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December 2018 CAR Newsletter
TOP STORYChanges to Statewide Accounting ManualTwo changes have been made to the Statewide Accounting Manual since the recent revision. A minor change has been made to 10.11.3 to add consistency to the per diem decrease for meals provided while in travel status. In addition, Section 6.8 and 6.8.1 regarding encumbrances and encumbrance documentation has been rewritten to add clarification. PAYROLLStatewide Employee View (0491) ChangesThe Statewide Employee View screen no longer has the search by name options available. If an agency is searching for an individual, they should already know the National ID (SSN) if a new hire or they should already know the EmplID if a current employee. When the name option was available, many times the wrong individual was found and used by an agency in error. This created incorrect setup on employees, payments to the wrong people, and corrections to data and balances. Agencies can still look up their employees using the name options on the Modify a Person screen under Personal Information. >> Back to Top Deadlines for December PayrollsIn planning your work for December, it is important to remember that the state holidays for Christmas this year are Monday and Tuesday Dec. 24 and 25. Additionally, the New Year’s Holiday is on Tuesday Jan. 1, 2019. December biweekly payroll for state agencies (“B” or “C” biweekly schedules) will be paid on Friday Dec. 7 and Friday Dec. 21. December monthly payrolls will be paid on the last working day of the month, Monday, Dec. 31. With these dates in mind, agency staff should plan their work accordingly for the holiday deadlines: “B” and “C” BIWEEKLY: The biweekly payroll for “B” and “C” biweekly schedule agencies will be Friday, Dec. 21. Agencies should have these payrolls processed and paperwork forwarded to OMES by Friday, Dec. 14. MONTHLY: Monthly payrolls will be set to pay on Monday, Dec. 31. Agencies should have these payrolls processed and paperwork forwarded to OMES by Thursday, Dec. 20. SPECIAL NOTE: The Friday Jan. 4, 2019, biweekly payroll should be processed and paperwork forwarded to OMES by Thursday Dec. 27, 2018. >> Back to Top Oklahoma Income Tax Withholding Certificate (Form OK W-4)The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act created significant changes to federal tax brackets. The Oklahoma Tax Commission determined that a state-specific income tax withholding form is necessary for Oklahoma taxpayers and has made changes to their administrative rule (Rule 710:90-1-5). The rule was published in the June 1, 2018, OklahomaRegister - Volume 35 Issue 18. The new Form OK-W-4 will allow employees to make changes to their Oklahoma withholding without affecting their federal income tax withholding. Prior to the change in the administrative rules, Oklahoma marital status and exemptions were required to be the same as those claimed on the Federal Form W-4. Agencies are to follow the guidelines below:
The form must be completed as follows:
The form should be treated as invalid and returned to the employee to correct and resubmit if:
Changes to withholding should not be made retroactive. Agencies who receive a new Oklahoma Form W-4 should not process a refund or change the taxes withheld on payrolls that have already been processed. Employee withholding changes will only affect future payrolls processed. >> Back to Top OMES Contact Information for Tax Year 2018 ReportingListed below is contact information for OMES personnel working on the IRS reporting project for tax year 2018. The fax number is 405-522-2186.
>> Back to Top Agency Payroll Corrections – Year-End ReviewAgencies should review all employee corrections for the year to ensure they have been processed by OMES/CAR as requested. This includes cancellation of payroll warrants, overpayment refund requests, Social Security Number changes, and any other requests that affect W-2 reporting. For any requests identified as not yet processed, please contact Jean Hayes or Lisa Raihl for a status update. Agencies should review all outstanding employee over payments and collect required amounts from employees. After collection, please submit OMES Form 94P as applicable. Agencies will be entitled to receive refunds for all forms submitted by Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018. After this date, refunds cannot be returned to the agencies; however, agencies are still required to submit the form after this date for employee wage corrections. Corrections due to over payments will be posted to the employee’s 2018 W-2 for requests submitted through Friday, Jan. 4, 2019. Any corrections submitted after Jan. 4 will require a corrected W-2 or W-2C as applicable. >> Back to Top Taxable Fringe BenefitsAny taxable fringe benefits not yet recorded and reported this year, must be included in December payroll. The payroll system has been structured to accommodate the reporting of non-cash, taxable fringe benefits. Of specific concern to state employees, the following benefits should be reviewed to determine if W-2 wage adjustments are necessary:
