FY 2013

The organization dues for members of the Pittsburg State University, Kansas National Education Association will change from $29.50 to $29.76 per biweekly payroll period. The new rate will become effective with the payroll period beginning August 5, 2012 and ending August 18, 2012, paid August 31, 2012.

Currently, organization dues must be entered into SHARP as two separate deduction codes: one organizational dues deduction code and one corresponding fee deduction code. In this case, the new rate for deduction code ORG030 will increase from $29.44 to $29.70 and the fee (ORF030) will remain at $.06 (for a total of $29.76 per biweekly payroll period).

The Office of General Services, Payroll Systems Team is responsible for making this change in the SHARP system. Regent’s institutions are responsible for ensuring this change is reflected in their individual systems and is effective for paychecks issued on or after August 31, 2012.

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As a result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a new requirement exists for W-2 reporting for tax years 2012 and forward to report in Box 12DD the aggregate cost of applicable employer-sponsored group health plan coverage provided to individual employees.  The reportable cost of coverage includes both the portion of the cost paid by the employer and the portion of the cost paid by the employee, whether through pre-tax or after-tax contributions.  Because graduate assistant students at the Regents Institutions (GRA/GTA/GAA) are considered employees of the State of Kansas for employment and W-2 reporting purposes, a new deduction code has been established for the submission of this information to SHARP on the KREGPAY1 Regent Payroll Interface as follows: 

PLAN TYPE:  00  (General Deduction)

DEDUCTION CODE:  GTAGHI

DESCRIPTION:  Graduate Assist Group Hlth Ins

SHORT DESCRIPTION:  Grad GHI

DEDUCTION CLASS:   A  (After-Tax employee deduction)

                                     N  ( Nontaxable Benefit employer contribution)

The new deduction code will be effective in SHARP the payroll period beginning September 2 and ending September 15, 2012, paid September 28, 2012.  Account Code 519250, Graduate Assistant Group Health Insurance, should be used for the expensing of the employer fringe benefit portion of the deduction on the Payroll INF06.

The new deduction code allows for the recording and processing of this health insurance cost through the payroll process going forward.  A ‘catch-up’ file will be required to address premiums already paid for 2012.  As an alternative, a file may be submitted on an annual basis instead of throughout the year, if this would better match with the agency’s existing business process.  Balances will need to be in place in SHARP by W-2 cut-off in late December in order to be reported on the 2012 W-2s.  Information on the ‘catch-up’ and annual files will be communicated directly to regent agencies in the near future.  Note: The recording of these health insurance costs in SHARP is required but the remittance responsibility for these payments remains with the regent agency.

The Office of General Services, Payroll Systems Team will make changes to the SHARP payroll system to implement the new GTAGHI deduction code.  Please note, if your agency chooses to track the health coverage for GTA, GRA, and GAA students using different deduction codes in your system, all of those charges should be rolled into the SHARP GTAGHI general deduction code for reporting on the KREGPAY1.  A test KREGPAY1/INF06 file set with the new deduction code should be submitted to Payroll Services before processing into the production environment.  Attachment A is an example of the pay detail and payroll journal when using the GTAGHI deduction code.

Attachment A

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Attached are the SHARP bi-weekly on-cycle and off-cycle schedules for calendar year 2013.  The attached schedules provide important information regarding the critical payroll processing deadlines for each bi-weekly payroll period. Agency personnel responsible for payroll processing will need to ensure that all appropriate information is entered or submitted by the cutoff dates indicated on the schedules to ensure timely issuance of pay for their employees.

SHARP off-cycle payrolls will generally be processed each Monday and every other Wednesday night and will include all activity entered into SHARP since the last off-cycle payroll.  If a holiday occurs on a Monday or Wednesday, the off-cycle payroll will normally be rescheduled to occur on the following business day.  Payroll payments resulting from the first off-cycle for the payroll period (Run 'A') will normally be issued with the same paycheck/direct deposit date as the on-cycle pay date for the payroll period. Payroll payments resulting from the remaining off-cycles (Runs 'B' and 'C') will normally be dated three working days from the date the off-cycle is processed. SHARP Time and Leave agencies generally have until 6:00 p.m. on Mondays and every other Wednesday to enter adjustments and/or supplemental data into SHARP for processing in that night's off-cycle payroll.   SHARP Time and Labor agencies have until 3:30 p.m. to submit/approve reported time so it is picked up by the Time Administration process. After Time Administration runs, the payable time must be approved by 6:00 p.m. so that the status is ready for payroll processing.

Off-cycle payrolls for Regents' institutions are also normally scheduled for each Monday and every other Wednesday night.  Regents' institutions generally have until 4:00 p.m. on Fridays and every other Tuesday to submit off-cycle payroll interface files.  The Office of General Services must approve all interface files for processing by 5:00 p.m. on the following Monday or every other Wednesday for the files to be processed in that night's off-cycle payroll.   Regents' off-cycle payrolls will be issued with the same check/advice date as the SHARP off-cycle processed the same night.

Note: Two On-cycle schedules are attached-one for v8.9 and one for after the SHARP upgrade to v9.1 (currently scheduled for February 9-12, 2013) when all SHARP agencies will also transition to Time and Labor.  Note that off-cycle B for the 2/2/2013 Pay Period End Date will be cancelled due to the upgrade as marked with asterisks on the Off-cycle schedule.

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Attachments
Bi-Weekly Payroll Schedule for ON-cycle Calendar Year 2013 (v8.9) xls

Bi-Weekly Payroll Schedule for ON-cycle Calendar Year 2013 (v9.1) xls

Bi-Weekly Payroll Schedule for OFF-cycle Calendar Year 2013 xls

For plan year (PY) 2013, the Health Care Commission approved changes which include making the full employer contribution amount to a Health Savings Account (HSA) benefit option in one lump sum during the first pay period in January, 2013 (January 4, 2013 paycheck) for employees with a zero balance in their Health Care Flexible Spending Account by December 31, 2012.  This employer contribution will be processed in SHARP for each employee participating through the State of Kansas health insurance program in a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) and making the required employee contribution to an HSA. For employees that still have a balance in their Health Care Flexible Spending Account on December 31, 2012, both the prorated employer contribution and employee contributions will be delayed until the first pay date in April, 2013.  Employee HSA contributions will continue to be deducted semi-monthly throughout PY 2013.

For all three HDHP benefit options, the full HSA annual employer contribution amounts for full-time employees will be $1,500 for single coverage and $2,250 for dependent coverage. For part-time employees, the full HSA annual employer contribution amounts will be $1,125.20 for single coverage and $1,687.60 for dependent coverage.  Prorated annual employer contribution amounts for all employees except 9-month paid employees at Regents Institutions will be as follows depending on the month the employee is enrolled for coverage:

For employees who are enrolled after the beginning of 2013 and for when a hire occurs in the middle of the month, the coverage begin date entered into SHARP should be effective for the beginning of the month following 30 days from the date of hire and the appropriate prorated employer contribution should also be processed effective on the first paycheck of that month.  For example, a new employee is hired on June 17, 2013 and enrolls in HSA.  The coverage begin date should be entered effective August 1, 2013 and the HSA prorated employer contribution for August will be processed on their first paycheck in August.

For all employees except 9-month paid employees at Regents Institutions, the agency GHI composite rate cost for the HDHP benefit options will continue to be reduced by the amount of the semi-monthly HSA employer contribution and the HSA annual/prorated employer contributions will be added as flat employer contributions to the FSA benefit setup tables in SHARP.  Both GHI and HSA employer contributions will be charged to Account Code 519500.

For 9-month paid Regent employees (16 deductions), the HSA employer contribution cost will be paid by the agency in addition to the full agency GHI composite rate cost.  Regent agencies will then request a journal voucher reimbursement of the amount of their agency HSA employer contributions from KDHE, Division of Health Care Finance on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis.   Prorated annual employer contribution amounts for 9-month paid Regent employees (16 deductions) will be as follows depending on the month the employee is enrolled for coverage:

To accommodate the new HSA payroll processing procedures, the setup on the Deduction Table for all current HSA deduction codes in SHARP for Plan Types 6Y and 6Z will be changed to employee only deduction codes effective December 9, 2012.   A new Benefit Plan Type (67) will be used in SHARP to process the employer only contributions.  Also, new employer deduction codes/benefit plans will be added in SHARP effective for the payroll period beginning December 9 and ending December 22, 2012, paid January 4, 2013 and are applicable to all three HDHP benefit options.

The new HSA employer deduction codes/benefit plans are:

All employees except Regent 9-month: 

Regent 9-month (16deductions):

The Office of General Services, Payroll Services Section will remit the employee and employer monies to one bank (US Bank) for all agencies and for all three health plan vendors (Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, Coventry/PHS and UnitedHealthcare) beginning with the January 4, 2013 paychecks. 

The Office of General Services, Payroll Systems Team will make changes to the SHARP payroll system to implement the new Health Savings Account benefit plan type/new deduction codes.  Regents’ institutions are responsible for ensuring that the new Health Savings Account benefit plan type/new deduction codes are available in their individual systems.  In addition, Regents’ institutions should be prepared to test their benefits interface and payroll files for the new deductions by November 15, 2012.

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The Social Security wage base for OASDI will be $113,700 for calendar year 2013.  This is a $3,600 increase from the wage base of calendar year 2012 of $110,100.  The OASDI tax rate for 2013 will be 6.2% for both employees and employers.  (Note that the 2012 OASDI tax rate was 4.2% for employees and 6.2% for employers under the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, and that rate is scheduled to be 6.2% for both employees and employers in 2013.  However, bills currently being considered in Congress may change this.)  If no changes are passed by Congress, the maximum OASDI employee contribution for 2013 will be $7,049.40.   There continues to be no limit on wages subject to the Medicare tax in 2013.  Medicare tax rates for employers and employees remain at 1.45%.  However, beginning in calendar year 2013, wages paid in excess of $200,000 will be subject to an extra 0.9% Medicare tax that will only be withheld from employees’ wages.  Employers will not pay the extra tax.  Office of General Services staff are closely tracking legislation pending in Congress and additional informational circulars will be issued as necessary to communicate any changes for 2013 resulting from Federal Legislation.

