(1) Wages does
not include:
(a) The amount of any payment (including any amount paid by an employer
for insurance or annuities, or into a fund, to provide for any such payment) made to,
or on behalf of, an employee or any of his dependents by an employer under a plan
or system established by an employer which makes provision for his employees
generally, or for his employees generally and their dependents, or for any class or
classes of his employees and their dependents, on account of:
(I) Sickness or accident disability, but, in the case of payments made to an
employee or any of his dependents, this paragraph (a) shall exclude from the term
wages only payments which are received under the workers' compensation law; or
(II) Medical or hospitalization expenses in connection with sickness or
accident disability; or
(III) Death;
(b) Any payment on account of sickness or accident disability, or medical or
hospitalization expenses in connection with sickness or accident disability, made by
an employer to or on behalf of an employee after the expiration of six calendar
months following the last calendar month in which the employee worked for such
employer;
(c) Any payment made to or on behalf of an employee or his beneficiary:
(I) From or to a trust described in 26 U.S.C. sec. 401 (a) which is exempt from
tax under 26 U.S.C. sec. 501 (a) at the time of such payment unless such payment is
made to an employee of the trust as remuneration for services rendered as such
employee and not as a beneficiary of the trust; or
(II) Under or to a bond purchase plan which, at the time of such payment, is a
qualified bond purchase plan described in 26 U.S.C. sec. 405 (a); or
(III) Under a simplified employee pension if, at the time of payment, it is
reasonable to believe that the employee will be entitled to a deduction for such
payment under 26 U.S.C. sec. 219 (b)(2); or
(IV) Under or to an annuity contract described in 26 U.S.C. sec. 403 (b), other
than a payment for the purchase of such contract which is made by reason of a
salary reduction agreement (whether evidenced by a written instrument or
otherwise); or
(V) Under or to an exempt governmental deferred compensation plan, as
defined in 26 U.S.C. sec. 3121 (v)(3); or
(VI) To supplement pension benefits under a plan or trust described in any of
the provisions of this subsection (1) which are designed to take into account all or
some portion of the increase in the cost of living, as determined by the United
States secretary of labor, since retirement but only if such supplemental payments
are under a plan which is treated as a welfare plan under section 3 (2)(B)(ii) of the
federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended; or
(VII) Under or to an annuity plan which, at the time of such payment, is a plan
described in 26 U.S.C. sec. 403 (a); or
(VIII) Under a cafeteria plan (within the meaning of 26 U.S.C. sec. 125);
(d) The payment by an employer, without deduction from the remuneration
of the employee, of the tax imposed upon an employee under 26 U.S.C. sec. 3101 or
any payment required from any employee under articles 70 to 82 of this title if the
remuneration is paid to the employee for domestic service in a private home or for
agricultural labor;
(e) Remuneration paid to or on behalf of an employee if and to the extent
that, at the time of the payment of such remuneration, it is reasonable to believe
that a corresponding deduction is allowable under 26 U.S.C. sec. 217;
(f) Any payment or series of payments, except for any payment or series of
payments which would have been paid if the employee's employment relationship
had not been terminated, by an employer to an employee or any of his dependents
which is paid:
(I) Upon or after the termination of an employee's employment relationship
because of death or retirement for disability; and
(II) Under a plan established by the employer which makes provision for his
employees generally or any class or classes of employees and their dependents;
(g) Remuneration for agricultural labor paid in any medium other than cash;
(h) Any contribution, payment, or service provided by an employer which may
be excluded from the gross income of an employee, his spouse, or his dependents
under the provisions of 26 U.S.C. sec. 120 (relating to amounts received under
qualified group legal services plans);
(i) Any payment made or benefit furnished to or for the benefit of an
employee if, at the time of such payment or such furnishing, it is reasonable to
believe that the employee will be able to exclude such payment or benefit from
income under 26 U.S.C. sec. 127 or 129;
(j) The value of any meals or lodging furnished by or on behalf of the
employer if, at the time of such furnishing, it is reasonable to believe that the
employee will be able to exclude such items from income under 26 U.S.C. sec. 119;
(k) Remuneration for service not in the course of the employer's trade or
business paid to an employee in any medium other than cash;
(l) Any payment made by an employer to the survivors or the estate of a
former employee after the calendar year in which such employee died;
(m) (I) Remuneration for duty in a branch of the United States military
reserve or in the National Guard if such duty is served during a period of time that
does not exceed seventy-two hours in duration from start of service to end of
service during any one-month period;
(II) Remuneration for required annual training as part of duty pursuant to
subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (m), for a period of time of approximately two
weeks;
(n) Any payment made to or on behalf of an employee or such employee's
beneficiary under an arrangement to which section 26 U.S.C. sec. 408 (p) applies,
other than any elective contributions under section 26 U.S.C. sec. 408 (p)(2)(A)(I);
(o) Any payment made to or for the benefit of an employee if, at the time of
such payment, it is reasonable to believe that the employee will be able to exclude
such payment from income pursuant to section 26 U.S.C. sec. 106 (b);
(p) The amount of any payment, including any amount paid by an employer
into a fund to provide for any such payment, made to or on behalf of an employee
under a plan or system established by an employer that makes provision for his or
her employees generally, or for classes of his or her employees, for the purpose of
supplementing unemployment benefits; except that this paragraph (p) shall not
apply if the employee has the option to receive a lump-sum payment instead of
periodically distributed, supplemental unemployment benefits.