901. Is agricultural labor covered by Social Security?

Most types of agricultural labor are covered by Social Security. However, only cash pay (as defined in §1303) for your farm work is counted as wages for Social Security purposes, and only if either:

1. The cash pay was paid to you by your employer whose expenditures for agricultural labor are $2,500 or more; or

2. The cash pay paid to you in a calendar year for agricultural labor by one employer amounts to $150 or more (the cash-pay test) if your employer spends less than $2,500 in the year for agricultural labor.

See SSA's electronic fact sheet "If You Are a Farm Worker," Publication No. 05-10074 at: http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10074.html for more information.

Last Revised: Jun. 30, 2004