The correct handling of a posthumous bonus payment to an employee who has passed away is to issue and report the entire payment on Form 1099-MISC, Box 3, as it is not subject to payroll taxes such as Social Security and Medicare.
When an employee has earned a bonus but passes away before it is issued, the payment should be handled in a specific tax-related manner. Typically, payroll taxes such as Social Security and Medicare are split between the employer and employee during the employee's lifetime. For Social Security, this rate is 6.2% from the employee and an equal percentage from the employer, adding up to 12.4%. Medicare is 1.45% from each side, totaling 2.9%. When dealing with posthumous payments, such as a bonus earned by a deceased employee, different rules apply.
If an employee earns a bonus but dies before receiving it, the bonus is usually not subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes since the individual is no longer an employee when the payment is made. Instead, the payment should be reported on Form 1099-MISC, not on Form W-2, reflecting that it is not typical wage income. Given this perspective, the correct answer is Option D: 'report the entire payment on Form 1099-MISC, Box 3.'