Reporting of these benefits is required by state and federal law, and it is the responsibility of the individual agency to ensure compliance. If the item is not run through the payroll system in the current year, the employer can deduct the taxes associated with the wage item on a following paycheck in the next year as a miscellaneous deduction. The state is responsible for depositing the taxes. Any taxes associated with items not run through the payroll system will need to be sent to OMES in a timely manner so the tax deposits can be made and the items posted to the employee’s earnings record. Please refer to the W-2 instructions and Publication 15A, Employer’s Supplemental Tax Guide, for additional information if needed. Also, refer to OMES Human Capital Management rules to determine whether these payments are a valid pay plan for a particular agency. >> Back to Top Employee Overpayments Collected After Year EndThe collection of any outstanding overpayments is especially important at year end and must be conveyed to employees who owe any monies back to the agency if they want to repay only the net amount. Employee overpayments that are collected in the next calendar year are to be repaid at the gross overpayment amount in accordance with Internal Revenue Service regulations. If an employee owes the agency, please be certain to let the employee know if the amount is not paid in full by Dec. 31, 2018, the amount they owe will increase to the gross amount. In addition, employees who do not reimburse the overpayment in the current year are subject to taxes on the overpaid amount and later, in the year the overpayment is reimbursed, the employee may be entitled to take a deduction or credit on their current year tax form and should discuss with their tax advisor. For example, John Deere was overpaid in September 2018 by $1,000.00 regular wages. This was discovered in October and the agency calculated what the correct payroll should have been. The net check difference is $743.50. If John reimburses the overpayment before the end of the year (by personal check, miscellaneous deduction, or other reduction), he would pay $743.50 and his W-2 will correctly reflect his pay reduced by the reimbursement. If he reimburses the agency after year-end, he must pay $1,000, and his 2018 W-2 would include the $1,000 overpayment in taxable wages. In accordance with 74 O.S. § 840-2.19, the agency must send a notice to the employee within 10 days of identifying an overpayment. The employee then has 30 days to respond to this notification. Employees have several options for repaying overpaid payroll amounts:
For amounts reimbursed in subsequent years, the applicable W-2, corrected W-2, or W-2C for the year of the overpayment will only reflect a change in Social Security and Medicare wages and taxes. Since the employee received and had use of the funds during the year of overpayment, the amount is taxable for federal and state purposes. Federal and state taxable wages or income taxes withheld will not be changed. >> Back to Top Agency Address VerificationPlease verify the correct agency address is being used on the Oracle/PeopleSoft HCM system. The agency address can be found on the Employee’s Earnings Statement. If the address is not correct for the agency, it must be updated before year end processing of tax forms. Please contact the OMES Service Desk at 405-521-2444 to have the agency’s address updated in the HCM system. >> Back to Top State HCM System Use of Addresses on W-2sAs a reminder, in the Oracle/PeopleSoft HCM system, the W-2 process loads the employee’s mailing address for IRS Form W-2 reporting. If there is no value in the mailing address field, then the employee’s home address will be used on the W-2. If there is a value in the mailing address field that is not to be used on the Form W-2, it must be updated or inactivated. >> Back to Top State HCM System Use of Addresses on 1095-C, ACA Reporting FormThe 1095-C form process in the Oracle/PeopleSoft HCM system has been set to load the employee’s mailing address just as the W-2 process does. If there is no value in the mailing address field, then the employee’s home address will be used on the 1095-C form. If there is a value in the mailing address field that is not to be used on the 1095-C form, it must be updated or inactivated. >> Back to Top PeopleSoft MailDrop for Year End ProcessingOracle/PeopleSoft HCM system employee W-2s and 1095-C forms are processed and printed in mail drop order. Please ensure this field is properly used for employees. The forms will print in the same order as checks and advices sort, which is based on each agency’s needs. >> Back to Top Envelopes
Sample printed forms of the PeopleSoft W-2 and 1099 MISC can be provided if requested. Please contact Jean Hayes at 405-522-6300 or [email protected], or Beth Brox at 405-522-1099 or [email protected]. >> Back to Top W-2, 1095C, and 1099 Pick-up InstructionsOMES will have W-2s, 1099s, and 1095 CDs ready for release on Tuesday Jan. 15, 2019, beginning at 10 a.m. through Thursday Jan. 17, 2019, at 3 p.m. Agencies will pick up the forms from our location at 5005 N Lincoln Blvd., Suite 100. You may park in front of our building in the visitor parking which faces Lincoln Boulevard. As you enter the building, you will need to check in at the Central Purchasing reception area. A team member will then come direct you to the room where the forms will be distributed. >> Back to Top Payroll – End of Calendar Year 2018Dec. 20, 2018 – Last day that a refund of taxes due to overpayments can be returned to agencies (See above article). Dec. 