35 Miss. Code R. § 3-11-02-101

Current through May 31, 2024
Section 35-3-11-02-101 - Certain specific items
1. Pensions and retirement pay. In general, pensions and retired pay are wages subject to withholding. However, no withholding is required with respect to amounts paid to an employee upon retirement which are not taxable as annuities under the provisions of Section 27-7-15 nor upon annuities, the income from which is specifically exempt by statute, or regulations with respect thereto. So-called pensions awarded by one to whom no services have been rendered are mere gifts or gratuities and do not constitute wages. Amounts received as retirement pay for service in the Armed Forces of the United States are not subject to withholding. Amounts received as disability benefits by veterans of the armed forces are not subject to withholding.
2. Traveling and other expenses. Amounts paid specifically - either as advances or reimbursements - for traveling or other bona fide ordinary and necessary expenses incurred or reasonably expected to be incurred in the business of the employer are not wages and are not subject to withholding. Traveling and other reimbursed expenses must be identified either by making a separate payment or by specifically indicating the separate amounts where both wages and expense allowances are combined in a single payment.
3. Vacation allowance. Amounts of so-called "vacation allowances" paid to an employee constitutes wages. Thus, the salary of an employee on vacation, paid notwithstanding his absence from work, constitutes wages subject to withholding.
4. Dismissal payments. Any payments made by an employer to an employee on account of dismissal, that is, involuntary separation from the service of the employer, constitute wages subject to withholding regardless of whether the employer is legally bound by contract, statute, or otherwise to make such payments.
5. Deductions by employer from remuneration of an employee. Any amount deducted by an employer from the remuneration of a employee is considered to be a part of the employee's remuneration and is considered to be paid to the employee as remuneration at the time that the deduction is made.
6. Payment by an employer of employee's tax, or employee's contribution under a state law. The term "wages" includes the amount paid by an employer on behalf of an employee (without deduction from the remuneration of, or other reimbursement from, the employee) on account of any payment required for an employee under a state unemployment compensation law, or on account of any tax imposed upon the employee by any taxing authority, including federal and state income taxes.
7. Value of meals and lodging. The value of any meals or lodging furnished to an employee by his employer is not subject to withholding if the value of the meals or lodging is excludable from the gross income of the employee.
8. Facilities or privileges. Ordinarily, facilities or privileges (such as entertainment, medical services, or so-called "courtesy" discounts on purchases), furnished or offered by an employer to his employees generally, are not considered as wages subject to withholding if such facilities or privileges are of relatively small value and are offered or furnished by the employer merely as a means of promoting the health, good will, contentment, or efficiency of his employees.
9. Tips or gratuities. Tips or gratuities paid directly to an employee by a customer of an employer are subject to withholding.
10. Fees paid a public official.
a. Authorized fees paid to public officials such as notaries public, clerks of court, sheriffs, etc. for services rendered in the performances of their official duties are excepted from wages and hence are not subject to withholding. However, salaries paid such officials of government, or by a government, or by a government agency or instrumentality, are subject to withholding.
b. Amounts paid to precinct workers for services performed at election booths in state, county, and municipal elections and fees paid to jurors and witnesses are in the nature of fees paid to public officials and therefore are not subject to withholding.
c. Supplemental wage payments. If supplemental wages, such as bonuses, commissions, or overtime, are paid at the same time as regular wages, the income tax to be withheld should be determined as if the aggregate of the supplemental and regular wages were a single wage payment for the regular payroll period. If supplemental wages are paid at a different time, the employer may determine the tax to be withheld by aggregating the supplemental wages either with the regular wages for the current payroll period or with the regular wages for the last preceding payroll period within the same calendar year. However, if income tax has been withheld from the employee's regular wages, the employer may withhold from the supplemental wages as if no exemption had been claimed.

35 Miss. Code. R. § 3-11-02-101