For Federal employees at Kansas State University who were hired prior to January 1, 1984, the employee contribution rate for reduced FICA remains at 1.45 % on all wages subject to the tax (there has been no maximum contribution since January 1, 1994).  Federal employees hired after January 1, 1984 will have a maximum contribution of $7,049.40 for OASDI and no maximum for Medicare.  The employer and employee rates continue to be the same.

For Kansas Police and Fireman’s program participants who are subject to the mandated Medicare coverage, the contribution rate remains at 1.45% on all wages subject to the tax (there has been no maximum contribution since January 1, 1994).

The Office of General Services, Payroll Systems Team is responsible for making the necessary updates to the SHARP payroll system.  Regents’ institutions are responsible for ensuring these changes are reflected in their individual systems.

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Monday, November 12, 2012 (Veterans' Day), Thursday, November 22, 2012 and Friday, November 23, 2012 (Thanksgiving Holiday) are designated holidays for state service in 2012.

Due to the holidays in November, changes are required to the ‘normal’ payroll processing schedule. Agencies are asked to note the payroll processing schedule due dates, some of which are occurring on a different day of the week than normally scheduled.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

The third on-cycle preliminary pay calculation for the period ending October 27, 2012 will occur November 1, 2012.

Regents’ on-cycle files for the period ending October 27, 2012 must be received by the Department of Administration by 4:00 PM on November 1, 2012.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Final pay confirmation for the on-cycle payroll for the period ending October 27, 2012 will occur November 2, 2012. For Time and Leave agencies, all employees’ time and leave records must be ‘OK to Process’, and for Time and Labor agencies, all employees’ payable time must be approved, by 6:00 PM on November 2, 2012 in order for a paycheck record to be created. All deduction and tax data changes must be entered by 6:00 PM on November 2, 2012 in order to be reflected in the final paycheck created for the employee.

Regents’ Run A off-cycle payroll files for the period ending October 27, 2012 must be received by the Department of Administration by 4:00 PM on November 2, 2012.

Monday, November 5, 2012

The Run A off-cycle for the period ending October 27, 2012 will be processed November 5, 2012. SHARP Time and Leave/Time and Labor agencies have until 6:00 PM on this date to enter supplementals and/or adjustments run controls for the Run A off-cycle. For Time and Labor agencies, all employees’ reported time must be entered (and approved if applicable) by 3:30 PM. Payable time must be approved by 6:00 PM. Paychecks for the Run A off-cycle will be dated November 9, 2012.

The Regents’ on-cycle files for the period ending October 27, 2012 will also be processed.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Regents’ Run B off-cycle payroll files for the period ending October 27, 2012 must be received by the Department of Administration by 4:00 PM on November 6, 2012 in order to be processed on Wednesday, November 7, 2012.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

The Run B off-cycle for the period ending October 27, 2012 will be processed November 7, 2012. SHARP Time and Leave/Time and Labor agencies have until 6:00 PM on this date to enter supplementals and/or adjustments run controls for the Run B off-cycle. For Time and Labor agencies, all employees’ reported time must be entered (and approved if applicable) by 3:30 PM. Payable time must be approved by 6:00 PM. Paychecks for the Run B off-cycle will be dated November 13, 2012.

Friday, November 9, 2012

Payday for the payroll period ending October 27, 2012.

First opportunity for Time and Leave/Time and Labor interface agencies to have time and leave files for the period ending November 10, 2012 submitted to the Department of Administration for processing by 5:00 PM on November 9, 2012. (These files would normally be due Monday, November 12, 2012). Last opportunity to submit files will be noon on Tuesday, November 13, 2012.

Regents’ Run C off-cycle payroll files for the period ending October 27, 2012 must be received by the Department of Administration by 4:00 PM on November 9, 2012.
 

Monday, November 12, 2012

Veterans' Day Holiday

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

The Run C off-cycle for the period ending October 27, 2012 will be processed November 13, 2012. SHARP Time and Leave/Time and Labor agencies have until 6:00 PM on this date to enter supplemental and/or adjustment run controls for the Run C off-cycle. For Time and Labor agencies, all employees’ reported time must be entered (and approved if applicable) by 3:30 PM. Payable time must be approved by 6:00 PM. Paychecks for the Run C off-cycle will be dated November 16, 2012.

Paysheets for the on-cycle payroll for the period ending November 10, 2012 will be created on Tuesday, November 13, 2012. For Time and Leave agencies, all job actions (i.e., promotions, terminations, new hires, leave of absences, step increases, etc.) must be entered by 6:00 PM on November 13, 2012 in order to be reflected on the paysheets for this period.

The first on-cycle preliminary pay calculation for the period ending November 10, 2012 will also occur November 13, 2012; therefore, for Time and Leave agencies, all employees’ time and leave data must be entered into SHARP and designated ‘OK to Process’ by 6:00 PM in order for a paycheck record to be created. For Time and Labor agencies, all employees’ reported time must be entered (and approved if applicable) into SHARP by 3:30 PM. After Time Administration runs at 3:30 PM, payable time must be approved by 6:00 PM. on November 13, 2012 in order for a paycheck record to be created. Please note that there will be only two SHARP on-cycle preliminary payroll calculations for the pay period ending November 10, 2012.

Time and Leave/Time and Labor interface agencies can submit time and leave files for the period ending November 10, 2012 to the Department of Administration for processing by 7:30 a.m. to be processed at 7:45 a.m. or by noon to be processed at 12:30 p.m. on November 13, 2012.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

The second on-cycle preliminary pay calculation for the period ending November 10, 2012 will occur November 14, 2012. Regents’ on-cycle payroll files for the period ending November 10, 2012 are due to the Department of Administration by 4:00 PM on November 14, 2012. (These files would normally be due Thursday, November 15, 2012.)

Thursday, November 15, 2012
 

Final pay confirmation for the on-cycle payroll for the period ending November 10, 2012 will occur November 15, 2012. (Final pay confirmation would normally occur Friday, November 16, 2012). For Time and Leave agencies, all employees’ time and leave records must be ‘OK to Process’, and for Time and Labor agencies, all employees’ payable time must be approved, by 6:00 PM on November 15, 2012 in order for a paycheck record to be created. All deduction and tax data changes must be entered by 6:00 PM on November 15, 2012 in order to be reflected in the final paycheck created for the employee.

Regents’ Run A off-cycle payroll files for the period ending November 10, 2012 must be received by the Department of Administration by 4:00 PM on November 15, 2012. (These files would normally be due Friday, November 16, 2012.)

Friday, November 16, 2012

The Regents’ on-cycle files for the period ending November 10, 2012 will be processed.

The Run A off-cycle for the period ending November 10, 2012 will be processed November 16, 2012. (This off-cycle would normally be scheduled for Monday, November 19, 2012.) SHARP Time and Leave/Time and Labor agencies have until 6:00 PM on this date to enter supplemental and/or adjustment run controls for the Run A off-cycle. For Time and Labor agencies, all employees’ reported time must be entered (and approved if applicable) by 3:30 PM. Payable time must be approved by 6:00 PM. Paychecks for the Run A off-cycle will be dated November 21, 2012.

Monday, November 19, 2012

Payroll Journal transactions for the SHARP on-cycle payroll for the period ending November 10, 2012 will be posted to SMART during Monday night's SMART batch processing cycle. (This process would normally occur Wednesday, November 21, 2012.)

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Regents’ Run B off-cycle payroll files for the period ending November 10, 2012 must be received by the Department of Administration by 4:00 PM on November 20, 2012.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Payday for the payroll period ending November 10, 2012. (It would normally be Friday, November 23, 2012)

The Run B off-cycle for the period ending November 10, 2012 will be processed November 21, 2012. SHARP Time and Leave/Time and Labor agencies have until 6:00 PM on this date to enter supplemental and/or adjustment run controls for the Run B off-cycle. For Time and Labor agencies, all employees’ reported time must be entered (and approved if applicable) by 3:30 PM. Payable time must be approved by 6:00 PM. Paychecks for the Run B off-cycle will be dated November 28, 2012. (Paychecks would normally be dated Monday, November 26, 2012.)

Regents’ Run C off-cycle payroll files for the period ending November 10, 2012 must be received by the Department of Administration by 4:00 PM on November 21, 2012. (These files would normally be due Friday, November 23, 2012.)

Thursday, November 22, 2012
Thanksgiving Holiday

Friday, November 23, 2012
Thanksgiving Holiday

Monday, November 26, 2012

The Run C off-cycle for the period ending November 10, 2012 will be processed November 26, 2012. SHARP Time and Leave/Time and Labor agencies have until 6:00 PM on this date to enter supplemental and/or adjustment run controls for the Run C off-cycle. For Time and Labor agencies, all employees’ reported time must be entered (and approved if applicable) by 3:30 PM. Payable time must be approved by 6:00 PM. Paychecks for the Run C off-cycle will be dated November 29, 2012.

Time and Leave/Time and Labor interface agencies must have time and leave files for the period ending November 24, 2012 submitted to the Department of Administration for processing by 5:00 PM on November 26, 2012.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Paysheets for the on-cycle payroll for the period ending November 24, 2012 will be created on Tuesday, November 27, 2012. For Time and Leave agencies, all job actions (i.e., promotions, terminations, new hires, leave of absences, step increases, etc.) must be entered by 6:00 PM on November 27, 2012 in order to be reflected on the paysheets for this period.

The first on-cycle preliminary pay calculation for the period ending November 24, 2012 will also occur November 27, 2012; therefore, for Time and Leave agencies, all employees’ time and leave data must be entered into SHARP and designated ‘OK to Process’ by 6:00 PM in order for a paycheck to be created. For Time and Labor agencies, all employees’ reported time must be entered (and approved if applicable) into SHARP by 3:30 PM. After Time Administration runs at 3:30 PM, payable time must be approved by 6:00 PM, in order for a paycheck record to be created.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

The second on-cycle preliminary pay calculation for the period ending November 24, 2012 will occur November 28, 2012.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

The third on-cycle preliminary pay calculation for the period ending November 24, 2012 will occur November 29, 2012.

