Wages
(d) Wages. For purposes of earning capacity determinations, the term wages means the gross amount of all remuneration for services performed by an employee for his or her employer, unless specifically excluded herein, before any deductions or withholdings. (1) The name by which the remuneration for services is designated is immaterial. Remuneration includes but is not limited to one-time or recurring (i) Base salary or pay; tips; commissions; professional fees; honoraria; bonuses and gift certificates of any type; golden parachute payments; payments for any non-work periods, such as vacation, holiday, or sick pay; pay advances; overtime pay; severance pay; dismissal pay; termination pay; and back pay; (ii) Deferred income, within the meaning of paragraphs (c) (6) and (7) of this section, or other employer contributions or payments in an arrangement in which the employee has the opportunity (whether exercised or not) to adjust income by recovering the contributions or payments during the calendar year in which earned, for general discretionary income purposes; (iii) Non-cash wages or payment of in-kind benefits, such as shares of stock in the business, real or personal property, stock in trade, inventory items, goods, lodging, food, and clothing. The valuation for all non-cash wages or other in-kind benefits is determined in a manner consistent with the fair value standards that appear in the Social Security Administration's regulations at 20 CFR 404.1041(d). (2) Any amount offset or deducted under 5 U.S.C. 8344 is treated as wages if the annuity continues while the annuitant is reemployed by the Federal Government. (3) As a general rule, remuneration as wages does not include any contribution, payment, benefits furnished, or service provided by an employer in any of the following areas: (i) The general retirement system established by the employer for its employees, usually either a qualified pension, profit-sharing, stock bonus plan, or a qualified annuity contract plan; (ii) Medical or hospitalization health benefit plans; (iii) Life insurance plans; (iv) Sickness or accident disability pay beyond 6 months of illness, or workers' compensation payments; (v) The value of meals and lodgings provided at the convenience of the employer; (vi) Moving expenses; (vii) Educational assistance programs; (viii) Dependent care assistance programs; (ix) Scholarships and fellowship grants; (x) De minimis fringe benefits, such as items of merchandise given by the employer at holidays which are not readily convertible into cash and courtesy discounts on company products offered not as remuneration for services performed but as a means of promoting good will; (xi) Qualified group legal services plans; (xii) Uniforms and tools supplied by the employer, including employer-provided allowances for such items, for the exclusive use by the employee on the job; and (xiii) Amounts that an employer pays the individual specifically, either as advances or reimbursements, for traveling or other ordinary and necessary expenses incurred, or reasonably expected to be incurred in the employer's business. (4) However, there are two exceptions to this general rule: (i) When it is provided under circumstances in which either a salary reduction or deferral agreement is used (whether evidenced by a written instrument or otherwise); or (ii) When the employee had the opportunity (whether exercised or not) to elect to receive the cash value, whether in the form of money or personal or real property, of the employer-provided amount or service.