Both your application and your employer's application (or, if your employer is a partnership, each partner's application) must be filed with and approved by the Internal Revenue Service pursuant to section 3127 of the Internal Revenue Code. An application must contain or be accompanied by the applicant's waiver of all benefits and payments under title II and part A of title XVIII of the Act. See § 404.305 for the effect of the filing of the waiver and the granting of the exemption.

(c) Regardless of whether the applicant meets all these conditions, the application will not be approved unless we find that—

(1) The sect or division of the sect has established tenets or teachings which cause the applicant to be conscientiously opposed to the types of insurance benefits described in paragraph (a)(2) of this section; and

(2) For a substantial period of time it has been the practice for members of the sect or division of the sect to make provision for their dependent members that is reasonable in view of their general level of living; and

(3) The sect or division of the sect has been in existence continuously since December 31, 1950.

(d) An application for exemption will be approved by the Internal Revenue Service only if no benefit or payment under title II or part A of title XVIII of the Act became payable (or, but for section 203 or section 222(b) of the Act, would have become payable) to the applicant at or before the time of the filing of the application for exemption.

(e) The tax exemption ceases to be effective with respect to wages paid beginning with the calendar quarter in which either the employer (or if the employer is a partnership, any of its partners) or the employee involved does not meet the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section or the religious sect or division of the sect is found by us to no longer meet the requirements of paragraph (c) of this section. If the tax exemption ceases to be effective, the waiver of the right to receive Social Security and Medicare Part A benefits will also no longer be effective. Benefits may be payable based upon the wages of the individual, whose exempt status was terminated, for and after the calendar year following the calendar year in which the event occurred upon which the cessation of the exemption is based. Benefits may be payable based upon the self-employment income of the individual whose exempt status was terminated for and after the taxable year in which the event occurred upon which the cessation of the exemption is based.

(a) The term wages means remuneration paid to you as an employee for employment unless specifically excluded. Wages are counted in determining your entitlement to retirement, survivors', and disability insurance benefits.

(b) If you are paid wages, it is not important what they are called. Salaries, fees, bonuses and commissions on sales or on insurance premiums are wages if they are remuneration paid for employment.

(c) The way in which you are paid is unimportant. Wages may be paid on the basis of piecework or a percentage of the profits. Wages may be paid on an hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly basis. (See § 404.1056 for special rules for agricultural labor.)

(d) Your wages can be in any form. You can be paid in cash or something other than cash, for example, in goods or clothing. (See paragraphs (e) and (f) of this section for kinds of employment where cash payments alone are considered wages and § 404.1043(b) concerning the value of meals and lodging as wages.) If your employer pays you cash for your meals and lodging on a regular basis as part of your employment, these payments may be considered wages. Payments other than cash may be counted as wages on the basis of the fair value of the items when paid.

(e) In certain kinds of employment, cash payments alone count as wages. These types of employment are agricultural labor, domestic services, and services not in the course of the employer's trade or business.

(f) To count as wages, payments for services performed by home workers who are employees as described in § 404.1008(d) must be in cash and must amount to $100 or more in a calendar year. Once this cash pay test is met, all remuneration paid, whether in cash or kind, is also wages.

(a) In general. Wages are received by an employee at the time they are paid by the employer to the employee. Wages are paid by an employer at the time that they are actually or constructively paid unless they are deemed to be paid later (as described in paragraph (c)(3) of this section).

(b) Constructive payment. Wages are constructively paid when they are credited to the account of, or set aside for, an employee so that they may be drawn upon by the employee at any time although not then actually received. To be a payment—

(1) The wages must be credited to or set aside for the employee and must be made available without restriction so that they may be drawn upon at any time; or

(2) The employer must intend to pay or to set aside or credit, and have the ability to pay wages when due to the employee, and failure of the employer to credit or set aside the wages is due to clerical error or mistake in the mechanics of payment, and because of the clerical error or mistake the wages are not actually available at that time.

(c) Deemed payment. (1) The first $100 of cash paid, either actually or constructively, by an employer to an employee in a calendar year is considered paid at the time that the amount of the cash payment totals $100 for the year in the case of pay for—

(i) Work not in the course of the employer's trade or business (non-business work);

(ii) Work by certain home workers; and

(iii) Work for an organization exempt from income tax under section 501 of the Code.

(2) We also apply this rule to domestic work in a private home of the employer, except see § 404.1057(a)(1) for the applicable dollar amount.

(3) Cash of less than $150 that an employer pays to an employee in a calendar year, either actually or constructively, for agricultural labor is considered paid at the earliest of—

(i) The time in the calendar year that the employee's pay totals $150; or

(ii) The 20th day of the calendar year on which the employee works for cash pay computed on a time basis.

(4) If an employer pays cash to an employee for two or more of the kinds of work referred to in paragraph (c)(1) of this section, we apply the provisions of this paragraph to the pay for each kind of work.

(d) Employee tax deductions. We consider employee tax deductions under section 3101 of the Code to be part of the employee's wages and consider them to be paid at the time of the deduction. We consider other deductions from wages to be wages paid at the time of the deduction. It is immaterial that the deductions are required or permitted by an act of Congress or the law of any State.

(e) Tips. (1) Tips received by an employee in the course of employment, that are considered to be wages, are deemed to be paid at the time the employee reports the tips to the employer in a written statement as provided under section 6053(a) of the Code. Tips that are not reported are deemed to be paid to the employee at the time they are received by the employee.

(2) We consider tips to be received in the course of employment whether they are received by the employee from the employer or from another person. Only tips employees receive and keep for themselves are considered to be the employees' pay. If employees split tips, each employee who receives part of the tip receives tips in the course of employment.

(f) Payments under nonqualified deferred compensation plans. Amounts that an employee is entitled to receive under nonqualified deferred compensation plans (plans that do not qualify for special tax treatment under the Code) are creditable as wages for Social Security purposes at the later of the following times:

(1) When the services are performed; or

(2) When there is no longer a substantial risk of forfeiture (as defined in section 83 of the Code) of the employee's rights to the deferred compensation.

(a) Excluding the value of employer provided facilities or privileges from employee gross income prior to January 1, 1985. (1) Generally, the facilities or privileges that an employer furnished an employee prior to January 1, 1985 are not wages if the facilities or privileges—

(i) Were of relatively small value; and

(ii) Were offered or furnished by the employer merely as a means of promoting the health, good will, contentment, or efficiency of the employees.

(2) The term facilities or privileges for the period prior to January 1, 1985 is intended to include such items as entertainment, medical services, and so-called courtesy discounts on purchases.

(b) Meals and lodging. The value of the meals and lodging furnished to an employee by an employer for reasons of the employer's convenience is not wages if—

(1) The meals are provided at the employer's place of business; and

(2) The employee, in the case of lodging, is required to accept lodging on the employer's business premises as a condition of employment.

We consider your salary while on vacation, or a vacation allowance paid by your employer, to be wages.

Amounts that your employer pays you specifically—either as advances or reimbursements—for traveling or for other ordinary and necessary expenses incurred, or reasonably expected to be incurred, in your employer's business are not wages. The employer must identify these travel and other expenses either by making a separate payment or by specifically stating the separate amounts if both wages and expense allowances are combined in a single payment.

(a) If you are a member of a religious order who has taken a vow of poverty (§ 404.1023), and the order has elected Social Security coverage under section 3121(r) of the Code, your wages are figured in a special way. Your wages, for Social Security purposes, are the fair market value of any board, lodging, clothing, and other items of value furnished to you by the order, or furnished to the order on your behalf by another organization or person under an agreement with the order. See paragraph (b) of this section if you perform services for a third party. The order must report at least $100 a month for each active member. If the fair market value of items furnished to all members of a religious order does not vary significantly, the order may consider all members to have a uniform wage.

(b) If you perform services for a third party, the following rules apply:

(1) If you perform services for another agency of the supervising church or an associated institution, any amounts paid based on such services, whether paid directly to you or to the order, do not count on wages. Only wages figured under (a) above, are counted.