Regents’ on-cycle files for the period ending November 24, 2012 must be received by the Department of Administration by 4:00 PM on November 29, 2012.

Friday, November 30, 2012

Final pay confirmation for the on-cycle payroll for the period ending November 24, 2012 will occur November 30, 2012. For Time and Leave agencies, all employees’ time and leave records must be ‘OK to Process’, and for Time and Labor agencies, all employees’ payable time must be approved, by 6:00 PM on November 30, 2012 in order for a paycheck record to be created. All deduction and tax data changes must be entered by 6:00 PM on November 30, 2012 in order to be reflected in the final paycheck created for the employee.

Regents’ Run A off-cycle payroll files for the period ending November 24, 2012 must be received by the Department of Administration by 4:00 PM on November 30, 2012.

Attached is a calendar for the month of November 2012, which highlights key payroll processing activity for the month. The attached calendar is intended for use as a supplementary reference tool only; it does not contain the level of detail that is included in the narrative portion of this circular.

Please note the changes to the payroll processing schedule and adjust your schedules accordingly. If it becomes necessary to change any of the payroll processing dates identified above, notification of the change will be provided to all subscribers of the SHARP Infolist. SHARP users interested in subscribing to the Infolist, but who have not yet done so, can subscribe at http://www.da.ks.gov/sharp/infolist.htm.

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Attachment pdf

Pursuant to the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA), the annual Deferred Compensation and Tax Sheltered Annuity (TSA) limits will change effective January 1, 2013 as follows:

457(b) Deferred Compensation:

The Deferred Compensation (Benefit Plan 457DEF) annual contribution limit is increased from the lesser of $17,000 or 100% of includible compensation (2012 calendar year limit) to the lesser of $17,500 or 100% of includible compensation.

The Deferred Compensation special catch-up (Benefit Plan 457DER) limit is increased from $34,000 (2012 calendar year limit) to $35,000. The special catch-up limit is twice the general deferral limit, and is only available to employees who are within three years of normal retirement age.

The Deferred Compensation catch-up provision for participants who are 50 years of age or older (Benefit Plan 457DEC) remains the same with an annual contribution limit of $5,500 for 2013 making the total $23,000.

Please note that the two different catch-up provisions cannot be used concurrently.

403(b) Tax Sheltered Annuities (TSA):

The limit on annual contributions to a TSA for 2013 is the lesser of $51,000 or 100% of compensation, increased from $50,000 for 2012.

The annual compensation limit used for calculating mandatory employee and employer contributions is increased from $250,000 (for 2012) to $255,000 (for 2013). The $255,000 applies to the mandatory retirement plans for the School of the Blind, School for the Deaf, and Kansas Board of Regents (for employees whose participation began after 1995). For School of the Blind and School of the Deaf employees, the maximum contribution that can be made to the plan is $25,500 ($255,000 maximum annual compensation multiplied by 10%, 5% employer contribution and 5% employee contribution). For Board of Regents employees (participants after 1995), the maximum contribution that can be made to the plan is $35,700 ($255,000 maximum annual compensation multiplied by 14%, 8.5% employer contribution and 5.5% employee contribution).

For employees participating in the Kansas Board of Regents’ mandatory plan prior to 1996, participants are ‘grandfathered’ and use the annual compensation limit under Internal Revenue Code Section 401(a) (17). The 401(a) (17) limit is increased from $375,000 (for 2012) to $380,000 (for 2013). However, participants should note their maximum annual compensation limit will be $364,285.71, since the $364.285.71 annual compensation multiplied by the 14% contribution rate (8.5% for the employer and 5.5% for the employee), results in $51,000, which is the limit on annual contributions.

The limit on elective deferrals (Voluntary Tax Sheltered Annuities) is increased from $17,000 for 2012 to $17,500 for 2013. The age 50 or older catch-up provision remains the same at $5,500 for 2013. Therefore, an employee age 50 or over is eligible to increase his/her elective deferral and limit on an annual contribution by $5,500. Additionally, there is a 15-year rule which may allow employees with 15 or more years of service to increase the elective deferral limit by an additional $3,000. Employees may use both the age 50 catch-up provision and 15-year rule concurrently. IRS regulations issued in 2003 state that when employees are eligible for both the 15-year rule and the age 50 catch-up provision, the limit on elective deferrals ($17,500 for 2013) is applied first, then the 15-year rule, and finally the age 50 catch-up provision.

Please note that the total of nonelective deferrals (the mandatory retirement plans) and elective deferral (VTSA) cannot exceed the limit on annual contributions plus the age 50 or older catch-up provision amount (if applicable).

Regents’ institutions are reminded that they are responsible for applying the maximum VTSA formulas for their employees. Please note that this circular only provides a summary of the law in this area. Due to the complexity of the legislation and the unique circumstances of each employee, Regents’ institutions are strongly encouraged to contact the 403(b) carriers to aid in determining limits in those cases which are outside the norm (the employee is near the limit on annual contributions, the employee is near the elective deferral limit, the employee wants to use the age 50 catch-up provision, or the employee wants to use the 15-year rule).

Finally, the EGTRRA Act of 2001 repealed the coordination requirements for employees who participate in both a 457(b) Deferred Compensation Plans and 403(b) Tax Sheltered Annuity plans. Employees eligible for both plans continue to be able to defer the full amount to both plans.

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The organization dues for the State Employees Association of Kansas (SEAK) will be increased from $5.50 to $6.50 for regular members (ORG050) and from $2.50 to $3.50 for single, head of household members (ORG051) per biweekly payroll period. The new rates will become effective with the payroll period beginning November 25, 2012 and ending December 8, 2012, paid December 21, 2012.

Currently, organization dues must be entered into SHARP as two separate deduction codes: one organizational dues deduction code and one corresponding fee deduction code. In this case, the new rate for deduction code ORG050 will increase from $5.44 to $6.44 and the fee (ORF050) will remain at $.06 (for a total of $6.50 per biweekly payroll period). The new rate for deduction code ORG051 will increase from $2.44 to $3.44 and the fee (ORF051) will remain at $.06 (for a total of $3.50 per biweekly payroll period).

The Office of General Services, Payroll Systems Team is responsible for making this change in the SHARP system. Regent’s institutions are responsible for ensuring this change is reflected in their individual systems and is effective for paychecks issued on or after December 21, 2012.

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As a result of Governor Brownback declaring Monday, December 24 and Tuesday, December 25, 2012 as state holidays, the following changes have been made to the December payroll processing schedule for the payroll periods ending December 8, 2012 and December 22, 2012:

Monday, December 10, 2012

The Run 'C' off-cycle for the payroll period ending November 24, 2012 continues to be scheduled for December 10, 2012.  SHARP Time and Leave/Time and Labor agencies have until 6:00 PM on this date to enter supplemental and/or adjustment run controls for the Run C off-cycle. For Time and Labor agencies, all employees’ reported time must be entered (and approved if applicable) by 3:30 PM. Payable time must be approved by 6:00 PM.  The check issue date for the Run 'C' off-cycle will remain Thursday, December 13, 2012.

Time and Leave/Time and Labor interface agencies must have time and leave files for the period ending December 8, 2012 submitted to the Department of Administration for processing by 5:00 p.m. on December 10, 2012.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Paysheets for the on-cycle payroll for the period ending December 8, 2012 will be created as usual on Tuesday, December 11, 2012.  For Time and Leave agencies, all job actions (i.e. promotions, terminations, new hires, leave of absences, step increases, etc.) must be entered by 6:00 p.m. on December 11, 2012 in order to be reflected on the paysheets for this period.

The first on-cycle preliminary pay calculation for the period ending December 8, 2012 will also occur December 11, 2012; therefore, for Time and Leave agencies, all employees’ time and leave data must be entered into SHARP and designated ‘OK to Process’ by  6:00 p.m. in order for a paycheck record to be created.   For Time and Labor agencies, all employees’ reported time must be entered (and approved if applicable) into SHARP by 3:30 p.m. After Time Administration runs at 3:30 p.m., payable time must be approved by 6:00 p.m. in order for a paycheck record to be created.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

The second on-cycle preliminary pay calculation for the period ending December 8, 2012 will occur December 12, 2012.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

The third on-cycle preliminary pay calculation for the period ending December 8, 2012 will occur December 13, 2012.

Regents’ on-cycle payroll files for the period ending December 8, 2012 are due to the Department of Administration by 4:00 p.m. on December 13, 2012.

Friday, December 14, 2012

Final pay confirmation for the on-cycle payroll for the period ending December 8, 2012 will occur December 14, 2012.    For Time and Leave agencies, all employees’ time and leave records must be ‘OK to Process’, and for Time and Labor agencies, all employees’ payable time must be approved, by 6:00 p.m. on December 14, 2012 in order for a paycheck record to be created.    All deduction and tax data changes must be entered by 6:00 p.m. on December 14, 2012 in order to be reflected in the final paycheck created for the employee. The check issue date for the on-cycle will be Friday, December 21, 2012.

Regents’ Run ‘A’ off-cycle payroll files for the period ending December 8, 2012 are due to the Department of Administration by 4:00 p.m. on December 14, 2012.

Monday, December 17, 2012

The Run ‘A’ off-cycle for the period ending December 8, 2012 will be processed December 17, 2012.  SHARP Time and Leave/Time and Labor agencies have until 6:00 p.m. on this date to enter supplemental and/or adjustment run controls for the Run ‘A’ off-cycle.  For Time and Labor agencies, all employees’ reported time must be entered (and approved if applicable) by 3:30 PM. Payable time must be approved by 6:00 PM.  Paychecks for the Run ‘A’ off-cycle will be dated Friday, December 21, 2012.