27, 2018 – Last day OMES will process payrolls for calendar year 2018. PeopleSoft payrolls must be delivered to OMES by 3 p.m. on this date. Any payrolls received after this deadline may not process to pay timely. Dec. 28, 2018 – Backup withholding payments from agencies must be received by OMES (See article below). Jan. 4, 2019 – Payroll warrant cancellations, OMES Form 94Ps, and earning adjustments for calendar year 2018 must be received by OMES no later than 5 p.m. Any 2018 payroll information received after this date will require the agency to complete a corrected W-2. Jan. 4, 2019 – Last day for state agency updates to employees' ACA Eligibility Page in order for the 1095-C forms to be correct. Changes to 2018 data after this date must be communicated to Kristin Elsenbeck, Human Resources Manager,[email protected], 405-521-3947, for accurate 2018 reporting. Jan. 15 – Jan 17, 2019 – All forms are to be picked up on Jan. 15, 2019, beginning at 10 a.m. through Thursday Jan. 17, 2019, at 3 p.m. (see article above). Jan. 25, 2019 - Last date to submit corrected W-2 and 1099 forms for file submission (See articles below). Jan. 31, 2019 – Deadline for delivering forms to employees. Feb. 15, 2019 – Form W-4 with exemption expires (See article below). Feb. 22, 2019 – Last date to submit corrected 1095-C forms for file submission (See article below). >> Back to Top Backup WithholdingAgencies that have collected backup withholding on miscellaneous claims must submit payment to be received by OMES prior to Dec. 28, 2018. Please make interagency wires payable to the State Contribution Fund (Vendor 0000000467, ADDR # 002, LOC # 0002). After processing payment, please send details of the payment to Jean Hayes or Lisa Raihl at[email protected] or [email protected]. >> Back to Top Correcting W-2sCorrected W-2 forms must be delivered to OMES by Jan. 25, 2019 in order for the corrections to be in the submission file. The IRS has accelerated the requirements for reporting certain year-end information. The due date for submission of form W-2 information to the IRS is Jan. 31, 2019. Please send the original W-2, a copy of the corrected form and a memo explaining why the correction is needed. If the correction is due to a statutory canceled warrant which is not to be replaced, please also send a letter asking that the warrant not be replaced. Note: Because a warrant has been canceled by statute is not a reason for such a W-2 correction. If it was a valid payroll payment, the employee is still entitled to a replacement warrant; therefore, the W-2 reporting is proper. >> Back to Top Federal Income Tax WithholdingIRS Publication 15 Circular E, Employer’s Tax Guide, states that any federal income tax withholding must be based on marital status and withholding allowances. Withholding cannot be based solely on a fixed dollar amount or percentage. In addition to the amount calculated on marital status and withholding allowances, an employee may specify a dollar amount to be withheld. The employee must submit a valid Form W-4 stating his or her marital status, number of allowances, and any additional withholding requested. Exemption from federal income tax withholding is generally claimed when an employee had no income tax liability in the prior year and expects none for the current year. Exempt W-4s are valid for one calendar year and a new W-4 must be submitted by Feb. 15, 2019, to continue exempt status. If a new W-4 is not received, withholding is based on single status with zero allowances or the last valid W-4 the agency has for the employee. To claim exempt status, the employee completes only boxes 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7 and signs the form. If an exempt W-4 has a number on line 5 (allowances) or an amount on line 6 (additional amount), you may treat the form as invalid and ask for another one. If a new W-4 is not received, withholding is based on single with zero allowances or the last valid W-4 the agency has for the employee. >> Back to Top Employee’s Federal Withholding Allowance Certificate (W-4) InformationAn employee who certified to his or her employer on Form W-4 (Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate) that the employee had no income tax liability for 2017 and anticipated no income tax liability for 2018 was entitled to an exemption from withholding for 2018. This exemption expires on Feb. 15, 2019, and must be renewed if conditions remain the same. If you receive an exempt W-4 after Feb. 15, 2019, do not process a tax refund to the employee or submit a request to OMES. They will not be processed. If you receive an exempt W-4 after Feb. 15, 2019, the W-4 will take effect on the next pay cycle; per IRS regulations it is not retroactive to the beginning of the year. If you have received correspondence from the IRS specifying the maximum number of withholding allowances permitted (commonly referred to as a “lock-in-letter”) and the employee submits a new W-4 claiming more allowances than the maximum allowed, you must disregard this new W-4 until the IRS notifies you to withhold tax based on the new W-4. However, the employee may furnish a new W-4 that claims fewer allowances than the maximum allowed and the employer must withhold tax based on that Form W-4. See Employee W-4 Lock-in Letters article below. In addition, the loss of an exemption that affects