(2) If you perform services in a secular setting as an employee of a third party not affiliated or associated with the supervising church or an associated institution, any amounts paid based on such services, whether paid directly to you or to the order, count as wages paid to you by the third party. These wages are in addition to any wages counted under paragraph (a) of this section.

Payments made by an employer to you as an employee in a calendar year that are more than the annual wage limitation are not wages. The annual wage limitation is:

(a) General. The contribution and benefit base after 1992 is figured under the formula described in paragraph (b) of this section in any calendar year in which there is an automatic cost-of-living increase in old-age, survivors, and disability insurance benefits. For purposes of this section, the calendar year in which the contribution and benefit base is figured is called the determination year. The base figured in the determination year applies to wages paid after (and taxable years beginning after) the determination year.

(b) Formula for figuring the contribution and benefit base. For wages paid after (and taxable years beginning after) the determination year, the contribution and benefit base is the larger of—

(1) The contribution and benefit base in effect for the determination year; or

(2) The amount determined by—

(i) Multiplying the contribution and benefit base in effect for the determination year by the ratio of—

(A) The average of the total wages (as described in paragraph (c) of this section) reported to the Secretary of the Treasury for the calendar year before the determination year to

(B) The average of the total wages reported to the Secretary of the Treasury for the calendar year before the most recent calendar year in which an increase in the contribution and benefit base was enacted or a determination under this section resulting in an increase of the base was made; and

(ii) Rounding the result of the multiplication, if not a multiple of $300, to—

(A) The nearest multiple of $300; or

(B) The next higher multiple of $300 if the result is a multiple of $150.

(c) Average of the total wages. The average of the total wages means the amount equal to all remuneration reported as wages on Form W-2 to the Internal Revenue Service for all employees for income tax purposes plus contributions to certain deferred compensation plans described in section 209(k) of the Social Security Act (also reported on Form W-2), divided by the number of wage earners. If both distributions from and contributions to any such deferred compensation plan are reported on Form W-2, we will include only the contributions in the calculation of the average of the total wages. The reported remuneration and deferred compensation contributions include earnings from work not covered under social security and earnings from work covered under social security that are more than the annual wage limitation described in § 404.1047.

(a) Payments to, or on behalf of, you or any of your dependents under your employer's plan or system are excluded from wages if made because of your or your dependents'—

(1) Medical or hospitalization expenses connected with sickness or accident disability; or

(2) Death, except that the exclusion does not apply to payments for group-term life insurance to the extent that the payments are includible in the gross income of the employee under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, effective with respect to group-term life insurance coverage in effect after 1987 for employees whose employment, for the employer (or successor of that employer) providing the insurance coverage, does not end prior to 1989. Such payments are wages, however, if they are for coverage for an employee who was separated from employment prior to January 1, 1989, if the payments are for any period for which the employee is reemployed by the employer (or successor of that employer) after the date of separation.

(b) Payments to you or your dependents under your employer's plan at or after the termination of your employment relationship because of your death or retirement for disability are excluded from wages.

(c) Payments made after 1983 to you or your dependents under your employer's plan at or after the termination of your employment relationship because of retirement after reaching an age specified in the plan or in a pension plan of the employer are not excluded from wages unless—

(1) The payments are to or from a trust or annuity plan of your employer as described in § 404.1052; or

(2) An agreement to retire was in effect on March 24, 1983, between you and your employer and the payments made after 1983 under a nonqualified deferred compensation plan (see § 404.1042(f)) are based on services performed for your employer before 1984.

(d) The plan or system established by the employer must provide for the employees generally or for a class or classes of employees. The plan or system may also provide for these employees' dependents. Payments under a plan or system established only for your dependents are not excluded from wages. The plan or system established by the employer can provide for payments on account of one or more of the items in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section.

(e) For purposes of this section, your dependents include your husband or wife, children, and any other members of your immediate family.

(f) It does not make any difference that the benefit payments are considered in arriving at the amount of your pay or are required by the employment agreement.

Payments made after 1983 to you (including any amount paid by an employer for insurance or annuities) on account of your retirement for age are not excluded from wages unless—

(a) The payments are to or from a trust or annuity plan of your employer as described in § 404.1052; or

(b) The payments satisfy the requirements described in § 404.1049(c)(2).

(a) We do not include as wages any payment that an employer makes to you, or on your behalf, on account of your sickness or accident disability, or related medical or hospitalization expenses, if the payment is made more than 6 consecutive calendar months following the last calendar month in which you worked for that employer. Payments made during the 6 consecutive months are included as wages.

(b) The exclusion in paragraph (a) of this section also applies to any such payment made by a third party (such as an insurance company). However, if you contributed to your employer's sick pay plan, that portion of the third party payments attributable to your contribution is not wages.

(c) Payments of medical or hospitalization expenses connected with sickness or accident disability are excluded from wages beginning with the first payment only if made under a plan or system of your employer as explained in § 404.1049(a)(1).

(d) Payments under a worker's compensation law are not wages.

(a) We do not include as wages any payment made—

(1) Into a tax-exempt trust or annuity plan by your employer on behalf of you or your beneficiary; or

(2) From a tax-exempt trust or under an annuity plan to, or on behalf of, you or your beneficiary.

(b) The trust must be exempt from tax under sections 401 and 501(a) of the Code, and the annuity plan must be a plan described in section 403(a) of the Code when payment is made.

(c) The exclusion does not apply to payments to an employee of the trust for work done as an employee of the trust.

We do not include as wages any qualified benefits under a cafeteria plan as described in section 125 of the Code if such payment would not be treated as wages without regard to such plan and it is reasonable to believe that (if section 125 applied for purposes of this section) section 125 would not treat any wages as constructively received. This includes any qualified benefit made to you, or on your behalf, pursuant to a salary reduction agreement between you and your employer. The Internal Revenue Service decides whether any plan is a cafeteria plan under section 125 of the Code and whether any benefit under the plan is a qualified benefit.

(a) We exclude as wages any payment by an employer (described in paragraph (b) of this section) that is not deducted from the employee's salary (or for which reimbursement is not made by the employee) of either—

(1) The tax imposed by section 3101 of the Code (employee's share of Social Security tax); or

(2) Any payment required from an employee under a State unemployment compensation law.

(b) The payments described in paragraph (a) of this section are not included as wages only if they are made by an employer on behalf of an employee employed in—

(1) Domestic service in the private home of the employer; or

(2) Agricultural labor.

(a) When cash payments are not wages. We do not include as wages your cash payments in a calendar year after 1987 from an employer for agricultural labor (see § 404.1056) if your employer's total expenditures for agricultural labor are less than $2500 in that year and your employer paid you less than $150 cash remuneration in that year for your agricultural labor.

(b) Exclusions for noncash payments and payments for seasonal agricultural labor. (1) Noncash payments for agricultural labor are not wages.

(2) Your cash payments in a calendar year from an employer for agricultural labor are not wages, irrespective of your employer's total annual expenditures for agricultural labor, if you are a hand harvest laborer (i.e., seasonal agricultural labor), and—

(i) Your employer paid you less than $150 in that year;

(ii) You are paid on a piece rate basis in an operation which has been, and is customarily and generally recognized in the region of employment as paying on a piece rate basis;

(iii) You commute daily from your permanent residence to the farm on which you are so employed; and,

(iv) You were employed in agriculture less than 13 weeks during the previous calendar year.

(c) When cash-pay is creditable as wages. (1) If you receive cash pay from an employer for services which are agricultural labor and for services which are not agricultural labor, we count only the amounts paid for agricultural labor in determining whether cash payments equal or exceed $150. If the amounts paid are less than $150, we count only those amounts paid for agricultural labor in determining if the $2500 expenditure test is met.

(2) The amount of cash pay for agricultural labor that is creditable to an individual is based on cash paid in a calendar year rather than on amounts earned during a calendar year.

(3) If you receive cash pay for agricultural labor in any one calendar year from more than one employer, we apply the $150 cash-pay test and $2,500 total expenditures test to each employer.