The Regents’ on-cycle files for the period ending December 8, 2012 will be processed.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Regents’ Run ‘B’ off-cycle payroll files for the period ending December 8, 2012 must be received by the Department of Administration by 4:00 p.m. on December 18, 2012 in order to be processed on Wednesday, December 19, 2012.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

The Run 'B' off-cycle for the payroll period ending December 8, 2012 continues to be scheduled for December 19, 2012.  SHARP Time and Leave/Time and Labor agencies have until 6:00 PM on this date to enter supplementals and/or adjustments run controls for the Run ‘B’ off-cycle.  For Time and Labor agencies, all employees’ reported time must be entered (and approved if applicable) by 3:30 PM. Payable time must be approved by 6:00 PM.  However, the check issue date for the Run 'B' off-cycle will be Wednesday, December 26, 2012. (It would normally be Monday, December 24, 2012).

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Regents’ Run ‘C’ off-cycle payroll files for the period ending December 8, 2012 must be received by the Department of Administration by 4:00 p.m. on December 20, 2012 in order to be processed on Friday, December 21, 2012.  (The files would normally be due on Friday, December 21, 2012 and processed on Monday, December 24, 2012).                                                    

Friday, December 21, 2012

Payday for the payroll period ending December 8, 2012.

The Run 'C' off-cycle for the payroll period ending December 8, 2012 is scheduled for December 21, 2012. (It would normally be on Monday, December 24, 2012.)  SHARP Time and Leave/Time and Labor agencies have until 6:00 PM on this date to enter supplemental and/or adjustment run controls for the Run ‘C’ off-cycle. For Time and Labor agencies, all employees’ reported time must be entered (and approved if applicable) by 3:30 PM. Payable time must be approved by 6:00 PM.  The check issue date for the Run 'C' off-cycle will be Friday, December 28, 2012. (It would normally be on Thursday, December 27, 2012).

First opportunity for Time and Leave/Time and Labor interface agencies to have time and leave files for the period ending December 22, 2012 submitted to the Department of Administration for processing by 5:00 p.m. on December 21, 2012. (The files would normally be due on Monday, December 24, 2012).  Last opportunity to submit files will be noon on Wednesday, December 26, 2012.

Monday, December 24, 2012

Christmas Eve Holiday

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Christmas Holiday

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Paysheets for the on-cycle payroll for the period ending December 22, 2012 will be created on Wednesday, December 26, 2012.  (Paysheets would normally be created on Tuesday, December 25, 2012.) For Time and Leave agencies, all job actions (i.e. promotions, terminations, new hires, leave of absences, step increases, etc.) must be entered by 6:00 p.m. on December 26, 2012 in order to be reflected on the paysheets for this period.

The first on-cycle preliminary pay calculation for the period ending December 22, 2012 will also occur December 26, 2012.  (It would normally be on Tuesday, December 25, 2012.)  For Time and Leave agencies, all employees’ time and leave data must be entered into SHARP and designated ‘OK to Process’ by 6:00 p.m. in order for a paycheck record to be created.   For Time and Labor agencies, all employees’ reported time must be entered (and approved if applicable) into SHARP by 3:30 p.m.  After Time Administration runs at 3:30 PM, payable time must be approved by 6:00 p.m. in order for a paycheck record to be created. Please note that there will only be two SHARP on-cycle preliminary payroll calculations for the pay period ending December 22, 2012.

Time and Leave/Time and Labor interface agencies can submit time and leave files for the period ending December 22, 2012 to the Department of Administration for processing by 7:30 a.m. to be processed at 7:45 a.m. or by noon to be processed at 12:30 p.m. on December 26, 2012.

Thursday, December 27, 2012

The 2nd on-cycle preliminary pay calculation for the period ending December 22, 2012 will occur December 27, 2012. (The 2^nd pre-calc would normally be on Wednesday, December 26, 2012.)

Regents’ on-cycle payroll files for the period ending December 22, 2012 are due to the Department of Administration by 4:00 p.m. on December 27, 2012.

Friday, December 28, 2012

Final pay confirmation for the on-cycle payroll for the period ending December 22, 2012 will occur December 28, 2012.    For Time and Leave agencies, all employees’ time and leave records must be ‘OK to Process’, and for Time and Labor agencies, all employees’ payable time must be approved, by 6:00 p.m. on December 28, 2012 in order for a paycheck record to be created.  All deduction and tax data changes must be entered by 6:00 p.m. on December 28, 2012 in order to be reflected in the final paycheck created for the employee.  The check issue date for the on-cycle will be Friday, January 4, 2013.

Regents’ Run ‘A’ off-cycle payroll files for the period ending December 22, 2012 are due to the Department of Administration by 4:00 p.m. on December 28, 2012.

Sunday, December 30, 2012

The Regents’ on-cycle files for the period ending December 22, 2012 will be processed.

Monday, December 31, 2012

The Run ‘A’ off-cycle for the period ending December 22, 2012 will be processed December 31, 2012.  SHARP Time and Leave/Time and Labor agencies have until 6:00 p.m. on this date to enter supplemental and/or adjustment run controls for the Run ‘A’ off-cycle.  For Time and Labor agencies, all employees’ reported time must be entered (and approved if applicable) by 3:30 PM. Payable time must be approved by 6:00 PM.  Paychecks for the Run ‘A’ off-cycle will be dated Friday, January 4, 2013.

Attached is a revised calendar for the month of December 2012 that highlights the payroll processing schedule changes due to the December 24^th and 25^th Christmas holidays.  The informational circular for key payroll processing dates in December for calendar year end activities will be released at a later date.  The attached calendar is intended for use as a supplementary reference tool only; it does not contain the level of detail that is included in the narrative portion of this informational circular.

Please note the changes to the payroll processing schedule and adjust your schedules accordingly. If it becomes necessary to change any of the processing dates identified above, notification of the change will be provided to all subscribers of the SHARP Infolist.  SHARP users who are interested in subscribing to the Infolist, but have not yet done so, can subscribe at

http://da.ks.gov/sharp/infolist.htm.

Revised calendar for the month of December 2012 pdf

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The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced the standard mileage rate will increase to 56.5 cents beginning January 1, 2013 under the Cents-Per-Mile method of valuing an employee’s personal (commuting) use of a state-owned or leased vehicle.  The standard mileage rate for business is based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile.  The Cents-Per-Mile valuation is one of several methodologies that can be used to calculate fringe benefit income.  See Informational Circular No. 05-P-023*.  Using this methodology, fringe benefit income is calculated by multiplying the 56.5 cents rate by the number of personal (commuting) miles driven by the employee in the state-owned or leased vehicle.  To be eligible to use the Cents-Per-Mile method, at least 50% of the vehicle’s total mileage is used for the employer’s trade or business, or the vehicle is primarily used by employees and the total mileage for the vehicle exceeds 10,000 miles per year.  The Cents-Per-Mile method may not be used for ‘luxury’ vehicles.  If a vehicle is first made available to an employee for personal (commuting) use in calendar year 2013 and the agency wishes to use the Cents-Per-Mile method, the fair market value of the vehicle cannot exceed $16,000 for a car (up from $15,900 in 2012), and $17,000 for a passenger truck or van (up from $16,700 in 2012).  Agencies and employees are also reminded that the only personal use of a state-owned or leased vehicle allowed under state law is to commute between the employee’s work station and home, and then in only limited situations.

Please note that this Informational Circular does not impact the State’s privately owned vehicle mileage reimbursement rate. 

*Informational Circular No. 05-P-023 contains an incorrect K.A.R. reference number in the next to the last paragraph of the POLICY section.  The reference should be:  Kansas Administrative Regulation 1-17-2a(b)(1).

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As 2012 calendar year-end approaches, the Office of General Services is making preparations for the issuance of calendar year 2012 Wage and Tax Statements (Forms W-2) and Non-Resident Alien Compensation Statements (1042-S).  Any 2012 paycheck adjustments processed after the established cut-off dates will update the employee’s calendar year 2013 balances; a corrected W-2 (Form W-2C) for 2012 will not be issued for the employee involved.

FINAL 2012 PAYCHECK

The final on-cycle paychecks for calendar year 2012 will be issued December 21, 2012.  Payroll transactions for the December 21, 2012 on-cycle paychecks will be posted to SMART on Wednesday night, December 19, 2012.  The final off-cycle paychecks for calendar year 2012 will be issued on December 28, 2012 (generated from the off-cycle processed on December 21, 2012).

PAYCHECK REVERSALS

Any 2012 paychecks that are undeliverable should be reversed as soon as possible.  SHARP agencies have until 6:00 p.m. on December 21, 2012 to enter paycheck reversals.  Any reversals entered after the 6:00 p.m. deadline on December 21, 2012 will update calendar year 2013 balances and will not be reflected in the employee’s 2012 W-2.

PAYCHECK ADJUSTMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTALS

SHARP agencies have until 6:00 p.m. on December 21, 2012 to enter paycheck adjustment requests for any 2012 paychecks.  Adjustments processed in the December 21, 2012 off-cycle payroll will be reflected on the employee’s 2012 Form W-2.  Please remember that only one adjustment can be processed per employee per off-cycle; this applies to agency entered adjustments, supplementals and centrally entered adjustments.  If a 2012 paycheck has been previously adjusted and requires additional adjustment, form DA-180, SHARP Paycheck Reversal/Adjustment/Supplemental, should be submitted to the Office of General Services, Payroll Section by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, December 17, 2012.

Payroll Services staff will make every effort to process all DA-180 forms submitted by 5:00 p.m. on December 17, 2012 for inclusion in the December 21, 2012 off-cycle.  However, if a large volume of DA-180 forms is received on the December 17, 2012 cut-off date, Payroll Services cannot guarantee that all forms will be processed as calendar year 2012 business.  Agencies can assist in the processing effort by submitting any DA-180 forms and the completed attachment as soon as you become aware a centrally entered adjustment is needed.

Adjustment requests entered after December 21, 2012 which are adjusting paychecks issued prior to January 1, 2013 will not result in a W-2C; the adjustment will update the employee’s 2013 payroll balances regardless of the reason the paycheck is being adjusted.  Likewise, any supplemental requests that are entered either by agencies or centrally by Payroll Services after December 21, 2012 will update the employee’s 2013 payroll balances.

REGENTS’ INSTITUTIONS: ON-CYCLE FILES

Regent on-cycle files for the pay period ending December 8, 2012, paid December 21, 2012 are due to the Department of Administration by 4:00 p.m. on December 13, 2012.