withholding at the beginning of the next taxable year, such as a divorce or the loss of a dependent should be reflected by an amended certificate on or before Dec. 1. If the change occurs in December, the new certificate must be furnished within 10 days of the day on which the change occurs. >> Back to Top Employee Federal W-4 Lock-in LettersWhen an agency receives Letter 2800C, WHC Lock-in Letter to Employer, from the IRS, the letter instructs employers to begin withholding federal income tax at a specific marital status and withholding allowance for a particular employee. You must withhold tax as indicated in the lock-in letter by the date specified unless the IRS notifies you otherwise. This date is generally 60 days after the date of the lock-in letter. Once a lock-in rate is effective, an employer can’t decrease withholding unless the IRS approves it. If the employee no longer works for you, you don’t need to do anything. However, if the employee returns to work within 12 months, you should begin withholding income tax from the employee’s wages based on the withholding rate in the letter. Within the HCM system, enter the lock-in letter information (marital status and withholding allowances) on the employee’s Federal Tax Data page. Under the Lock-in Details area, be sure to select the Letter Received box. The IRS lock-in letter paperwork will include a copy of the letter to give to the employee. The letter will explain how the employee can provide additional information to help the IRS determine the appropriate number of withholding exemptions. The IRS will give the employee some time before the lock-in rate is effective to submit a new Form W-4 and a statement that supports the claims made on it. You must disregard any Form W-4 submitted by the employee that decreases the amount of withholding. The employee must submit for IRS approval any new Form W-4 and a statement that supports his or her request to decrease federal income tax withholding. The employee should send the Form W-4 and statement to the address on the lock-in letter. The IRS will notify you if they approve the employee’s request. However, if the employee submits a Form W-4 that claims fewer withholding allowances than the maximum number specified in the lock-in letter, you must increase withholding based on that Form W-4. >> Back to Top 2019 Rates & Maximums for FICA & UnemploymentYear 2018 rates are provided for comparison purposes. View the Table. >> Back to Top HIGHER EDUCATION PAYROLLDecember Payroll DeadlinesIn planning your work for December, it is important to remember that the state holidays for Christmas this year are Monday and Tuesday Dec. 24 and 25. Additionally, the New Year Holiday is Tuesday Jan. 1, 2019. With these dates in mind, please adjust your payroll processing schedules as needed. All payroll documents must be received five business days prior to the actual pay date to ensure adequate time for audit and processing. >> Back to Top Payroll Fund Transfer (PFT) Reversal FilesPlease process the PFT reversal file when the OMES Form MWC, Request for Miscellaneous Warrant Cancellation, is submitted when no replacement warrant will be issued. For OMES Form EWC, Electronic Warrant Cancellation requests, the PFT Reversal file should be processed when the form is submitted or immediately upon notification that the funds have been returned to the state. Warrants are not cancelled until a PFT Reversal file has been processed. Delays in receiving PFT Reversal files result in institutions not receiving the funds back in a timely manner and may cause paper warrants to stat cancel. >> Back to Top MISCELLANEOUSACA Reporting Reminders for 2018Pursuant to Internal Revenue Code Section 6056 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”), as a large employer, we are required to file an informational return with the IRS related to the offer of health coverage to employees. Additionally, we must provide employees with a statement that includes the information we will be providing in our IRS filing. This “Employee Statement” is the IRS Form 1095-C which includes information about health insurance coverage offered to state employees, their spouse, and dependent(s). For employees that have worked in multiple agencies during the year, only one 1095-C form will be produced. This combined 1095-C form includes information related to the employee across the multiple agencies. The agency on record as the primary agency as of 12/31 received the 1095-C to distribute. NOTE: The information to complete the 1095-C form is extracted from the ACA Employee Eligibility page in the HCM system. Please ensure the data on this page correctly reflects an employee’s status for the entire calendar year. Only employees eligible for an offer of health coverage or those in a stability period with an offer of coverage will receive a 1095-C form for 2018. Not all employees will receive a 1095-C form. The 1095-C forms will be provided to agencies on a CD. It is important that agencies print these documents and provide a copy to your eligible employees. The IRS mandates that this document be provided to employees by the end of January of the following year. In addition to the 1095-C form, state agency employees that enrolled in health coverage will receive a 1095-B form from their insurance carrier. The 1095-B form provides information about who was covered