(d) Application of the $150 cash-pay and 20-day tests prior to 1988. (1) For the time period prior to 1988, we apply either the $150 a year cash-pay test or the 20-day test. Cash payments are wages if you receive $150 or more from an employer for agricultural labor or under the 20-day test if you perform agricultural labor for which cash pay is computed on a time basis on 20 or more days during a calendar year. For purposes of the 20-day test, the amount of the cash pay is immaterial, and it is immaterial whether you also receive payments other than cash or payments that are not computed on a time basis. If cash paid to you for agricultural labor is computed on a time basis, the payments are not wages unless they are paid in a calendar year in which either the 20-day test or the $150 cash-pay test is met.

(2) [Reserved]

(a) What is agricultural labor. (1) If you work on a farm as an employee of any person, you are doing agricultural labor if your work has to do with—

(i) Cultivating the soil;

(ii) Raising, shearing, feeding, caring for, training or managing livestock, bees, poultry, fur-bearing animals or wildlife; or

(iii) Raising or harvesting any other agricultural or horticultural commodity.

(2) If you work on a farm as an employee of any person in connection with the production or harvesting of maple sap, the raising or harvesting of mushrooms, or the hatching of poultry, you are doing agricultural labor. If you work in the processing of maple sap into maple syrup or maple sugar you are not doing agricultural labor even though you work on a farm. Work in a mushroom cave or poultry hatchery is agricultural labor only if the cave or hatchery is operated as part of a farm.

(3) If you work as an employee of the owner, tenant, or other operator of a farm, you are doing agricultural labor if most of your work is done on a farm and is involved with—

(i) The operation, management, conservation, improvement, or maintenance of the farm or its tools or equipment (this may include work by carpenters, painters, mechanics, farm supervisors, irrigation engineers, bookkeepers, and other skilled or semiskilled workers); or

(ii) Salvaging timber or clearing the land of brush and other debris left by a hurricane.

(4) You are doing agricultural labor no matter for whom or where you work, if your work involves—

(i) Cotton ginning;

(ii) Operating or maintaining ditches, canals, reservoirs, or waterways, if they are used only for supplying and storing water for farm purposes and are not owned or operated for profit; or

(iii) Producing or harvesting crude gum (oleoresin) from living trees or processing the crude gum into gum spirits of turpentine and gum resin (if the processing is done by the original producer).

(5) Your work as an employee in the handling, planting, drying, packing, packaging, processing, freezing, grading, storing, or delivering to storage, to a market or to a carrier for transportation to market, of any agricultural or horticultural commodity is agricultural labor if—

(i) You work for a farm operator or a group of farm operators (other than a cooperative organization);

(ii) Your work involves the commodity in its raw or unmanufactured state; and

(iii) The operator produced most of the commodity you work with during the period for which you are paid, or if you work for a group of operators, all of the commodity you work with during the pay period is produced by that group.

(6) If you do nonbusiness work, it is agricultural labor if you do the work on a farm operated for a profit. A farm is not operated for profit if the employer primarily uses it as a residence or for personal or family recreation or pleasure. (See § 404.1058(a) for an explanation of nonbusiness work.)

(7) The term farm operator means an owner, tenant, or other person, in possession of and operating a farm.

(8) Work is not agricultural labor if it is done in the employ of a cooperative organization, which includes corporations, joint-stock companies, and associations treated as corporations under the Code. Any unincorporated group of operators is considered to be a cooperative organization if more than 20 operators are in the group at any time during the calendar year in which the work is done.

(9) Processing work which changes the commodity from its raw or natural state is not agricultural labor. An example of this is the extraction of juices from fruits or vegetables. However, work in the cutting and drying of fruits or vegetables does not change the commodity from its raw or natural state and can be agricultural labor.

(10) The term commodity means a single agricultural or horticultural product. For example, all apples are a commodity, while apples and oranges are two commodities.

(11) Work connected with the commercial canning or freezing of a commodity is not agricultural labor nor is work done after the delivery of the commodity to a terminal market for distribution for consumption.

(b) What is a farm. For purposes of social security coverage, farm includes a stock, dairy, poultry, fruit, fur-bearing animal, or truck farm, plantation, ranch, nursery, range or orchard. A farm also includes a greenhouse or other similar structure used mostly for raising agricultural or horticultural products. A greenhouse or other similar structure used mostly for other purposes such as display, storage, making wreaths and bouquets is not a farm.

(a) Payments for domestic service—(1) The applicable dollar threshold. We do not include as wages cash payments that an employer makes to you in any calendar year for domestic service in the employer's private home if the cash pay in that calendar year is less than the applicable dollar threshold. The threshold per employer is $1000 in calendar year 1995. In calendar years after 1995, this amount will be subject to adjustment in $100 increments based on the formula in section 215(a)(1)(B)(i) of the Act to reflect changes in wages in the economy. Non-cash payments for domestic service are not counted as wages.

(2) How evaluation is made. We apply the applicable dollar threshold described in paragraph (a)(1) of this section based on when the payments are made to you rather than when the pay is earned. To count toward the applicable dollar threshold, payment must be made to you in cash (including checks or other forms of money). We apply the applicable dollar threshold only to services performed as a domestic employee. If an employer pays you for performing other work, the cash pay for the nondomestic work does not count toward the applicable dollar threshold domestic service pay required for the remuneration to count as wages.

(3) More than one domestic employer. The applicable dollar threshold as explained in paragraph (a)(1) of this section applies to each employer when you perform domestic services for more than one employer in a calendar year. The wages paid by more than one employer for domestic services may not be combined to decide whether you have been paid the applicable dollar threshold or more in a calendar year. The standard applies to each employee when an employer has two or more domestic employees during a calendar year.

(4) Rounding dollar amounts for reporting. For social security purposes, an employer has an option in the way he or she reports cash wages paid for domestic service in his or her private home. The employer may report the actual wages paid or may round the wages to the nearest dollar. For purposes of rounding to the nearest dollar the cents are disregarded unless it amounts to one-half dollar or more, in which case it will be raised to $1. If an employer uses this method to report a cash payment to you for domestic services in his or her private home in a calendar year, he or she must use the same method to report payments to other employees in that year for similar services.

(b) What is domestic service. Domestic service is work of a household nature done by you in or about a private home of the employer. A private home is a fixed place of residence of a person or family. A separate dwelling unit maintained by a person in an apartment house, hotel, or other similar establishment may be a private home. If a house is used primarily for supplying board or lodging to the public as a business enterprise, it is not a private home. In general, services of a household nature in or about a private home include services performed by cooks, waiters, butlers, housekeepers, governesses, maids, valets, baby sitters, janitors, laundresses, furnacemen, caretakers, handymen, gardeners, footmen, grooms, and chauffeurs of automobiles for family use. Pay for these services does not come under this provision unless the services are performed in or about a private home of the employer. Pay for services not of a household nature, such as services performed as a private secretary, tutor, or librarian, even though performed in the employer's home, does not come under this provision.

(a) Payments for service not in course of employer's trade or business (nonbusiness work) and payments to certain home workers—(1) The $100 standard. We do not include as wages cash pay of less than $100 paid to you in a calendar year by an employer for services not in the course of the employer's trade or business (nonbusiness work) and for services as a home worker as described in § 404.1008(d).

(2) How evaluation is made. (i) We apply the $100 standard for a calendar year based on when the payments are made to you rather than when the pay is earned. To count toward the $100 amount, payment must be in cash (including checks or other forms of money). The $100 standard applies to each employer when you perform services not in the course of the employer's trade or business or as a homeworker for two or more employers.

(ii) If the employer has two or more employees, the standard applies to each employee. In applying the $100 standard, we disregard cash payments for any other type of services you perform for the employer.

(iii) The noncash payments an employer pays you for services not in the course of the employer's trade or business are not wages even if the employer has paid you cash wages of $100 or more in the calendar year for services of that type.

(iv) Amounts paid to you as a home worker as described in § 404.1008(d) are not wages unless you are paid $100 or more in cash in a calendar year. If you meet this test, any noncash payments you receive for your services also count as wages.