REGENTS’ INSTITUTIONS: OFF-CYCLE FILES

2012 Paycheck Reversals

Regent Institutions must submit all transmittals for 2012 paycheck reversals by 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 20, 2012 in order to update the employee’s 2012 W-2.  These files should contain a ‘C’ indicating current year business and the pay adjust check date field should contain the original check issue date for the paycheck being reversed.   Any paycheck reversals submitted after this date will update the employee’s calendar year 2013 payroll balances regardless of the paycheck issue date of the paycheck being reversed.  Reversals for paychecks issued prior to January 1, 2013 submitted after 4:00 p.m. on December 20, 2012 should default the pay adjust check date to January 1, 2013.

2012 Adjustments and Supplementals

In order to update employee balances for 2012, any paycheck adjustments and supplementals must be submitted no later than 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 20, 2012.  The Run C off-cycle for the pay period ending December 8, 2012 generated on the night of Friday, December 21, 2012 will have a check issue date of December 28, 2012; all activity for this off-cycle will be reflected in the employees’ 2012 W-2.  These files should contain a ‘C’ indicating current year business.  For supplementals and salary underpayments, the pay adjust check date should be blank; for all other adjustment types, the pay adjust check date field should contain the original paycheck issue date of the paycheck being adjusted and the date must be a 2012 date.

2013 Adjustments and Supplementals

With the exception of arrearages or refunds for OASDI and/or Medicare for tax years prior to 2013, any adjustments or supplementals submitted after 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 20, 2012, will be considered to be 2013 business regardless of the pay period end date to which the pay is related.  Since this activity will be considered calendar year 2013 business, the employee’s 2013 balances will be updated.  These files should contain a ‘C’ indicating current year business and the pay adjust check date should be a 2013 date (regardless of the original paycheck issue date of the paycheck being adjusted -- if the original check date was prior to January 1, 2013, agencies should default the pay adjust check date to January 1, 2013).

With the exception of OASDI and/or Medicare tax refunds or arrearages for tax years prior to 2013, Regents institutions may continue to submit adjustments and supplementals throughout the month of January 2013 regardless of the original pay period ending date of the paycheck being adjusted.  The activity will be processed on the regular Monday and every other Wednesday off-cycle schedule and will update 2013 payroll balances.

Arrearages or refunds for OASDI and/or Medicare taxes for prior calendar years and limited to those adjustments resulting from a change in Social Security status must be submitted on separate payroll interface files.  These files should contain a ‘P’ indicating prior year business and the pay adjust check date field should contain the original check issue date of the paycheck being adjusted.  Prior year OASDI and/or Medicare arrearages/refunds are the only situations in which a prior year indicator of ‘P’ should be used; payroll interface files for any other type of adjustments, which contain a prior year indicator of ‘P’, will be rejected and will not be processed.

Any prior year OASDI and/or Medicare refunds/arrearages identified after the December 20, 2012 deadline for the December 21, 2012 Run C’s off-cycle payroll will not be processed until the April 15, 2013 off-cycle payroll.  Since the files will be held, please do not begin submitting those files for processing until the week of April 8, 2013.  The deadline for submitting payroll interface files for the April 15, 2013 off-cycle is 4:00 p.m. on Friday, April 12, 2013.

GENERAL REMINDERS

United Way and Community Health Charities

The deduction END date on the general deduction page for 2012 United Way or Community Health Charities contributions for both the UTDXXX and UTFXXX deduction codes should be dated between December 09, 2012 and December 22, 2012 in order for the last 2012 deduction to be taken on the paycheck issued December 21, 2012. Agencies should verify the deduction end date for all employees enrolled in United Way and/or Community Health Charities to ensure deductions are taken correctly.  For calendar year 2013, agencies can enter a new row effective-dated between December 09, 2012 and December 22, 2012 in order for the first deduction for United Way or Community Health Charities for 2013 to be taken on the January 4, 2013 paycheck.  If the deduction is to be taken over 26 pay periods, a deduction end date of December 8, 2013 should be entered.  Agencies should enter the total pay period amount authorized by the employee when establishing the UTDXXX deduction code for 2013.

A batch process will run the night of December 21, 2012 to establish the fee portion (deduction code UTFXXX) of the 2013 United Way/Community Health Charities deduction.  The batch process will establish the UTFXXX deduction code with the same effective date and deduction end date as the UTDXXX deduction code for 2013.  This process will reduce the 2013 deduction amount (UTDXXX deduction code) by $.06 and create a UTFXXX deduction code which defaults to the Deduction Code table for a deduction of $.06; the sum of the UTDXXX and UTFXXX deduction codes for 2013 will match the employee’s authorized deduction amount.  Agencies should verify the deduction/fees set up for all employees enrolled in United Way and/or Community Health Charities beginning Wednesday, December 26, 2012 to ensure both the UTDXXX and UTFXXX deductions are taken correctly.

Tax Information

Pursuant to IRS regulations, all employees claiming an exemption from federal withholding must file a new W-4 each calendar year. To facilitate this requirement, an email notification will be sent on November 30, 2012 to all SHARP employees who are exempt from federal withholding.  Notifications will be sent to the employee’s email address listed under ‘Update

My Profile’ in the Employee Self Service Center at: https://sharp.ks.gov/psp/ESS/?cmd=login.  Notifications will be sent to the agency payroll supervisor email address for those employees who lack an individual email address, and agencies will need to distribute the notifications to their employees.  For agency payroll/human resource staff, a worklist will be created that will identify these employees. The worklist will be sent on November 30, 2012 to the agency staff that has been designated as the “agency payroll workflow administrator” through the SHARP security roles.  The worklist can be accessed two ways in SHARP:  from the Home page, click on Worklist under the Menu on the left side of the screen, or click on Worklist on the top right side of the screen next to Home.  For each employee on the worklist, your agency should contact the person to ensure the appropriate action is taken so that the desired tax status is in effect for 2013.  If your agency has no employees claiming an exemption from federal withholding the worklist will be empty.

SHARP employees are encouraged to use the Employee Self Service functionality to file their 2013 W-4s.  Employees should submit new paper W-4s by December 12, 2012 to allow adequate time for processing.

Agency personnel have until 6:00 p.m. on December 20, 2012 to enter all paper W-4s into the system.  Agency personnel are reminded that they also need to check the radio buttons ‘New W-4 Received’ on the employee’s ‘Federal Tax Data’ panel in SHARP for the effective-dated row they enter.  Agency Workflow Administrators also need to check the radio button ‘New W-4 Received’ on the electronic W-4s submitted by the employee for calendar year 2013.

The KPAY320 will be processed the evening of December 20, 2012.  This process searches for all employees for whom a W-4 email notification has been sent.  If a new W-4 has not been received, a January 1, 2013 effective-dated row will be placed in the Employee Tax Data record.  The January 1, 2013 effective-dated row will update the employee’s marital status to ‘single’ with zero exemptions.

For any 2013 paper W-4s (for employees claiming exemption from withholding) received between December 20, 2012 and January 1, 2013, agency personnel will need to enter the data with a January 2, 2013 effective date.  Agency Workflow Administrators will also need to change the effective date to January 2, 2013 for any electronic W-4s received in this time period.

The KPAY320 will only insert new effective-dated rows for federal withholding tax.  Employees should be advised to also review their state tax withholding to determine if changes are needed.  Employees working in Kansas will need to complete a new form K-4 to make any needed state tax withholding change.  See A&R Informational Circular 08-P-011 issued October 25, 2007 for information pertaining to the use of Form K-4.

The 2013 Form W-4 will be posted to the Office of General Services’ website as soon as it is available from the IRS.

In prior years, this same process was used to notify employees claiming the Advance Earned Income Credit (EIC) that a new W-5 should be filed.  The Education Jobs Act of 2010, enacted August 10, 2010, repeals IRC §3507, which allows low- and moderate-income employees to receive the advance payments of the earned income tax credit (EIC) through their paycheck, for tax years beginning after December 31, 2010.  Agency payroll/human resource staff should enter no W-5 information into the system for calendar year 2013. 

The KPAY320 will also enter a new-effective dated row in the SHARP federal tax data records on December 20, 2012 for employees with a special tax withholding status of ‘Non-Resident Alien’ to reflect that no 8233 form has yet been submitted for calendar year 2013.  The new tax data row will be dated January 1, 2013.  The 8233 indicator on the tax data records should be updated once a form 8233 for calendar year 2013 has been submitted.  A listing will not be provided for the 'Non-Resident Alien' updates, since reports are generated periodically throughout the calendar year to identify employees who have had non-resident alien earnings reported but whose current Federal Tax Data record in SHARP indicates the ‘Form 8233 Received’ checkbox does not contain a value of ‘Y’.

Deduction Information

All deductions for calendar year 2013 are biweekly except:

-Group Health Insurance: semi-monthly, deducted on the first and second pay dates of the month.

-Health Care Flexible Spending Accounts: semi-monthly, deducted on the first and second pay dates of the month.

-Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts: semi-monthly, deducted on the first and second pay dates of the month.

-Optional Group Life Insurance: monthly, deducted on the second pay date of the month.

-Health Savings Accounts: semi-monthly, deducted on the first and second pay dates of the month.

Arrearages/Advances

Every effort should be made to collect all arrearage balances either by personal reimbursement or paycheck deduction prior to the cut-off date of December 21, 2012.  Please refer to the most recent PAY007, ‘Deductions in Arrears Report’ and evaluate all existing arrearages for your agency and verify that collection will be made; agencies should continue monitoring the PAY007 reports to determine collections will be made by calendar year-end.  For sufficiently large balances that cannot be collected in one sum, agencies should establish a deduction override as soon as possible so paycheck deductions can be made and the balance collected by the cut-off date for year-end processing.  Also, as adjustments are processed from now until the end of the year, please monitor any new arrearage balances and collect in an expedient manner.

Any arrearage collections made by personal reimbursement that are collected after December 14, 2012, and prior to December 21, 2012, must be sent to the Office of General Services, Payroll Section for processing in order to impact the 2012 W-2.

