Our office has received inquiries regarding any obligations our participants may have as far as reporting to various agencies, including unemployment or state disability.  Also, some have asked whether the income received from the Fund is considered wages.

 

Yes, you will need to report this income.  All residual payments received from the Fund are subject to reporting as earned income and you will need to report your deferred wage payments to all appropriate agencies, including those that administer unemployment and disability insurance. 

 

Yes, your payment from the Fund is considered deferred wages.  All payments made from the Film Musicians Secondary Markets Fund to our participants represent deferred wage payments – or residual payments – for services performed as a musician in previous years for one or more employers.  These payments are made on behalf of those employers.  While the Fund is the withholding agent for the employer, it is not and has never been the direct employer of any of our participants.