(v) Amounts paid to you as a home worker in a common-law employment relationship (see § 404.1007) count as wages regardless of amount or whether paid in cash or kind.

(3) Definitions. The term services not in the course of the employer's trade or business (also called nonbusiness work) means services that do not promote or advance the trade or business of the employer. Services performed for a corporation do not come within this definition. A homeworker is described in § 404.1008(c).

(b) Nonprofit, income-tax exempt organizations—(1) The $100 standard. We do not include as wages payments of less than $100 in a calendar year made by an employer that is an organization exempt from income tax under section 501 of the Code.

(2) How evaluation is made. We apply the $100 standard for a calendar year based on when the payments are made to you rather than when the pay is earned. To figure the $100 amount, both cash and noncash payments are counted. The $100 standard applies to each employer where you render services for two or more nonprofit, income-tax exempt organizations during a calendar year. The $100 standard also applies to each of you where a nonprofit, income-tax exempt organization has two or more employees. In applying the standard, the tax-exempt status of the employer and not the nature or place of your services is controlling.

(c) Payments to members of the uniformed services—(1) The standard. We include as the wages of a member of the uniformed services—

(i) Basic pay, as explained in paragraph (c)(3) of this section, for performing the services described in paragraph (a)(1) of § 404.1019 of this subpart; or

(ii) Compensation, as explained in paragraph (c)(4) of this section, for performing the services described in paragraph (a)(2) of § 404.1019 of this subpart.

(2) Wages deemed paid. These following provisions apply to members of the uniformed services who perform services as described in paragraph (a)(1) of § 404.1019 of this subpart.

(i) After 1977, a member of the uniformed services is considered to have been paid additional wages of $100 for each $300 of basic pay paid to the individual in a calendar year. The amount of additional wages deemed paid cannot be more than $1,200 for any calendar year. No wages may be deemed paid for units of basic pay which are less than $300.

(ii) Before 1978, a member of the uniformed services is considered to have been paid additional wages of $300 for each calendar quarter after 1956 in which the individual is paid any amount of basic pay.

(3) Basic pay. Basic pay means the monthly pay prescribed by 37 U.S.C. 203 (Pay and Allowances for the Uniformed Services) for a member of the uniformed services on active duty or on active duty for training.

(4) Compensation. “Compensation” refers to the remuneration received for services as a member of a uniformed service, based on regulations issued by the Secretary concerned (as defined in 37 U.S.C. 101(5) under 37 U.S.C. 206(a), where such member is not entitled to the basic pay (as defined by paragraph (3) of this section).

(d) Payments to volunteers and volunteer leaders in the Peace Corps. If you are a volunteer or volunteer leader under the provisions of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2501ff), payments for your services are wages with the exception of amounts in excess of the amounts certified as payable under section 5(c) or 6(1) of the Peace Corps Act. Amounts certified under those sections are considered to have been paid to the individual at the time the service is performed. See § 404.1018(e) on coverage of these services.

(e) Moving expenses. We do not include as wages amounts paid to, or on behalf of, an employee for moving expenses if it is reasonable to believe that a similar deduction is allowable under section 217 of the Code.

(f) Payments by employer to survivor or estate of former employee. We do not include as wages any payment by an employer to a survivor or the estate of a former employee after the calendar year in which the employee died.

(g) Payments to an employee who is entitled to disability insurance benefits. We do not include as wages any payments made by an employer to an employee if at the time such payment is made—

(1) The employee is entitled to disability insurance benefits under the Act;

(2) The employee's entitlement to such benefits began before the calendar year in which the employer's payment is made; and

(3) The employee performed no work for the employer in the period in which the payments were paid by such employer (regardless of whether the employee worked in the period the payments were earned).

(h) Tips. (1) We include as wages tips received by an employee if—

(i) The tips are paid in cash; and

(ii) The tips amount to $20 or more and are received in the course of employment by an employee in a calendar month.

(2) Cash tips include checks and other forms of money. Tips received in a form other than cash, such as passes, tickets, or other goods are not wages. If an employee works for more than one employer in a calendar month, we apply the $20 tip test to work done for each employer.

(i) Payments by employer under group legal services plan. We do not include as wages any contribution, payment, or service, provided by an employer under a qualified group legal services plan which is excludable from the gross income of an employee, or the employee's spouse or dependents, under section 120 of the Code.

(a) In general. Persons who were interned during any period of time from December 7, 1941, through December 31, 1946, by the United States Government at a place operated by the Government within the United States for the internment of United States citizens of Japanese ancestry are deemed to have been paid wages (in addition to wages actually paid) as provided in paragraph (c) of this section during any period after attaining age 18 while interned. This provision is effective for determining entitlement to, and the amount of, any monthly benefit for months after December 1972, for determining entitlement to, and the amount of, any lump-sum death payment in the case of a death after December 1972, and for establishing a period of disability.

(b) Information needed to process deemed wages. Unless we have already made a determination on deemed wages for a period of internment of an individual, any person applying for a monthly benefit, a recalculation of benefits by reason of this section, or a lump-sum death payment, must submit certain information before the benefit or payment may be computed on the basis of deemed wages. This information is—

(1) The place where the individual worked before internment;

(2) The highest hourly wage before internment;

(3) The place and date of internment;

(4) Date of birth (if not previously furnished);

(5) Whether or not another Federal benefit is being received based wholly or in part upon the period of internment; and

(6) In the case of a woman, her maiden name.

(c) Amount of deemed wages. The amount of wages which may be deemed is determined as follows:

(1) Employed prior to internment. If the individual was employed before being interned, the deemed wages are the greater of—

(i) The highest actual hourly rate of pay received for any employment before internment, multiplied by 40 for each full week during the period of internment; or

(ii) The Federal minimum hourly rate in effect for the period of internment, multiplied by 40 for each full week during that period.

(2) Self-employed or not employed prior to internment. If the individual was self-employed or was not employed before the period of internment, the deemed wages are the Federal minimum hourly rate in effect for that period, multiplied by 40 for each full week during the period.

(d) When wages are not deemed. Wages are not deemed under this section—

(1) For any period before the quarter in which the individual attained age 18; or

(2) If a larger benefit is payable without the deemed wages; or

(3) If a benefit based in whole or in part upon internment is determined by any agency of the United States to be payable under any other law of the United States or under a system set up by that agency. However, this exception does not apply in cases where the failure to receive deemed wages reduces the primary insurance amount by 50 cents or less.

(e) Certification of internment. The certification concerning the internment is made by the Archivist of the United States or his or her representative. After the internment has been verified, wages are deemed to have been paid to the internee.

For an individual to have self-employment coverage under social security, the individual must be engaged in a trade or business and have net earnings from self-employment that can be counted as self-employment income for social security purposes. The rules explaining whether you are engaged in a trade or business are in §§ 404.1066 through 404.1077. What are net earnings from self-employment is discussed in §§ 404.1080 through 404.1095. Section 404.1096 describes the net earnings from self-employment that are counted as self-employment income for social security purposes. See § 404.1913 for the effect of a totalization agreement on self-employment coverage. An agreement may exempt an activity from coverage as well as extend coverage to an activity.

For you to be covered as a self-employed person for social security purposes, you must be engaged in a trade or business. You can carry on a trade or business as an individual or as a member of a partnership. With some exceptions, the term trade or business has the same meaning as it does when used in section 162 of the Code.

(a) General. Although we generally exclude services performed by employees from the definition of trade or business, certain types of services are considered a trade or business even though performed by employees. If you perform any of the services described in paragraphs (b) through (f) of this section, you are self-employed for social security purposes. Certain other services described in § 404.1071 (relating to ministers and members of religious orders) and § 404.1073 (relating to certain public officers) may be considered a trade or business even though performed by employees.

(b) Newspaper vendors. If you have attained age 18 and perform services as a newspaper vendor that are described in § 404.1030(b), you are engaged in a trade or business.