Agencies are reminded that advance (‘ADV’) earnings are being paid to employees in situations where the employee’s earnings are not sufficient to cover certain deductions.  ‘ADV’ earnings are taxable wages at the time the earnings are paid; taxable wages are then reduced when the advance is collected (‘ADVNCE’ deduction).  Any ‘ADV’ earnings paid to an employee in calendar year 2012 will increase the employees’ W-2 taxable wages if the earnings are not collected by the end of the calendar year.  Agencies should collect any outstanding advances for payroll periods ending before December 8, 2012 by personal reimbursement as soon as possible.

W-2s

Please note that if an employee has an active mailing address on the SHARP Personal Information/ Modify a Person/ Contact Information page, the mailing address will be used for mailing the W-2.  If the employee has no active mailing address, then the home address will be used for mailing the W-2.  Since the majority of employees do not have a mailing address, most W-2's will continue to be mailed to the employee's home.  Please make any name, address, or social security number changes to the employee’s Contact Information page by 6:00 p.m. on December 26, 2012 to guarantee the updated information is included in the W-2 data. Although SHARP agencies have until December 26, 2012 to update the Contact Information page, it is strongly recommended that these changes be made as soon as they are known.  Regent's Institutions should make their name, address, and social security number changes by submitting them through the management reporting interface by 5:00 p.m. on December 21, 2012.  Since the W-2 form can only accommodate 30 characters in Address 1 and Address 2, please limit your employees’ address lengths.  Abbreviations should be used as needed to stay within the limit.

The W-2 programs will be executed anytime between December 27, 2012 and January 2, 2013.  W-2 forms will be mailed on or before January 31, 2013.  Notification of the W-2 mailings will be provided to all subscribers of the SHARP Infolist.

December Calendar

Attached is a revised calendar for the month of December 2012 that highlights the key payroll processing activity.  This calendar does not provide the same level of detail as that provided in this informational circular.  The attached calendar is intended for use as a supplementary reference tool to this informational circular.

If, in order to ensure the timely issuance of payroll, it becomes necessary to change any of the processing dates identified above, notification of the change will be provided to all subscribers of the SHARP Infolist.  SHARP users interested in subscribing to the Infolist, but who have not yet done so, can subscribe at http://da.ks.gov/sharp/infolist.htm.

Revised calendar for the month of December 2012

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The Kansas Department of Revenue has issued new tables for the percentage method of withholding for 2013. Please note that the standard deduction for one withholding allowance remains unchanged at $ 2,250.00 per year in calendar year 2013. The attached tables are to be used in computing state tax withholding for wages paid on or after January 1, 2013. In order to use the attached tables, income must be annualized. To annualize income, multiply state taxable income for the current bi-weekly pay period by the twenty-six pay periods in the year.

At this time, the reduction in the OASDI employee tax rate under the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 is scheduled to expire December 31, 2012 and the employee and employer rates are scheduled to be 6.2% for 2013. Payroll Services has not been notified of any changes in the federal income tax withholding tables. However, negotiations continue in Congress that could impact the OASDI employee rate and the Federal income tax rates. Any changes which may occur to the tables will be issued in a separate informational circular when the information is available.

The Department of Administration will make all of the necessary changes in the computation of withholding taxes for SHARP agencies. Regents’ institutions are responsible for implementing the new withholding tax rates in their respective payroll systems.

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Attachment: Tables for Percentage Method of Withholding
 

The organization dues for members of the Kansas Organization of State Employees (KOSE) will be changing effective with the payroll period beginning December 23, 2012 and ending January 5, 2013, paid January 18, 2013 as follows:

As a reminder, the service fee will remain $0.06 per biweekly payroll period. Therefore, the amounts listed above include the deduction amount (ORG502-507 deduction codes) and the $0.06 service fee (ORF502-507 deduction codes) added together.

The Office of General Services, Payroll Systems Team will make the necessary updates to the payroll system to affect all SHARP employees enrolled in the above KOSE dues deductions. Regent’s institutions are responsible for ensuring that these changes are reflected on all paychecks issued on or after January 18, 2013.

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The final version of the KTXPR55 W-2 listing has been generated.  The KTXPR55 report contains all information printed on the 2012 W-2 Wage and Tax Statement for each employee of your agency.  Agencies will find the report in their agency mailbox on the MVS with a date of December 28, 2012.  There may be two KTXPR55 reports with a December 28, 2012 date.  The one with the later time stamp should be used.  This report should be downloaded and retained by your agency to meet your historical record needs.  This report will be removed from your MVS mailbox and will be no longer available for downloading after January 27, 2013.

The KTXPR55 W-2 listing is sorted as follows: 1) by department number, 2) alphabetically by last name, and 3) by social security number (SSN).  Totals are included for each 10-digit department number as well as a grand total summary for the entire agency.  The 'DIST. TOTAL' represents the total number of 2012 W-2's that were printed for your agency.  The Department of Administration will be preparing a SMART voucher to bill each agency for the applicable costs associated with mailing the 2012 W-2's.

In those instances where an employee has worked for more than one department, one W-2 form has been prepared which includes earnings and deductions for all departments.  The W-2 information for these employees will be included on the KTXPR55 W-2 listing for the department number appearing on the employee's most current job record.

The standard W-2 will be used again for 2012.  The standard W-2 is one page, contains four copies (a copy to be used with the employees federal return, two copies that can be used for the employees state and local returns, and a copy for the employee records), and is pressure-sealed.

Agencies are reminded that the mailing address on the Contact Information page will be the primary address used for mailing the W-2.  If the employee has no mailing address, then the employee's home address will be used for mailing the W-2.  Most employees should continue to receive their W-2’s at home, since the majority of employees do not have a mailing address.  In situations where the address information is not correct or is not sufficient for postal delivery, the W-2 form will be mailed to the agency for distribution to the employee.  The return address for all W-2 forms mailed this year will again be the agency address.

All 2012 W-2’s, which are considered undeliverable to the employees and are returned to the agency by the U.S. Postal Service, should be retained by the agency until April 15, 2013.  At that time, they should be sorted in alphabetical order by last name, first name, and middle initial

within department number and returned to the Office of General Services, Payroll Services. 

In cases where the 2012 W-2 Wage and Tax Statement form does not agree with your records, please send a copy of the form to this office with an explanation.  For all cases where the social security number is incorrect, please include a copy of the employee's social security card with the explanation.  State agencies are not authorized to make changes on the W-2 forms.  The Social Security Administration and the Kansas Department of Revenue must be notified of corrections made by the Department of Administration.

For employees needing duplicate W-2’s for years 2007 through 2012, agencies are expected to recommend that employees use the ‘W-2 Reissue Request’ functionality found in Employee Self Service at https://sharp.ks.gov/psp/ESS/.  A Desk Aid that explains the procedures for requesting a duplicate W-2 from ESS is attached and may be distributed to employees to assist them in this process.  Agencies are reminded that employees who retired or terminated from State service on or after September 16, 2011, have access to request duplicate W-2’s for 18 months following their date of separation, per Informational Circular 12-P-011 and should be directed to utilize Employee Self Service to request a duplicate W-2.  After logging into the system and selecting ‘W-2 Reissue Request’, the employee will be asked to review the Tax Address and make any needed corrections.  Please note that the Tax Address is where the reissued W-2 will be mailed, so it is imperative that the address is correct.  The employee will also need to specify for which tax year (2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, or 2007) the reissued W-2 is needed.  Duplicate W-2’s for 2007- 2011 are currently available, and duplicate W-2’s for 2012 will be available starting on Wednesday, January 16, 2013.  Please note that duplicate W-2’s for the year 2007 will no longer be available after mid-April 2013.

The Office of General Services, Payroll Services will continue to provide duplicate W-2’s for those employees who cannot access Employee Self Service.  Requests for duplicate W-2’s received by Payroll Services by noon of each Thursday will be processed Thursday afternoon and mailed the next day.  Agencies need to verify the mailing addresses for the W-2’s and submit the correct addresses to Payroll Services.  Agencies are requested to submit one blanket request for duplicate 2012 W-2's for each printing.  The requests should be in employee ID order and should include each employee's name and correct mailing address in addition to the employee ID.  Requests for duplicate W-2's for years prior to 2012 should be submitted separately.  Duplicate 1042S form requests should also be submitted separately.  Requests for either duplicate W-2 or 1042S forms should be directed to Payroll Services at telephone number 785-296-3887.

Attachment A has been included with this circular to assist agencies in answering questions regarding the W-2 forms.  The attachment defines what items must be added (+) or subtracted (-) to arrive at the amounts shown on the W-2 form.  In addition, agencies may also consider utilizing the SHARP KPAY318, “Year to Date Balances” report to assist in answering W-2 related questions.  The report is available through SHARP using the path: Home / Payroll for North America / Periodic Payroll Events USA / Balance Reviews / Year to Date Balances.  Employee ID and year are required to run this report.  See Accounts and Reports Informational Circular No. 97-P-005 dated October 31, 1996 for additional information regarding the KPAY318. 

Please note that on-cycle and off-cycle paychecks dated December 21, 2012 and off-cycle checks dated December 26, 2012 and December 28, 2012 are included in the 2012 W-2 amounts.

Attachments

2012 W-2 Wage and Tax Statement Calculations

Sample KPAY 318.5QR

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In an effort to reduce the time and effort required of Regents and SHARP agency personnel as well as Payroll Services staff at the end of the calendar year, the 2013 W-2 production reports will be produced throughout the calendar year.  By producing the reports on a scheduled basis during the year, the work associated with identifying and correcting errors/address problems can be more evenly distributed.  The following is a list of the dates the 2013 W-2 production reports are scheduled to be generated:

Friday, March 1, 2013

Friday, March 29, 2013

Friday, April 26, 2013

Friday, May 24, 2013

Friday, June 21, 2013

Friday, July 19, 2013

Friday, August 16, 2013

Friday, September 13, 2013

Friday, October 11, 2013

Friday, November 8, 2013

Friday, November 22, 2013

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Monday, December 9, 2013

Monday, December 16, 2013

Monday, December 23, 2013

Thursday, December 26, 2013 - Tentative Final Load

Agencies should anticipate finding copies of the KTXPR55 and TAX910ER reports in their agency mailbox on the MVS on the first working day following the above listed scheduled dates. Errors appearing on TAX910ER for SHARP agencies will be monitored and corrected by the Office of General Services.  Regent’s institutions are responsible for monitoring and correcting their own errors in a timely manner.  No action is required by the agency on the KTXPR55.  Once the W-2’s for 2013 are complete, a final KTXPR55 report will be generated for each agency’s information and review.

