Social Security Nates

Social Security Nates

Do you employ regular or part-time workers on your farm or are you a crew leader who furnishes labor for , farmers? ' Do you keep good records of the time and wages of these workers? You should keep these records to establish the amount of wages paid eacn employee, but this is not a complete job of recordkeeping. Good records include: (1) the amount of cash wages paid these employees, (2) the time each actually worked, and (3) their social security numbers. The social security tax should be withheld trom the employee’s wages during the period he works even though you do not know how long he will stay with you. A farm worker’s wages are subject to social security tax if you pay him as much as $150 during the year or if the worker is employed on 20 or more days during the year and paid on a time basis -- by the hour, day, or week. If he works less than 20 days and is not paid as much as $150 during the year, you should refund the tax withheld from his wages. If he meets either of the two tests, the social security tax must be paid. Under the law, the employer is held responsible for both the employee and employer tax for social security purposes. It is apparent that a record of the time worked and the wages paid is necessary in order to determine which employee to report. Th& actual report form requires a social security number for each employee.

Most farmers get the social security numbers of their fulltime employees but sometimes fail to get those of their part-time workers. The part-time employees present a problem because they often quit or the job is finished before the farmer gets a record of the numbers. A good system used by many employers is to insist on seeing the social security card before paying the first week’s wages. This should be understood by the worker at the time he is hired. If the employee does not have a social security card or lost his card, &sk him to get an application form for a social security number from the nearest post office. After he 'ha'S completed this ckrd and mailed it to his local social security district office, he will receive his card in about 10 days. For further information, write or call your nearest social security office.