(c) Sharefarmers. If you perform services as a sharefarmer that are described in § 404.1017, you are engaged in a trade or business.

(d) Employees of a foreign government, an instrumentality wholly owned by a foreign government, or an international organization. If you are a United States citizen and perform the services that are described in § 404.1032, § 404.1033(a), or § 404.1034(a), you are engaged in a trade or business if the services are performed in the United States and are not covered as employment based upon § 404.1034(c).

(e) Certain fishermen. If you perform services as a fisherman that are described in § 404.1031, you are engaged in a trade or business.

(f) Employees of a church or church-controlled organization that has elected to exclude employees from coverage as employment. If you perform services that are excluded from employment as described in § 404.1026, you are engaged in a trade or business. Special rules apply to your earnings from those services which are known as church employee income. If you are paid $100 or more in a taxable year by an employer who has elected to have its employees excluded, those earnings are self-employment income (see § 404.1096(c)(1)). In figuring your church employee income you may not reduce that income by any deductions attributable to your work. Your church employee income and deductions may not be taken into account in determining the amount of other net earnings from self-employment. Effective for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 1990, your church employee income is exempt from self-employment tax under the conditions set forth for members of certain religious groups (see § 404.1075).

(a) Trade or business. If you perform services after 1982 as a qualified real estate agent or as a direct seller, as defined in section 3508 of the Code, you are considered to be engaging in a trade or business.

(b) Who is a qualified real estate agent. You are a qualified real estate agent as defined in section 3508 of the Code if you are a salesperson and—

(1) You are a licensed real estate agent;

(2) Substantially all of the earnings (whether or not paid in cash) for the services you perform as a real estate agent are directly related to sales or other output (including the performance of services) rather than to the number of hours worked; and

(3) Your services are performed under a written contract between yourself and the person for whom the services are performed which provides you will not be treated as an employee with respect to these services for Federal tax purposes.

(c) Who is a direct seller. You are a direct seller as defined in section 3508 of the Code if—

(1) You are engaged in the trade or business of selling (or soliciting the sale of) consumer products—

(i) To any buyer on a buy-sell basis, a deposit-commission basis, or any similar basis which the Secretary of the Treasury prescribes by regulations, for resale (by the buyer or any other person) in the home or in other than a permanent retail establishment; or

(ii) In the home or in other than a permanent retail establishment; and

(2) Substantially all of your earnings (whether or not paid in cash) for the performance of these services are directly related to sales or other output (including the performance of services) rather than to the number of hours worked; and

(3) Your services are performed under a written contract between yourself and the person for whom the services are performed which provides you will not be treated as an employee with respect to these services for Federal tax purposes.

If you are a Christian Science practitioner, the services you perform in the exercise of your profession are a trade or business unless you were granted an exemption from coverage under section 1402(e) of the Code, and you did not revoke such exemption in accordance with section 1704(b) of the Tax Reform Act of 1986. An exemption cannot be granted if you filed a valid waiver certificate under the provisions that apply to taxable years ending before 1968.

(a) If you are a duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister of a church, or a member of a religious order who has not taken a vow of poverty, the services you perform in the exercise of your ministry or in the exercise of duties required by the order (§ 404.1023(c) and (e)) are a trade or business unless you filed for and were granted an exemption from coverage under section 1402(e) of the Code, and you did not revoke such exemption in accordance with the Social Security Amendments of 1977, section 1704(b) of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, or section 403 of the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999. An exemption cannot be granted if you filed a valid waiver certificate under the provisions of section 1402(e) that apply to taxable years ending before 1968.

(b) If you are a member of a religious order and have taken a vow of poverty, the services you perform in the exercise of your duties required by the order may be covered as employment. (See § 404.1023 (a) and (e)).

(a) General. The performance of the functions of a public office is not a trade or business except under the circumstances explained in paragraph (b) of this section. If you are an officer of a State or political subdivision, you are considered as employee of the State or political subdivision.

(b) State and local governmental employees paid by fees—(1) Voluntary coverage under section 218 of the Act. The services of employees of States and political subdivisions, including those in positions paid solely on a fee-basis, may be covered as employment by a Federal-State agreement under section 218 of the Act (see subpart M of this part). States, when entering into these agreements, have the option of excluding under the agreement coverage of services in positions paid solely by fees. If you occupy a position paid solely on a fee-basis and the State has not covered your services under section 218 of the Act, you are considered to be engaged in a trade or business.

(2) Mandatory old-age, survivors, disability, and hospital insurance coverage. Beginning with services performed after July 1, 1991, Social Security coverage (old-age, survivors, disability, and hospital insurance) is mandatory, with certain exceptions, for services performed by employees of a State, a political subdivision of a State, or of a wholly owned instrumentality of one or more of the foregoing, if the employees are not members of a retirement system of the State, political subdivision, or instrumentality. Among the exclusions from such mandatory coverage is service performed by an employee in a position compensated solely on a fee-basis which is treated pursuant to section 211(c)(2)(E) of the Act as a trade or business for purposes of inclusion of such fees in the net earnings from self-employment.

(3) If you are a notary public, you are not a public officer even though you perform a public function. Your services as a notary public are not covered for social security purposes.

If you are a farm crew leader and are deemed the employer of the workers as described in § 404.1010, we consider you to be engaged in a trade or business. This includes services performed in furnishing workers to perform agricultural labor for others, as well as services performed as a member of the crew.

(a) You may file an application with the Internal Revenue Service for exemption from social security self-employment tax if—

(1) You are a member of a recognized religious sect or division of the sect; and

(2) You adhere to the tenets or teachings of the sect or division of the sect and for this reason are conscientiously opposed to receiving benefits from any private or public insurance that—

(i) Makes payments in the event of death, disability, old age, or retirement; or

(ii) Makes payments toward the cost of, or provides services for, medical care (including the benefits of any insurance system established by the Act).

(b) Your application must be filed under the rules described in 26 CFR 1.1402(h). An application must contain or be accompanied by the applicant's waiver of all benefits and payments under title II and part A of title XVIII of the Act. See § 404.305 for the effect of the filing of the waiver and the granting of the exemption.

(c) Regardless of whether you meet all these conditions, your application for exemption will not be approved unless we find that—

(1) The sect or division of the sect has established tenets or teachings which cause you to be conscientiously opposed to the types of insurance benefits described in paragraph (a)(2) of this section;

(2) For a substantial period of time it has been the practice for members of the sect or division of the sect to make provision for their dependent members which is reasonable in view of their general level of living; and

(3) The sect or division of the sect has been in existence continuously since December 31, 1950.

(d) Your application for exemption will be approved by the Internal Revenue Service only if no benefit or other payment under title II or part A of title XVIII of the Act became payable or, but for section 203 or section 222(b) of the Act, would have become payable, to you or on your behalf at or before the time of the filing of your application for exemption.

(e) The tax exemption ceases to be effective for any taxable year ending after the time you do not meet the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section or after the time we find the religious sect or division of the sect of which you are a member no longer meets the requirements of paragraph (c) of this section. If your tax exemption ceases to be effective, your waiver of the right to receive Social Security and Medicare part A benefits will also no longer be effective. Benefits may be payable based upon your wages for and after the calendar year following the calendar year in which the event occurred upon which the cessation of the exemption is based. Benefits may be payable based upon your self-employment income for and after the taxable year in which the event occurred upon which the cessation of the exemption is based.

If you are an employee or employee representative as defined in section 3231 (b) and (c) of the Code, your work is not a trade or business. Your services are covered under the railroad retirement system.

(a) Definition of net earnings from self-employment. If you are self-employed, you must first determine the amount of your net earnings from self-employment before figuring the amount of your earnings that count for social security purposes. Some of your earnings may not be included as net earnings from self-employment even though they are taxable for income tax purposes. If you are an employee but we consider you to be self-employed for social security purposes, you must figure your earnings as though you were actually self-employed unless you work for a church or church-controlled organization that has exempted its employees (see § 404.1068(f)). Subject to the special rules in §§ 404.1081 through 404.1095, the term net earnings from self-employment means—

(1) Your gross income, as figured under subtitle A of the Code, from any trade or business you carried on, less deductions attributed to your trade or business that are allowed by that subtitle; plus

(2) Your distributive share of income (or loss) from a trade or business carried on by a partnership of which you are a member, as described in paragraph (b) of this section.

