1. “Wages” means all remuneration, payable or paid, for personal services including commissions and bonuses and, except as provided in subdivision (7) of this section, the cash value of all remuneration paid in any medium other than cash. Gratuities, including tips received from persons other than the employing unit, shall be considered wages only if required to be reported as wages pursuant to the Federal Unemployment Tax Act, 26 U.S.C. Section 3306, and shall be, for the purposes of this chapter, treated as having been paid by the employing unit. Severance pay shall be considered as wages to the extent required pursuant to the Federal Unemployment Tax Act, 26 U.S.C. § 3306(b). Vacation pay, termination pay, severance pay and holiday pay shall be considered as wages for the week with respect to which it is payable. The total amount of wages derived from severance pay, if paid to an insured in a lump sum, shall be prorated on a weekly basis at the rate of pay received by the insured at the time of termination for the purposes of determining unemployment benefits eligibility. The term “wages” shall not include:

(1) The amount of any payment made (including any amount paid by an employing unit for insurance or annuities, or into a fund, to provide for any such payment) to, or on behalf of, an individual under a plan or system established by an employing unit which makes provision generally for individuals performing services for it or for a class or classes of such individuals, on account of:

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(a) Sickness or accident disability, but in case of payments made to an employee or any of the employee’s dependents this paragraph shall exclude from the term wages only payments which are received pursuant to a workers’ compensation law; or

(b) Medical and hospitalization expenses in connection with sickness or accident disability; or

(c) Death;

(2) The amount of any payment on account of sickness or accident disability, or medical or hospitalization expenses in connection with sickness or accident disability, made by an employing unit to, or on behalf of, an individual performing services for it after the expiration of six calendar months following the last calendar month in which the individual performed services for such employing unit;

(3) The amount of any payment made by an employing unit to, or on behalf of, an individual performing services for it or his or her beneficiary:

(a) From or to a trust described in 26 U.S.C. § 401(a) which is exempt from tax pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 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 an employee and not as a beneficiary of the trust; or

(b) Under or to an annuity plan which, at the time of such payments, meets the requirements of Section 404(a)(2) of the Federal Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C.A. Section 404);

(4) The amount of any payment made by an employing unit (without deduction from the remuneration of the individual in employment) of the tax imposed pursuant to Section 3101 of the Federal Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C.A. Section 3101) upon an individual with respect to remuneration paid to an employee for domestic service in a private home or for agricultural labor;

(5) Remuneration paid in any medium other than cash to an individual for services not in the course of the employing unit’s trade or business;

(6) Remuneration paid in the form of meals provided to an individual in the service of an employing unit where such remuneration is furnished on the employer’s premises and at the employer’s convenience, except that remuneration in the form of meals that is considered wages and required to be reported as wages pursuant to the Federal Unemployment Tax Act, 26 U.S.C. Section 3306 shall be reported as wages as required thereunder;

(7) For the purpose of determining wages paid for agricultural labor as defined in paragraph (b) of subdivision (1) of subsection 12 of section 288.034 and for domestic service as defined in subsection 13 of section 288.034, only cash wages paid shall be considered;

(8) Beginning on October 1, 1996, any payment to, or on behalf of, an employee or the employee’s beneficiary under a cafeteria plan, if such payment would not be treated as wages pursuant to the Federal Unemployment Tax Act.

2. The increases or decreases to the state taxable wage base for the remainder of calendar year 2004 shall be eight thousand dollars, and the state taxable wage base in calendar year 2005, and each calendar year thereafter, shall be determined by the provisions within this subsection. On January 1, 2005, the state taxable wage base for calendar year 2005, 2006, and 2007 shall be eleven thousand dollars. The taxable wage base for calendar year 2008 shall be twelve thousand dollars. The state taxable wage base for each calendar year thereafter shall be determined by the average balance of the unemployment compensation trust fund of the four preceding calendar quarters (September thirtieth, June thirtieth, March thirty-first, and December thirty-first of the preceding calendar year), less any outstanding federal Title XII advances received pursuant to section 288.330, less the principal, interest, and administrative expenses related to any credit instrument issued under section 288.030, and less the principal, interest, and administrative expenses related to any financial agreements under subdivision (17) of subsection 2 of section 288.330. When the average balance of the unemployment compensation trust fund of the four preceding quarters (September thirtieth, June thirtieth, March thirty-first, and December thirty-first of the preceding calendar year), as so determined is:

(1) Less than, or equal to, three hundred fifty million dollars, then the wage base shall increase by one thousand dollars; or

(2) Six hundred fifty million or more, then the state taxable wage base for the subsequent calendar year shall be decreased by five hundred dollars. In no event, however, shall the state taxable wage base increase beyond twelve thousand five hundred dollars, or decrease to less than seven thousand dollars. For calendar year 2009, the tax wage base shall be twelve thousand five hundred dollars. For calendar year 2010 and each calendar year thereafter, in no event shall the state taxable wage base increase beyond thirteen thousand dollars, or decrease to less than seven thousand dollars.

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For any calendar year, the state taxable wage base shall not be reduced to less than that part of the remuneration which is subject to a tax under a federal law imposing a tax against which credit may be taken for contributions required to be paid into a state unemployment compensation trust fund. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the wage base from increasing or decreasing by increments of five hundred dollars.