payrollnews-prAug04

GRADUATE TUITION PAYROLL DEDUCTION AUTHORIZATION FORMS

Graduate students on assistantships may authorize Payroll Services to deduct the total amount of their tuition and fees owed over eight (8) pay cycles beginning the second pay date (September 25 and February 10) of each semester.

A. Payroll deductions may be authorized for (1) graduate students on appointment who did not receive an Operating Fee Waiver (OFW) or Qualified Tuition Remission (QTR) which includes service/activity/building fees of $3,202; or (2) students with waivers may elect payroll deduction for the value of residual tuition of $387.00; or (3) students may also increase the payroll deduction to include the Student Health & Wellness Fee of $102.00, the $120.00 Student Recreation Fee, and/or the Pullman Transit Fee of $15.00.
B. Payroll deduction forms will not be available until Wednesday, August 19th and then only if the graduate Personnel Action Form has been processed by Human Resource Services and the appointment is present in the payroll/personnel system. Students may call Payroll Services at 335-9577 to see if a form has been produced. The final cut-off date for payroll deduction forms to be signed is Friday, September 10, 2004. Please encourage graduate students to check out our website at https://.payroll.wsu.edu/ for all the specifics about how payroll deductions work.

ACCESS TO DEPTPAY (DEPARTMENTAL PAY PROCESSING)

If you have new personnel in your department who need access to DEPTPAY, send an e-mail with the following information to payroll@wsu.edu and a training class will be set up:

Name of Employee and their AIS User ID (HEPPS User ID)
Name of Department
Zip Code of Department
Whether they need access to PEARS and/or Positive Pay
List the budgets and projects they need to access

F-1 VISA HOLDERS AND ADDITIONAL WITHHOLDING AMOUNTS

F-1 visa holders (unless they are a student from India) are required by the Internal Revenue Service to pay the additional federal income tax withholding amount of $16.60 each pay cycle. The instructions for “Non-U.S. Citizens on How to Complete their W-4 Form” was updated earlier this year on our website after it was brought to our attention that we were not specific enough about the mandatory nature of the $16.60 additional dollar amount. The website address is: HowToW4.htm. The TEMPS System was recently modified to default missing Tax Status values on new F-1 individuals to single, zero withholding allowances and $16.60. We know there are some F-1 visa holders who have not been having the $16.60 deducted so we have updated their payroll files to include this mandatory withholding amount for wages earned on or after August 16, 2004. Individual notices about this change will be sent via myWSU portal to the specific student.

TAX STATUS DETERMINATIONS FOR NON-U.S. CITIZENS

Due to the time involved, I (Alice Smethurst) have stopped making Tax Determination Interview appointments. For those non-U.S. citizens whose immigration status is J, H1-B or F-1 faculty and are going to be employed at WSU or receiving any payments from WSU and are not considered a Resident Alien, please encourage these individuals to complete the Tax Determination Questionnaire as thoroughly as possible. The forms are located on our website: TaxDeterminationQuestionaire.pdf. The completed form should be submitted along with a copy of their passport, VISA and I-94 card to Payroll Services, Room 236 French Administration Building or via intercampus mail to Payroll Services, zip code 1024 or e-mail in a PDF file to payroll@wsu.edu. Individuals will be e-mailed the results of the tax analysis within a day or two. Tax treaty benefits cannot be extended until the individual has secured a United States issued social security card. Tax treaty benefits are for the current tax year only and must be renewed every year. If you have any questions, please contact payroll@wsu.edu.

PAYROLL ORIENTATION FOR NEW EMPLOYEES

Does your unit have employees who are new to Washington State University? Please be sure to direct them to the front page of the Payroll Services’ website http://www.payroll.wsu.edu/ and invite them to learn all about payroll by pressing the New Employee Orientation button in the upper right-hand corner of the main screen. Employees can learn about payroll basics either by viewing the PowerPoint presentation or watching a brief flash video newEmp.htm. Then employees are encouraged to watch the flash presentations on “How to Read Your On-line Earnings Statement” or “How to Read Your Paycheck Stub”. Lastly, there is a brief flash video on how to navigate WEB PBS (payroll and benefit information on the web), the secured website where employees can view/print their earnings statements, view their direct deposit information, print a W-2 Form, view their W-4 withholding tax status, view retirement contributions and view their salary and funding information.

2005 HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUM RATES

The 2005 health insurance premiums are listed on the Public Employees Benefits Board website: http://www.hca.wa.gov/pebb /changes.shtml. They will be reflected on the January 10, 2005 paycheck.

PAYROLL CONTACTS

Phone	Employee Name / E-Mail	Position Title	Direct Questions on these subjects to the employee listed on the left
5-1277	Alice Smethurst alice@wsu.edu	Director	DeptPay training; International Students & Scholars Tax Deter¬minations & Issues; Graduate Assistantship; QTR Processing; Web Site Design; Encumbrances
5-1617	Brenda Bartlett bartlett@wsu.edu	Payroll Supervisor	PEAR Questions; Retirees; Hand-drawn Checks; Interim Period Paychecks; Social Security Number Changes; ID Number Problems; Payroll Processing for employees whose last name starts with these letters: D, E, F, T, U, V
5-1396	Anita McGovern mcgovern@wsu.edu	Payroll Coordinator	PEAR Questions; Payroll processing for employees whose last name starts with these letters: G, H, I
5-1610	VACANT	Payroll Technician Lead	Positive Pay; TEA Processing; Retroactive Pay for Hourly Employees
5-1468	Paul Dupin pdupin@wsu.edu	Payroll Technician Lead	Name & Address Changes; Payroll processing for employees whose last name starts with these letters: A, B, C
5-1769	Michael Burnett michael_burnett@wsu.edu	Payroll Technician	Salary & Wage Verifications; Payroll processing for employees whose last name starts with these letters: P, Q, R, S, W, X, Y, Z
5-1394	Linda Carlson lfcrlsn@wsu.edu	Payroll Technician	Payroll processing for employees whose last name starts with these letters: J, K, L, M, N, O
5-1278	Steve Rieser srieser@wsu.edu	Accountant	Medical, Dental, Life & LTD Payroll Deduction Accounting
5-5814	Christie Middleton-Sharpe csharpe@wsu.edu	Accountant	Direct Deposit Processing; Garnishments; Salary Liens; Wage Assignments; Miscellaneous Deduction Processing such as Credit Union, Union Dues, Parking
5-6450	Ronald Collins collinsra@wsu.edu	Fiscal Technician III	Retirement Deductions & Reporting including retroactive deductions; Direct Deposit back-up; W-2 replacements; Social Security Statements; Combined Fund Drive
	James Kennedy jmkennedy@wsu.edu	Information Technology Systems Specialist II	Web Design and Maintenance; Data Analysis

Direct any questions about this newsletter to 335-1277 or payroll@wsu.edu.