(b) Income or loss from a partnership. (1) Your distributive share (whether or not actually distributed) of the income or loss from any trade or business carried on by a partnership of which you are a member, other than as a limited partner, is determined under section 704 of the Code.

(2) If you are a limited partner, your distributive share is included in your net earnings from self-employment if—

(i) The amount is payable to you for services you render to or on behalf of the partnerships; and

(ii) It is a guaranteed payment described in section 707(c) of the Code.

(3) You are a limited partner if your financial liability for the obligations of the partnership is limited to the amount of your financial investment in the partnership. Generally, you will not have to perform services in the operation of, or participate in the control of, the business carried on by the partnership for the taxable year involved.

(c) Reporting methods. Your gross income from a trade or business includes the gross income you received (under the cash method) or that accrued to you (under the accrual method) from the trade or business in the taxable year. It is immaterial that the income may be attributable in whole or in part to services you rendered or other acts you performed in a prior taxable year.

(d) What is a taxable year. (1) The term taxable year means—

(i) Your annual accounting period on which you regularly figure your income in keeping your books; or

(ii) A short period resulting from your death before the end of your annual accounting period or from a change of your annual accounting period.

(2) The term annual accounting period means—

(i) A calendar year, consisting of 12 months ending on December 31; or

(ii) A fiscal year, consisting of—

(A) 12 months ending on the last day of any month other than December; or

(B) A period, if elected under section 441 of the Code, that varies from 52 to 53 weeks and always ends on the same day of the week that occurs last in a calendar month or nearest to the last day of the calendar month.

(3) Your taxable year for figuring self-employment income is the same as your taxable year for the purposes of subtitle A of the Code. Your taxable year is a calendar year if—

(i) You keep no books;

(ii) You have no annual accounting period; or

(iii) You have an annual accounting period that differs from the definition of fiscal year as described in paragraph (d)(2)(ii) of this section.

(a) Determining net earnings. (1) In determining your gross income and the deductions attributable to your trade or business for the purpose of determining your net earnings from self-employment, the provisions that apply to the taxes imposed by sections 1 and 3 of the Code are used.

(2) If you use the accrual method of accounting to figure your taxable income from a trade or business, you must use the same method in determining your net earnings from self-employment.

(3) If you are engaged in a trade or business of selling property on the installment plan and elect, under the provisions of section 453 of the Code, to use the installment method of accounting in figuring your income, you must use the installment method in determining your net earnings from self-employment.

(4) Any income which can be excluded from gross income under any provision of subtitle A of the Code cannot be counted in determining your net earnings from self-employment, unless—

(i) You are a resident of Puerto Rico (see § 404.1089);

(ii) You are a minister or member of a religious order (see § 404.1091);

(iii) You are a United States citizen or resident engaged in a trade or business outside the United States (see § 404.1092); or

(iv) You are a citizen of, or have income from sources within, certain possessions of the United States (see § 404.1093).

(b) Trade or business carried on. You must carry on the trade or business either personally or through agents or employees. Income from a trade or business carried on by an estate or trust is not included in determining the net earnings from self-employment of the individual beneficiaries of the estate or trust.

(c) Aggregate net earnings. If you are engaged in more than one trade or business, your net earnings from self-employment consist of the total of the net income and losses of all the trades or businesses you carry on. A loss in one trade or business you carry on offsets the income from another trade or business.

(d) Partnerships. When you have net earnings from self-employment from a partnership as described in § 404.1080 (a) and (b), those net earnings are combined with your other net earnings from self-employment in determining your total net earnings from self-employment for the taxable year.

(e) Different taxable years. If you are a partner and your taxable year is different from that of the partnership, you must include, in figuring your net earnings from self-employment, your distributive share of the income or loss of the partnership for its taxable year ending with or within your taxable year. For the special rule in case of the termination of a partner's taxable year as a result of death, see § 404.1087.

(f) Meaning of partnerships. A partnership for social security purposes is one that is recognized as a partnership for income tax purposes. For income tax purposes, the term partnership includes not only a partnership as known under common law, but also a syndicate, group, pool, joint venture, or other unincorporated organization that carries on any trade or business, financial operation, or venture, and which is not a trust, estate, or a corporation.

(g) Proprietorship taxed as domestic corporation. If you are a proprietor of an unincorporated business enterprise and have elected to be taxed as a domestic corporation, you must figure your net earnings from self-employment without regard to the election you have made.

(a) In general. Your rentals from real estate and from personal property leased with the real estate (including rentals paid in crop shares) and the deductions attributable to the rentals are excluded in figuring your net earnings from self-employment, unless you receive the rentals in the course of a trade or business as a real estate dealer. If you are an owner or lessee of land, rentals paid in crop shares include income you get under an agreement with another person if the arrangement provides for the following:

(1) The other person will produce agricultural or horticultural commodities on the land.

(2) The commodities produced, or the income from their sale, will be divided between you and the other person.

(3) The amount of your share depends on the amount of the commodities produced.

(b) Real estate dealers. (1) You are a real estate dealer if you are engaged in the business of selling real estate to customers for profit.

(2) If you merely hold real estate for investment or speculation and receive rental income from it, you are not considered a real estate dealer.

(3) If you are a real estate dealer, but also hold real estate for investment or speculation in addition to real estate you hold for sale to customers, only the rental income from the real estate held for sale to customers and the deductions attributable to it are included in determining your net earnings from self-employment. The rental income from real estate you hold for investment or speculation and the deductions attributable to it are not counted in figuring your net earnings from self-employment.

(c) Special rule for farm rental income—(1) In general. If you own or lease land, any income you derive from it is included in figuring your net earnings from self-employment if—

(i) The income results from an arrangement between you and another person which provides for the other person to produce agricultural or horticultural commodities on the land that you own or lease and for you to materially participate in the production or the management of the production of the agricultural or horticultural commodities; and

(ii) You actually do materially participate.

(2) Nature of arrangement. (i) The arrangement between you and the other person may be either oral or written. It must provide that the other person will produce one or more agricultural or horticultural commodities and that you will materially participate in the production or the management of the production of the commodities.

(ii) The term production, refers to the physical work performed and the expenses incurred in producing a commodity. It includes activities like the actual work of planting, cultivating, and harvesting crops, and the furnishing of machinery, implements, seed, and livestock.

(iii) The term management of the production, refers to services performed in making managerial decisions about the production of the crop, such as when to plant, cultivate, dust, spray, or harvest, and includes advising and consulting, making inspections, and making decisions on matters, such as rotation of crops, the type of crops to be grown, the type of livestock to be raised, and the type of machinery and implements to be furnished.

(3) Material participation. (i) If you show that you periodically advise or consult with the other person, who under the rental arrangement produces the agricultural or horticultural commodities, and also show that you periodically inspect the production activities on the land, you will have presented strong evidence that you are materially participating.

(ii) If you also show that you furnish a large portion of the machinery, tools, and livestock used in the production of the commodities, or that you furnish or advance monies, or assume financial responsibility, for a substantial part of the expense involved in the production of the commodities, you will have established that you are materially participating.

(4) Employees or agents. We consider any farm rental arrangement entered into by your employee or agent and another person to be an arrangement entered into by you. However, we do not consider the services of an employee or agent as your services in determining the extent to which you have participated in the production or management of production of a commodity.

(5) Examples.

(d) Rental income from living quarters—(1) No services provided for occupants. Payments you receive for renting living quarters in a private residence, duplex, or multiple-housing unit are generally rental income from real estate. Except in the case of real estate dealers, these payments are excluded in determining net earnings from self-employment, even if the payments are in part attributable to personal property furnished under the lease.

