Payroll Across Old and New Industries
McKinney employers include ranches, aviation shops, breweries, venues, builders and professional offices. All of them withhold federal income tax and pay Social Security, Medicare and unemployment taxes, with no state income tax to withhold. BOMCAS runs payroll for McKinney employers remotely.
Federal and TWC payroll basics are on the Texas payroll page. McKinney's farm, aviation and venue payroll is covered below.
Farm and Ranch Workers
Farm wages follow their own rules. A farm withholds Social Security and Medicare from a worker paid $150 or more in cash wages in a year, or from all workers once the farm's total cash wages reach $2,500. Federal unemployment tax applies once farm wages reach $20,000 in a calendar quarter or the farm has 10 or more workers in 20 different weeks. Texas unemployment tax applies at $6,250 of wages in a quarter or three workers in 20 weeks. Farm employers report on Form 943 rather than Form 941. Wages paid in kind, such as housing or livestock, are not subject to Social Security and Medicare.
Aviation Staff
Mechanics, line service staff and flight instructors are usually employees. Flight instructors sometimes work as independent contractors for flight schools, but when the school schedules students, sets rates and provides aircraft, they are usually employees. Overtime applies after 40 hours a week for hourly staff.
Taproom and Venue Staff
Brewery taprooms and event venues employ part-time and event staff, often paid hourly plus tips. Tipped staff may be paid $2.13 an hour in cash wages if tips bring them to at least $7.25. Service charges added to event invoices are not tips; they belong to the employer, and any part paid to staff is wages. From 2025, qualified tips and overtime are reported separately so workers can claim the new deductions.
Builders and Crews
Builders use many subcontractors, who are usually independent businesses, but some workers labelled as subcontractors are really employees. We review arrangements, collect W-9s and issue 1099-NECs to subcontractors paid $2,000 or more in a year from 2026.
Teen Workers on the Square
Restaurants, ice cream shops and stores downtown hire many teenagers. Federal child labour rules limit 14- and 15-year-olds to set hours, outside school hours and not past 7 p.m. during the school year, or 9 p.m. in summer, and bar certain jobs for workers under 18. Teens are on regular payroll with withholding, though many will get it back when they file.
Family Members on a Farm or Business
When a parent's sole proprietorship or a partnership owned only by the parents employs a child under 18, the wages are exempt from Social Security and Medicare, and under 21 from federal unemployment tax. Income tax withholding still applies. Paying children for real work at a reasonable rate can shift income to them.
TWC
Employers register with TWC and receive a tax rate that changes with experience. Quarterly reports and payments are due by the end of the month after the quarter, and agricultural employers report separately when they meet the farm thresholds.
Year-End
W-2s, W-3s and 1099-NECs are due January 31. Farm employers file Form 943 by January 31 for the previous year.
What We Handle
- Payroll runs and deposits.
- Farm payroll and Form 943.
- Worker status reviews.
- Tip and service charge treatment.
- TWC registration and reports.
- W-2s and 1099s.
McKinney Payroll Questions
When does a ranch owe Social Security on a hand's wages?
When the worker earns $150 or more in cash in a year, or the farm's total cash wages reach $2,500.
Are event service charges tips?
No. They are the employer's revenue, and amounts paid to staff are wages.
Which form do farms file?
Form 943 instead of Form 941.
Does Texas have state withholding?
No.
Talk to BOMCAS About Payroll in McKinney
Payroll posts to the books and the business return, and owner salaries are part of planning. Late Forms 941 or 943 are fixed under back taxes, workers may want personal returns, venues also file sales tax and foreign workers raise cross-border issues. Statewide detail on business tax, personal returns, sales and use tax, bookkeeping, tax planning, back taxes and cross-border matters is on our Texas pages, linked together from the Texas overview.
Running a shop on the square, building in east McKinney or weighing an offer for family land? Tell BOMCAS what is going on and we will come back with what we would look at first and what a quote needs. You can use the contact page or the form below, phone 780-667-5250, or email info@bomcas.ca. The McKinney overview links every McKinney service. This is general information, not advice for your particular case.