In addition, the Regent’s institutions will receive the report TAX900 in their agency mailbox on the MVS. The TAX900 report should be thoroughly reviewed and any correcting transactions processed timely.  It will continue to be the Regent’s responsibility to use the Management Reporting Interface file (MRI) to reconcile the year-to-date amounts in SHARP to the year-to-date amounts in their individual payroll systems.

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The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued new tables for the percentage method of withholding for 2013.  The IRS has directed that employers should implement the 2013 withholding tables as soon as possible but not later than February 15, 2013.  Therefore, the attached tables will be used in SHARP for computing federal tax withholding for wages paid on or after January 18, 2013.  In order to use the attached tables, income must be annualized.  To annualize income, multiply federal taxable income for the current bi-weekly pay period by the twenty-six pay periods in the year.  In addition, the value of one withholding allowance has increased to $3,900 for 2013.   

Regents should also note that the annual amount to add to Nonresident Alien employee’s wages for calculating income tax withholding for 2013 has increased to $2,200.  In addition, Regents should check IRS Publication 1494 for any changed amounts when computing tax levies for garnishments.  Currently, the IRS has not yet released Publication 1494 for 2013.

IRS regulations continue to require employees claiming exempt status from federal tax withholding (for income earned in the United States) to file a new W-4 form annually.  Employees are eligible for the exempt status if the following criteria are met:  1) the employee had no income tax liability in the previous year, and 2) the employee anticipates no income tax liability in the upcoming year.   

An e-mail notification was sent on December 1, 2012 to all SHARP employees who were exempt from federal withholding in 2012.  The notification reminded employees that a new W-4 must be submitted to continue the federal tax withholding exempt status for 2013.  The notification was sent to the employee’s e-mail address listed under ‘Update My Profile’ in the Employee Self Service Center at https://sharp.ks.gov/psp/ESS/?cmd=login. Agencies will need to distribute notifications to their employees who lack an individual e-mail address. 

SHARP employees are encouraged to use the Employee Self Service functionality to file their 2013 W-4s.  The IRS has indicated that the 2013 Form W-4 will be available in the near future at the IRS website at http://www.irs.gov/ and will also be available at the Office of General Services website at http://www.da.ks.gov/ar/payroll/default.htm once it is released by the IRS.  Employees should submit their new W-4s as soon as possible to allow adequate time for processing.  Agency personnel had until 6:00 p.m. on December 20, 2012 to enter all paper W-4s into the system.  It is important that agency personnel check the ‘New W-4 Received’ radio button on the employee’s ‘Federal Tax Data 1’ page in SHARP for the effective-dated row that is entered.  Agency Workflow Administrators also need to check the ‘New W-4 Received’ radio button on electronic W-4s submitted by the employee for calendar year 2013. 

The KPAY320 processed during the batch cycle generated on the evening of December 20, 2012.  This process searched for employees for whom a W-4 notification was sent.  If a new W-4 had not been received, a January 1, 2013 effective-dated row was placed in the employee’s Tax Data record, and updated the employee’s marital status to ‘single’ and exemptions to ‘zero’.  In prior years, this same process was used to notify employees claiming the Advance Earned Income Credit (EIC) that a new W-5 should be filed.  The Education Jobs Act of 2010, enacted August 10, 2010, repeals IRC §3507, which allows low- and moderate-income employees to receive the advance payments of the earned income tax credit (EIC) through their paycheck, for tax years beginning after December 31, 2010.  Therefore, agency payroll/human resource staff should enter no W-5 information into the system for calendar year 2013.

For any Form W-4s for 2013 received between December 20, 2012 and January 1, 2013, agency personnel should have entered the data with a January 2, 2013 effective date.   Agency Workflow Administrators also needed to change the effective date to January 2, 2013 for any electronic FormsW-4s for 2013 received in this time period.  Please refer to the Employee Payroll Tax Data section of the Payroll module in the on-line CBT (Computer Based Training) for specific instructions on entering employee tax data information and worklist maintenance.    

IRS regulations require non-resident alien employees who claim an exempt status from federal withholding tax up to their treaty limit (for income earned in the United States) to file a new 8233 annually.  Employees who claimed a non-resident alien exempt status in calendar year

2012 must file a new 8233 form for calendar year 2013 if they wish to continue their non-resident alien status.  As a reminder, Regents Institutions are responsible for the accuracy of the eligibility of their non-resident alien employees and for monitoring maximum presence.   

The KPAY320 processed on December 20, 2012,  entered a new effective dated row in the SHARP federal tax data records for employees with a special tax withholding status of ‘Non-Resident Alien’ to reflect that no 8233 form has been submitted for calendar year 2013.  The new tax data row was dated January 1, 2013.  Regents Institutions are responsible for updating the 8233 indicator on the tax data records once a form 8233 for calendar year 2013 has been submitted. 

The KPAY320 created a report (by SHARP agency) that identified all agency employees whose exempt withholding status was updated in SHARP on the night of December 20, 2012. The report was available in the agency directory on the MVS on Friday, December 21, 2012.  A report will not be provided for the ‘Non-Resident Alien’ updates since reports are generated periodically throughout the calendar year to identify employees who have had non-resident alien earnings reported but whose tax data records indicate a current 8233 form has not been received.

The Department of Administration will make all of the necessary changes in the computation of withholding taxes for SHARP agencies.  Regents’ institutions are responsible for implementing the new withholding tax rates in their respective payroll systems. 

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Attachment:  Tables for Percentage Method of Withholding

This informational circular will discuss key dates and payroll changes in SHARP as a result of the transition to the SHARP version 9.1 Upgrade. On-cycle and off-cycle dates have been changed in February in order to accommodate the transition to v9.1. Please review carefully the information contained in this circular and in the calendar attached.

Due to the SHARP 9.1 Upgrade, scheduled to begin Friday night, February 8, 2013, changes are required to the ‘normal’ payroll processing schedule. Agencies are asked to note the payroll processing schedule due dates, some of which are occurring on a different day of the week than normally scheduled.

Friday, February 1, 2013

Payday for the payroll period ending January 19, 2013.

Regents’ Run C off-cycle payroll files for the period ending January 19, 2013 must be received by the Department of Administration by 4:00 PM on February 1, 2013.

Monday, February 4, 2013

The Run C off-cycle for the period ending January 19, 2013 will be processed February 4, 2013. SHARP Time and Leave/Time and Labor agencies have until 6:00 PM on this date to enter supplemental and/or adjustment run controls for the Run C off-cycle. For Time and Labor agencies, all employees’ reported time must be entered (and approved if applicable) by 3:30 PM. Payable time must be approved by 6:00 PM. Paychecks for the Run C off-cycle will be dated February 7, 2013.

Paysheets for the on-cycle payroll for the period ending February 2, 2013 will be created on Monday, February 4, 2013. For Time and Leave agencies, all job actions (i.e., promotions, terminations, new hires, leave of absences, step increases, etc.) must be entered by 6:00 PM on February 4, 2013 in order to be reflected on the paysheets for this period.

The first on-cycle preliminary pay calculation for the period ending February 2, 2013 will also occur February 4, 2013; therefore, for Time and Leave agencies, all employees’ time and leave data must be entered into SHARP and designated ‘OK to Process’ by 6:00 PM in order for a paycheck record to be created. For Time and Labor agencies, all employees’ reported time must be entered (and approved if applicable) into SHARP by 3:30 PM. After Time Administration runs at 3:30 PM, payable time must be approved by 6:00 PM, on February 4, 2013 in order for a paycheck record to be created. Please note that there will be only two SHARP on-cycle preliminary payroll calculations for the pay period ending February 2, 2013.

Time and Leave/Time and Labor interface agencies can submit time and leave files for the period ending February 2, 2013 to the Department of Administration for processing by 7:30 a.m. to be processed at 7:45 a.m. or by noon to be processed at 12:30 p.m. on February 4, 2013.

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

The second on-cycle preliminary pay calculation for the period ending February 2, 2013 will occur February 5, 2013. Regents’ on-cycle payroll files for the period ending February 2, 2013 are due to the Department of Administration by 4:00 PM on February 5, 2013. (These files would normally be due Thursday, February 7, 2013.)

Wednesday, February 6, 2013
 

Final pay confirmation for the on-cycle payroll for the period ending February 2, 2013 will occur February 6, 2013. (Final pay confirmation would normally occur Friday, February 8, 2013). For Time and Leave agencies, all employees’ time and leave records must be ‘OK to Process’, and for Time and Labor agencies, all employees’ payable time must be approved, by 6:00 PM on February 6, 2013 in order for a paycheck record to be created. All deduction and tax data changes must be entered by 6:00 PM on February 6, 2013 in order to be reflected in the final paycheck created for the employee.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

The Regents’ on-cycle files for the period ending February 2, 2013 will be processed.

Regents’ Run A off-cycle payroll files for the period ending February 2, 2013 must be received by the Department of Administration by 4:00 PM on February 7, 2013. (These files would normally be due Friday, February 8, 2013.)

Friday, February 8, 2013

The Run A off-cycle for the period ending February 2, 2013 will be processed February 8, 2013. (This off-cycle would normally be scheduled for Monday, February 11, 2013.) SHARP Time and Leave/Time and Labor agencies have until 6:00 PM on this date to enter supplemental and/or adjustment run controls for the Run A off-cycle. For Time and Labor agencies, all employees’ reported time must be entered (and approved if applicable) by 3:30 PM. Payable time must be approved by 6:00 PM. Paychecks for the Run A off-cycle will be dated February 15, 2013. NOTE: This off-cycle is the final payroll cycle run in v8.9.

