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Agricultural Employers

An agriculture employer is a farm operator or farm labor contractor that hires, trains, and pays workers who perform agricultural labor.

Section 13009(a) of the California Unemployment Insurance Code states that certain employees and specific types of employment are not subject to one or more payroll taxes, which include: Unemployment Insurance (UI), Employment Training Tax (ETT), State Disability Insurance (SDI), and Personal Income Tax (PIT) withholding. Agricultural labor is subject to UI, ETT, and SDI but is not subject to PIT withholding unless the employer and employee voluntarily agree.

Registration Process

During the registration process, you will be asked a series of questions. Gather the following information that applies to your business and have it available as you complete your application:

  • Name and Social Security number of owners/partners/responsible parties (Individual Owners, Co-Owners, and General Partners).
  • Name and Social Security number of all officers, members, partners (Corporations, Limited Liability Company (LLC), Limited Liability Partnership (LLP), and Limited Partnership (LP)).
  • Business location address and mailing address, if different from location address.
  • Business phone number and email address.
  • First payroll date wages paid exceeded $100.
  • Nine-digit federal employer identification number (FEIN) - a FEIN can be obtained by going to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website and completing the Employer Identification number application process.
  • Industry Description - What is the crop, commodity, or activity that represents the greatest portion of your sales or revenue?
  • Previous EDD employer payroll tax account information, if applicable.
  • Legal Name of Entity – Corporations, LLCs, LLPs and LPs, enter exactly as it appears on your official registration documents.
  • Doing Business As (DBA).
  • Contact person’s name, phone number, email address, address (if different from business or mailing address) for business.
  • Do you employ non-agricultural workers?

Once you are ready to register for a payroll tax account number, you will need to enroll in e-Services for Business.

If you are an employer, visit Enroll in e-Services for Business as an Employer. If you are a representative, visit Enroll in e-Services for Business as a Representative.

Additional Resources

Information Sheets

Additional Information Sheets are available online at Payroll Taxes – Forms and Publications.

Other Resources