(2) Services provided for occupants. (i) Payments you receive for renting living quarters where services are also provided to the occupant, as in hotels, boarding houses, or apartment houses furnishing hotel services, or in tourist camps or tourist homes, are included in determining your net earnings from self-employment. Any payments you receive for the use of space in parking lots, warehouses, or storage garages are also included in determining your net earnings from self-employment.

(ii) Generally, we consider services to be provided to the occupant if they are primarily for the occupant's convenience and are other than those usually provided in connection with the rental of rooms or other space for occupancy only. We consider the supplying of maid service to be a service provided to the occupant. However, we do not consider the furnishing of heat and light, the cleaning of public entrances, exits, stairways, and lobbies and the collection of trash, as services provided to the occupant.

(e) Treatment of business income which includes rentals from real estate. If an individual or a partnership is engaged in a trade or business other than real estate, and part of the income is rentals from real estate, only that part of the income which is not rentals and the expenses attributable to that portion are included in determining net earnings from self-employment.

(a) The dividends you receive on shares of stock are excluded in determining your net earnings from self-employment, unless you are a dealer in stocks and securities and receive the dividends in the course of your trade or business.

(b) The interest you receive on a bond, debenture, note, certificate, or other evidence of indebtedness issued with interest coupons or in registered form by any corporation (including one issued by a government or political subdivision) is excluded in determining your net earnings from self-employment, unless you are a dealer in stocks and securities and receive the interest in the course of your trade or business.

(c) If you hold stocks or securities for investment or speculation purposes, any dividends and interest you receive that are excludable under paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section are excluded in determining your net earnings from self-employment, whether or not you are a dealer in stocks and securities.

(d) A dealer in stocks or securities is a merchant with an established place of business who is regularly engaged in the business of purchasing stocks or securities and reselling them to customers. The dealer, as a merchant, buys stocks or securities and sells them to customers with a view to making a profit. Persons who buy and sell or hold stocks or securities for investment or speculation, regardless of whether the buying or selling constitutes a trade or business, are not dealers in stocks or securities.

(a) If you are engaged in a trade or business, you must, in determining your net earnings from self-employment, exclude any gain or loss—

(1) That is considered a gain or loss from the sale or exchange of a capital asset;

(2) From the cutting of timber or from the disposal of timber or coal, even if held primarily for sale to customers, if section 631 of the Code applies to the gain or loss;

(3) From the disposal of iron ore mined in the United States, even if held primarily for sale to customers, if section 631 of the Code applies to the gain or loss; and

(4) From the sale, exchange, involuntary conversion, or other disposition of property that is not—

(i) Stock in trade or other property of a kind which would properly be included in inventory if on hand at the close of the taxable year; or

(ii) Property held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of a trade or business;

(b) For purposes of paragraph (a)(4) of this section, it is immaterial whether a gain or loss is treated as a capital gain or as an ordinary gain or loss for purposes other than determining earnings from self-employment.

(c) For purposes of paragraph (a)(4) of this section—

(1) The term involuntary conversion means a compulsory or unintended change of property into other property or money as a result of such things as destruction, theft or seizure; and

(2) The term other disposition includes destruction or loss by fire, theft, storm, shipwreck, or other casualty, even though there is no change of the property into other property or money.

When determining your net earnings from self-employment, you disregard the deduction provided by section 172 of the Code that relates to net operating losses sustained in years other than the taxable year.

If community property laws apply to income that an individual derives from a trade or business (other than a trade or business carried on by a partnership), the gross income and deductions attributable to such trade or business shall be treated as the gross income and deductions of the spouse carrying on such trade or business or, if such trade or business is jointly operated, treated as the gross income and deductions of each spouse on the basis of his or her respective distributive share of the gross income and deductions.

(a) General. In the case of a deceased partner whose taxable year ends because of death, the deceased partner's net earnings from self-employment includes the amount of his or her distributive share of partnership ordinary income or loss for the partnership's taxable year that is attributable to an interest in the partnership through the month of death.

(b) Computation. (1) The deceased partner's distributive share of partnership ordinary income or loss for the partnership taxable year in which death occurred is determined by applying the rules contained in paragraphs (d) and (f) of § 404.1081.

(2) The portion of the distributive share to be included in the deceased partner's net earnings from self-employment for his or her last taxable year is determined by treating the ordinary income or loss constituting the distributive share as having been realized or sustained ratably over the partnership taxable year during which the deceased partner had an interest in the partnership and during which the deceased partner's estate, or any other person succeeding by reason of the death to rights to his partnership interest, held an interest in the partnership.

(c) Deceased partner's distributive share. A deceased partner's distributive share includes the distributive share of the estate or of any other person succeeding to the interest of a deceased partner. It does not include any share attributable to a partnership interest that was not held by the deceased partner at the time of death. If a deceased partner's estate should acquire an interest in a partnership in addition to the interest to which it succeeded upon the death of the deceased partner, the amount of the distributive share attributable to the additional interest acquired by the estate is not included in computing the deceased partner's distributive share of the partnership's ordinary income or loss for the partnership taxable year.

(d) Options available to farmers. In determining the applicability of the optional method of figuring net earnings from self-employment to a member of a farm partnership it is necessary to determine the partner's distributive share of partnership gross income or distributive share of income described in section 702(a)(8) of the Code.

(a) In general. If you are a retired partner, in figuring your net earnings from self-employment you must exclude payments made to you on a periodic basis by a partnership on account of your retirement and which are to continue until your death. This exclusion applies only if the payments are made under a written plan which meets the requirements set out in 26 CFR 1.1402(a)-(17) and the conditions in paragraph (b) of this section are met. The necessary requirements and conditions must be met throughout the entire partnership's taxable year for the payments to be excluded so that either all or none of the payments are excluded.

(b) Other conditions. You must have been paid your full share of the partnership's capital before the close of the partnership's taxable year in which retirement payments are made. Also, no member of the partnership can have any financial obligations to you (in his or her capacity as a partner) except to make the retirement payments. Lastly, you cannot perform any services for the partnership in the partnership's taxable year which falls wholly or partially in your taxable year in which you receive the retirement payments.

(a) Residents. If you are a resident of Puerto Rico, whether or not you are an alien, a citizen of the United States, or a citizen of Puerto Rico, you must figure your net earnings from self-employment in the same manner as would a citizen of the United States residing in the United States. In figuring your net earnings from self-employment you must include your income from sources in Puerto Rico even though you are a resident of Puerto Rico during the entire taxable year.

(b) Nonresidents. A citizen of Puerto Rico, who is also a citizen of the United States and who is not a resident of Puerto Rico must figure net earnings from self-employment in the same manner as other citizens of the United States.

The deduction provided by section 151 of the Code, relating to personal exemptions, is excluded in determining net earnings from self-employment.

(a) General. If you are a duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister of a church or a member of a religious order who has not taken a vow of poverty, we consider you to be engaged in a trade or business under the conditions described in § 404.1071 with regard to services described in § 404.1023 (c) and (e). In figuring your net earnings from self-employment from performing these services, you must include certain income (described in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section) that may be excluded from your gross income for income tax purposes.

(b) Housing and meals. You must include in figuring your net earnings from self-employment the rental value of a home furnished to you and any rental allowance paid to you as payment for services performed in the exercise of your ministry or in the exercise of duties required by your order even though the rental value or rental allowance may be excluded from gross income by section 107 of the Code. Also, the value of any meals or lodging furnished to you in connection with the performance of these services is included in figuring your net earnings from self-employment even though their value is excluded from gross income by section 119 of the Code.

(c) Housing allowance when included in retirement pay. You must exclude any parsonage or housing allowance included in your retirement pay or any other retirement benefit received after retirement pursuant to a church plan as defined in section 414(e) of the Internal Revenue Code when computing your net earnings from self-employment. For example, if a minister retires from Church A and the rental value of a parsonage or any other allowance is included in his/her retirement pay, the parsonage allowance must be excluded when determining net earnings from self-employment. However, if this same retired minister goes to work for Church B and is paid a parsonage allowance by Church B, this new income must be included when computing net earnings from self-employment.