and the periods of coverage. For questions related to ACA reporting, please contact Kristin Elsenbeck, Human Resources Manager: 405-521-6030; [email protected]. >> Back to Top Correcting Form 1095-CCorrections for Form 1095-C must be submitted to OMES/HCM Division by Feb. 22, 2019. Please send the original form, a copy of the corrected form, and a memo explaining why the correction is needed. Please send corrections to the attention of: Kristin Elsenbeck, Human Resources Manager, 405-521-6030. >> Back to Top AGENCY NEWS2019 Valid EFT Date CalendarThe 2019 Valid EFT Date Calendar has been released by the state treasurer’s office. Please use the calendar to ensure that your EFT items process with the effective dates intended. >> Back to Top 1099 INFORMATION2018 – 1099 ReportAny agency needing to submit an additional file for 1099M reporting should use the format listed in the link below (CAR forms page). Instructions are provided in a separate link as well as a listing of 1099M reportable account codes. Due to the sensitive nature of the data, please submit your file by a password protected email to[email protected] or hand-deliver a CD in the file format to OMES, 5005 N. Lincoln Blvd., Suite 200. It is recommended that these agencies submit a test file by Dec. 15, 2018, to have a Name and TIN Match done with the IRS. Final information is due Jan. 4, 2019. The file instructions and format can be found on the CAR forms page of the OMES website:
>> Back to Top The year end 1099 report is available for each agency to run in the PeopleSoft Financials system any time. The path for this report is: Accounts Payable, Reports, Payments, Misc Tax Information Report. Make sure the dates include 01/01/2018 – 12/31/2018. This report will reflect the 1099 data from PeopleSoft vouchers. Be advised that any vendor with a 1099 Flag of “N” on the report will Not receive a 1099 unless they are paid using a medical or legal account code. If the vendor should be issued a 1099 please let OMES know so we can change the 1099 Flag to “Y.” The final report should be processed by agencies no later than Jan. 2, 2019, or preferably by Dec. 31, 2018. All corrections must be returned to Beth Brox at OMES by Jan. 4, 2019. >> Back to Top 1099 File Format – Outside Agencies2018 – IRS Tax Filing Deadline – ReminderTax reporting for 2018 will be at an accelerated pace due to new IRS regulations. 1099s and W2s will be distributed January 15 – 17, 2019. Any corrections must be returned by Jan. 25, 2019, so they can be entered in the file which is due to the IRS by Jan. 31, 2019. Any corrections needed after this date must still be sent to OMES for us to notify the IRS. NOTE: This does not apply to Higher Ed Institutions since they do their own 1099 reporting. >> Back to Top ACCOUNTINGReminder on Federal Taxpayer Offset ProgramThe Taxpayer Offset Program (TOP) continues to be an issue for agencies whose federal payments are being reduced due to another agency’s debt. All agency finance officers need to ensure that correspondence related to the TOP program is reviewed and forwarded to the appropriate division of the agency as well as OMES Central Accounting and Reporting. This correspondence may come from the U.S. Department of the Treasury or the federal agency that is owed the delinquent debt. Please review the article published in June 2018. This information should be distributed to the various divisions of agencies that may be affected by the program. This includes a division that has debt that is delinquent, as well as a division whose payment is being offset. The Taxpayer Offset Program reviews payments to be made by the federal government for either grant draws or vendor payments to see if the payee has an outstanding debt to the Federal Government or other reciprocating governments. Because the TOP uses the State’s federal employment number (FEI), which for the State of Oklahoma covers all state agencies, the offsets for debt may reduce payments to a different agency than the one that owes the debt. If an agency receives a notice from the Department of Treasury which is either a Notice of Debt or an Offset Notice, please forward copies of the notices to CAR. OMES receives reports from TOP which may match up to those notices and assist us in resolving offset issues. Agencies whose debt has caused an offset for another agency should take immediate action to submit payment to the affected agency. >> Back to Top Late Payment To Vendors - Interest Rate - FY 2019The FY 2019 interest rate applicable to late payments to vendors has been set at 1.15% per annum, or $0.003 per $100 per day, which will be in effect July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2019. This interest rate is provided by the state treasurer based on the average interest rate for 30-day time deposits of state funds during the last calendar quarter of the last preceding fiscal year. (O.S. 62 § 34.71& 34.72 and O.S. 74 § 500.16A. and OMES Prompt Payment Rules/Regulations) >> Back to Top |
Volume 29, Number 07 In This Issue ...
TRAININGOKC American Payroll Association Monthly Lunch & Learn Chapter MeetingsOKC American Payroll Association Friday, Dec. 15, 2018 For more information please visit their website. >> Back to Top Payroll Law 2018Presented by Fred Pryor Seminars Dec. 18, 2018 – Tulsa For more information, please visit theirwebsite. >> Back to Top |