26 U.S.C. § 3401
Definitions
United States · Title 26 — INTERNAL REVENUE CODE · Status: effective
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- Citation
- 26 U.S.C. § 3401, Definitions, United States, version 1 as recorded 2026-07-09, yourstate.us, https://yourstate.us/provision/463328
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Full text
For purposes of this chapter, the term “wages” means all remuneration (other than fees paid to a public official) for services performed by an employee for his employer, including the cash value of all remuneration (including benefits) paid in any medium other than cash; except that such term shall not include remuneration paid—
for service not in the course of the employer’s trade or business performed in any calendar quarter by an employee, unless the cash remuneration paid for such service is $50 or more and such service is performed by an individual who is regularly employed by such employer to perform such service. For purposes of this paragraph, an individual shall be deemed to be regularly employed by an employer during a calendar quarter only if—
for services for an employer (other than the United States or any agency thereof)—
to, or on behalf of, an employee or his beneficiary—
For purposes of this chapter, the term “payroll period” means a period for which a payment of wages is ordinarily made to the employee by his employer, and the term “miscellaneous payroll period” means a payroll period other than a daily, weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, monthly, quarterly, semiannual, or annual payroll period.
For purposes of this chapter, the term “employee” includes an officer, employee, or elected official of the United States, a State, or any political subdivision thereof, or the District of Columbia, or any agency or instrumentality of any one or more of the foregoing. The term “employee” also includes an officer of a corporation.
For purposes of this chapter, the term “employer” means the person for whom an individual performs or performed any service, of whatever nature, as the employee of such person, except that—
For purposes of subsection (a), the term “wages” includes tips received by an employee in the course of his employment. Such wages shall be deemed to be paid at the time a written statement including such tips is furnished to the employer pursuant to section 6053(a) or (if no statement including such tips is so furnished) at the time received.
Rules similar to the rules of section 3121(o) shall apply for purposes of this chapter.
For purposes of subsection (a), any differential wage payment shall be treated as a payment of wages by the employer to the employee.
For purposes of paragraph (1), the term “differential wage payment” means any payment which—
For purposes of subsection (a), qualified stock (as defined in section 83(i)) with respect to which an election is made under section 83(i) shall be treated as wages—
Legislative history
The public laws that enacted or amended this section. Tallies are for the whole bill as it passed each chamber — often an omnibus covering far more than this provision — not a vote on this section alone. The law that originally enacted this section predates the public laws loaded here, so only later amendments are listed.
- Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974House: no recorded tallySenate: no recorded tally
- Tax Reform Act of 1976House: no recorded tallySenate: no recorded tally
- Revenue Act of 1978House: no recorded tallySenate: no recorded tally
- Tax Treatment Extension Act of 1977House: no recorded tallySenate: no recorded tally
- Technical Corrections Act of 1979House: no recorded tallySenate: no recorded tally
- Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981House: no recorded tallySenate: no recorded tally
- Technical Corrections Act of 1982House: no recorded tallySenate: no recorded tally
- Deficit Reduction Act of 1984House: no recorded tallySenate: no recorded tally
- Tax Reform Act of 1986House: no recorded tallySenate: no recorded tally
- Technical and Miscellaneous Revenue Act of 1988House: no recorded tallySenate: no recorded tally
- Increasing the statutory limit on the public debt.House: no recorded tallySenate: no recorded tally
- Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989House: no recorded tallySenate: 87–7
- Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990
- To provide that members of the Armed Forces performing services for the peacekeeping effort in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall be entitled to certain tax benefits in the same manner as if such services were performed in a combat zone.House: no recorded tallySenate: no recorded tally
- Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996
- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996
- Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998
- Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001
- Military Family Tax Relief Act of 2003House: 413–0Senate: no recorded tally
- Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003
- American Jobs Creation Act of 2004
- Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005House: 359–14Senate: no recorded tally
- Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005House: 415–4Senate: no recorded tally
- Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008House: 403–0Senate: no recorded tally
- An act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018.
- Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018House: 256–167Senate: no recorded tally