(d) Services outside the United States. If you are a citizen or resident of the United States performing services outside the United States which are in the exercise of your ministry or in the exercise of duties required by your order, your net earnings from self-employment from the performance of these services are figured as described in paragraph (b) of this section. However, they are figured without regard to the exclusions from gross income provided in sections 911 and 931 of the Code relating to earned income from services performed outside the United States and from sources within possessions of the United States.

(a) Taxable years beginning after December 31, 1983. If you are a citizen or resident of the United States and are engaged in a trade or business outside the United States, your net earnings from self-employment are figured without regard to the exclusion from gross income provided by section 911 (a)(1) of the Code.

(b) Taxable years beginning after December 31, 1981, and before January 1, 1984. If you are a citizen of the United States and were engaged in a trade or business outside the United States, your net earnings from self-employment are figured without regard to the exclusion from gross income provided by section 911(a)(1) of the Code unless you are a resident of a foreign country or countries for an uninterrupted period which includes an entire taxable year.

In using the exclusions from gross income provided under section 931 of the Code (relating to income from sources within possessions of the United States) and section 932 of the Code (relating to citizens of possessions of the United States) for purposes of figuring your net earnings from self-employment, the term possession of the United States shall be deemed not to include the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or American Samoa.

(a) General. If you have income from a trade or business in certain situations, you have options for figuring your net earnings from self-employment. The options available to you depend on whether you have income from an agricultural trade or business or a non-agricultural trade or business. For a definition of agricultural trade or business see § 404.1095.

(b) Agricultural trade or business. The net earnings from self-employment you derive from an agricultural trade or business may, at your option, be figured as follows:

(1) Gross income of $2,400 or less. If your gross income is $2,400 or less you may, at your option, report 66 2/3 percent of the gross income as net earnings from self-employment instead of your actual net earnings from your business.

(2) Gross income of more than $2,400. If your gross income is more than $2,400 and your actual net earnings from your business are less than $1,600 you may, at your option, report $1,600 as net earnings from self-employment instead of your actual net earnings. If your actual net earnings are $1,600 or more you cannot use the optional method.

(3) Two or more agricultural trades or businesses. If you carry on more than one agricultural trade or business as a sole proprietor or as a partner, you must combine your gross income and net income from each trade or business to find out whether you may use the optional method of figuring net earnings.

(c) Non-agricultural trade or business. (1) The net earnings from self-employment you derive from a non-agricultural trade or business may be reported under an optional method if you are self-employed on a regular basis (as defined in paragraph (c)(4) of this section). You cannot use the optional method of reporting for more than 5 taxable years, and you cannot report less than your actual net earnings from self-employment.

(2) Computation. If your actual net earnings from self-employment are less than $1,600 and less than 66 2/3 percent of your gross income, you may, at your option, report 66 2/3 percent of your gross income (but not more than $1,600) as your net earnings from self-employment.

(3) Figuring net earnings from both non-agricultural and agricultural self-employment. If you are self-employed on a regular basis, you may use the non-agricultural optional method of reporting when you have both non-agricultural and agricultural trades or businesses. However, in order to use this method, your actual net earnings from non-agricultural self-employment combined with your actual net earnings from agricultural self-employment, or your optional net earnings from agricultural self-employment, must be less than $1,600, and the net non-agricultural earnings must be less than 66 2/3 percent of your gross non-agricultural income. If you qualify for using both the non-agricultural and agricultural option, you may report less than your actual total net earnings, but not less than your actual net earnings from non-agricultural self-employment alone. If you elect to use both options in a given taxable year, the combined maximum reportable net earnings from self-employment may not exceed $1,600.

(4) Self-employed on a regular basis. For any taxable year beginning after 1972, we consider you to be self-employed on a regular basis, or to be a member of a partnership on a regular basis, if, in at least 2 of the 3 taxable years immediately before that taxable year, you had actual net earnings from self-employment of not less than $400 from agricultural and non-agricultural trades or businesses (including your distributive share of the net income or loss from any partnership of which you are a member).

(d) Members of partnerships. If you are a member of a partnership you may use the optional method of reporting. Your gross income is your distributive share of the partnership's gross income (after all guaranteed payments to which section 707(c) of the Code applies have been deducted), plus your own guaranteed payment.

(e) Computing gross income. For purposes of this section gross income means—

(1) Under the cash method of computing, the gross receipts from the trade or business reduced by the cost or other basis of property that was purchased and sold, minus any income that is excluded in computing net earnings from self-employment; or

(2) Under the accrual method of computing, the gross income minus any income that is excluded in figuring net earnings from self-employment.

(f) Exercise of option. For each taxable year for which you are eligible to use the optional method and elect to use that method, you must figure your net earnings from self-employment in that manner on your tax return for that year. If you wish to change your method of reporting after your tax return is filed, you may change it by filing an amended tax return with the Internal Revenue Service or by filing with us Form 2190, Change in Method of Computing Net Earnings from Self-Employment.

(a) An agricultural trade or business is one in which, if the trade or business were carried on entirely by employees, the major portion of the services would be agricultural labor (§ 404.1057).

(b)(1) If the services are partly agricultural and partly non-agricultural, the time devoted to the performance of each type of service is the test used to determine whether the major portion of the services is agricultural labor.

(2) If more than half of the time spent in performing all the services is spent in performing services that are agricultural labor, the trade or business is agricultural.

(3) If half or less of the time spent in performing all the services is spent in performing services that are agricultural labor, the trade or business is not agricultural. The time spent in performing the services is figured by adding the time spent in the trade or business during the taxable year by every individual (including the individual carrying on the trade or business and the members of that individual's family).

(c) We do not apply the rules in this section if the non-agricultural services are performed in connection with a trade or business separate and distinct from the agricultural trade or business. A roadside automobile service station on a farm is a trade or business separate and distinct from the agricultural trade or business, and the gross income from the service station, less the deductions attributable to it, is to be considered in determining net earnings from self-employment.

(d) We consider a sharefarmer (see § 404.1068(c)) or a materially participating owner or tenant (see § 404.1082(c)) to be engaged in an agricultural trade or business. We use the rules in this section to determine whether a farm crew leader who is self-employed (see § 404.1074) is engaged in an agricultural trade or business.

(a) General. Self-employment income is the amount of your net earnings from self-employment that is subject to social security tax and counted for social security benefit purposes. The term self-employment income means the net earnings from self-employment you derive in a taxable year, except as described in paragraphs (b), (c) and (d) of this section.

(b) Maximum self-employment income. (1) The term self-employment income does not include that part of your net earnings from self-employment that exceeds (or that part of your net earnings from self-employment which, when added to the wages you received in that taxable year, exceeds)—

(2) For the purpose of this paragraph the term wages includes remuneration paid to an employee for services covered by an agreement entered into under section 218 of the Act, or an agreement entered into under section 3121(l) of the Code, which would be wages under section 209 of Act if the services were considered employment under section 210(a) of the Act.

(c) Minimum net earnings from self employment. (1) Self-employment income does not include your net earnings from self-employment when the amount of those earnings for the taxable year is less than $400. If you have only $300 of net earnings from self-employment for the taxable year you would not have any self-employment income. (Special rules apply if you are paid $100 or more and work for a church or church-controlled organization that has exempted its employees (see § 404.1068(f)).)

(2) If you have net earnings from self-employment of $400 or more for the taxable year you may have less than $400 of creditable self-employment income. This occurs where your net earnings from self-employment is $400 or more for a taxable year and the amount of your net earnings from self-employment plus the amount of the wages paid to you during that taxable year exceed the maximum creditable earnings for a year. For example, if you had net earnings from self-employment of $1,000 for 1978, and were also paid wages of $17,500 during 1978, your creditable self-employment income for 1978 would be $200.

(d) Nonresident aliens. A nonresident alien has self-employment income only if coverage is provided under a totalization agreement [see § 404.1913]. We do not consider an individual who is a resident of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or American Samoa to be a nonresident alien.