Saturday, February 9, 2013
 

SHARP system shut down. Data conversion for transition to v9.1 begins.

Monday, February 11, 2013
 

SHARP system open to core users only for validation.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013
 

SHARP system open to all users.

The Run B off-cycle for the period ending February 2, 2013 normally processed on Wednesday, February 13 is cancelled.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Normal Payroll Processing Schedule resumes.

Friday, February 15, 2013

Payday for the payroll period ending February 2, 2013.

Regents’ Run C off-cycle payroll files for the period ending February 2, 2013 must be received by the Department of Administration by 4:00 PM on February 15, 2013.

Monday, February 18, 2013

The Run C off-cycle for the period ending February 2, 2013 will be processed February 18, 2013. Paychecks for the Run C off-cycle will be dated February 21, 2013.
Note: This is the first payroll processed in v9.1.

Attached is a partial month calendar for the month of February 2013, which highlights key payroll processing activity around the dates of the upgrade. The attached calendar is intended for use as a supplementary reference tool only; it does not contain the level of detail that is included in the narrative portion of this circular.

Please note the changes to the payroll processing schedule and adjust your schedules accordingly. If it becomes necessary to change any of the payroll processing dates identified above, notification of the change will be provided to all subscribers of the SHARP Infolist. SHARP users interested in subscribing to the Infolist, but who have not yet done so, can subscribe at http://www.da.ks.gov/sharp/infolist.htm.

Additional Key Payroll Changes for Transition to 9.1

As a result of the SHARP 9.1 upgrade, the following is a summary of additional key Payroll/Time and Labor changes that are being implemented in SHARP effective beginning February 13, 2013.

Time and Labor

• The old custom Time and Leave system will be discontinued and all remaining agencies will be reporting employees’ time through the Time and Labor module (Currently 11 agencies already use the Time and Labor module).

• Agencies utilizing Employee Self Service (ESS) time reporting are encouraged to have employees review their default ESS time document following go-live. Please do not request that all employees from an agency access ESS at once to review the information but rather stagger the number of employees accessing ESS for timesheet review/reporting throughout the days of Wed., Feb. 13th –Fri., Feb. 15th.

• Time Administration runs in Time and Labor to create payable time. It is imperative for agencies to understand that payable time must be approved by agency staff with the Agency Time and Labor HR role before it can be processed by payroll. Approved payable time from Time and Labor will load into payroll.

• Both exempt and non-exempt employees will report time using the same Time and Labor Time Reporting Codes (TRC). A complete listing of the crosswalk for the new leave codes that exempts should use can be found at “Time and Labor Salaried Leave TRC Crosswalk” on the SHARP website referenced above under the “Time and Labor Documents” section.

• Time Reporting Codes map to Earnings Codes used in Payroll. Regular pay will be captured in the ‘Other Earnings’ section of the employee paycheck view and the PAY002 report instead of in the ‘Earnings’ section. A new earnings code ‘RE1’ will be used for regular pay for both exempt and non-exempt employees.

• Some Time and Labor agencies will be utilizing the Labor Distribution functionality of Time and Labor. Payable time is sent to payroll; when the labor distribution process runs, payable and non-payable time (if applicable) are allocated based on percentages that are entered for agency project task profiles in Time and Labor.

• It is very important for agencies to NOT update any of their task profile information after pay calculation has begun for a pay period as it could result in pay errors.

• All task profile allocation percentages should not be less than 3% when setting up task profiles. These allocations can be viewed in the ‘Other Earnings’ section of the employee paycheck view and on the PAY002 report.

Non-Pay Affecting Adjustments

• Adjustments to employees’ previous timesheets that result in a zero net pay change will be processed in the first payroll on-cycle or off-cycle following the change to the timesheet. Time adjustment changes (such as vacation to sick) or funding adjustments can be entered on a previous timesheet(s) to process through payroll.

• A new payroll error message (number 100007) will be generated if the adjustment does not net to zero and the change will not be processed in the payroll cycle.

• Multiple non-pay affecting corrections can be made to the same employee timesheet or to multiple prior pay period timesheets in the same payroll cycle.

• Any changes made on the timesheets must be approved after the Time Administration process runs in order to flow through to payroll.

KPAYWAGE and PAY011 Reports

• The KPAYWAGE report is being discontinued and will no longer be run. Agencies should use the KPAYGL5C file to manage salary information as published in informational circular 12-P-026. Please contact Lisa Kraus at (785) 296-3699 or Lisa.Kraus@da.ks.gov for questions regarding the KPAYGL5C file.

• Agencies will no longer be able to run the PAY011-Payroll Error Messages report on-line after the conversion to SHARP 9.1. Agencies can access a copy of the PAY011 after each payroll calc in the agency MVS directory. Agencies are reminded that they should save the report to a secure directory since the MVS reports are accessible for 30 days only.

Direct Deposit Maximum Accounts

The maximum number of direct deposit accounts for an employee’s pay increases from 9 to 10. Any employees choosing to deposit their pay in 10 direct deposit accounts must fill out a revised DA-184 form. For questions on direct deposit and access to the DA-184 form, refer to the Department of Administration Payroll website at http://www.da.ks.gov/ar/payroll/payforms.htm under the Payroll Procedures & Forms section, Direct Deposit Procedures link and Direct Deposit Questions and Answers link.

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Attachment

In preparation for the upgrade to PeopleSoft version 9.1 for SHARP a checklist titled “HR/Payroll Checklist for SHARP Upgrade to 9.1”, attached as Appendix A to this circular, has been developed as a tool to assist agency HR and Payroll staff in completing necessary tasks prior to and following the upgrade.  All agency staff involved in time reporting and payroll processing for an agency are encouraged to review the checklist and utilize this tool to successfully complete the transition to SHARP version 9.1 for their agency.  In addition, a list of central HR and Payroll contacts for various HR/Payroll tasks is included at the end of the checklist.  These contacts are available as resources for agency questions that may arise during this transition.

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Appendix A attachment

Per notice by the Teamsters Local Union #696, seven new deduction codes will be added for membership dues deductions for employees at the Juvenile Justice Authority located in Topeka, Atchison, and Beloit. These bi-weekly deductions of organization dues, effective March 3, 2013, are based on new hourly pay rate ranges as follows:

Agencies should refer to Informational Circular No. 08-P-024 and 09-P-035 for information regarding the initial pay rate ranges, deduction codes and bi-weekly deduction amounts for Teamsters Local Union #696.

These deduction codes will be established effective with the payroll period beginning March 3, 2013 and ending March 16, 2013, paid March 29, 2013.  As a reminder, the service fee will remain $0.06 per biweekly payroll period. Agencies must enter organization dues as two separate deduction codes into employee general deduction data in SHARP. Therefore, the amounts listed above include the deduction amount (ORG613-619 deduction codes) and the $0.06 service fee (ORF613-619 deduction codes) added together.

In order to accommodate a change in an hourly pay rate range and corresponding deduction code, agencies must enter a deduction end date on both the existing ORGXXX and ORFXXX general deduction rows to stop an organizational dues deduction and fee in addition to adding the two new deduction codes for the new organizational dues deduction and fee.

Also, as a reminder, this organization is only available for membership to employees who work in specific positions at the Juvenile Justice Authority facilities in Topeka, Atchison, and Beloit. 

The Office of Systems Management, Payroll Systems Team is responsible for making these updates in the SHARP system.  Regent’s institutions should ensure that the use of the listed deduction codes is reflected in their individual systems effective March 3, 2013.

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House Sub for SB 294, passed in the 2012 legislative session, calls for an additional moratorium that suspends employer contributions for KPERS Death and Disability Insurance from April 1, 2013 to June 30, 2013.  As a result, the Office of Systems Management will not collect or remit the employer portion of KPERS Death and Disability insurance contributions for pay periods during the moratorium.  The KPERS Death and Disability Insurance moratorium will start effective with the pay period beginning March 17, 2013 and ending March 30, 2013, paid April 12, 2013 and end with the pay period beginning May 26, 2013 and ending June 8, 2013, paid June 21, 2013.  Please note that the KPERS Death and Disability contributions for off-cycle payrolls are calculated based on the original pay period end dates, so paycheck adjustments processed after April 1, 2013 for pay period end dates prior to March 30, 2013 will continue to have the contributions collected and remitted.  Refer to Informational Circulars 11-P-025 and 12-P-023 at http://www.da.ks.gov/ar/infocirc/fy2012/IC12p023.htm to review the dates the previous moratoriums were in effect for 2010 through 2012.  Remittances will continue to be made according to the normal schedule for the prior period adjustments.

Agencies are reminded that it is extremely important that the appropriate ‘GTL’ code be established in SHARP’s Retirement Plans page ( Plan Type 7U) under Benefits, or for Legislators the Life and AD/D Benefits page ( Plan Type 22) for new employees hired after March 17, 2013, even though the agency will not be charged for KPERS Death and Disability contributions.  If the appropriate ‘GTL’ code is not established, the imputed income, if applicable, will not be properly calculated for the new employee.

Regent institutions are reminded that the Death and Disability Insurance moratorium is for the employer paid contributions only.  The moratorium does not extend to members of Board of Regents retirement plans who elect to continue the Death and Disability Insurance coverage while on leave without pay under the provisions of K.S.A. 74-4927a(8), which specifically require the "employee" to remit the required contribution while on leave without pay.

The Office of Systems Management, Payroll Systems Team, will make the necessary updates to the SHARP payroll system to effect this change for all employees for whom SHARP calculates pay.  Regent’s institutions are responsible for ensuring that this change is made in their respective systems effective with the payroll periods noted above.

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A new report has been created to notify agencies when a financial institution has informed the State Treasurer’s Office that a change has been made to an employee’s payroll direct deposit information.  KPAY210, Payroll EFT Returns and Notifications of Change, will be placed in your agency’s MVS mailbox when these changes occur for an employee of your agency.  This report replaces the “Return/NOC PAYROLL Items Received” notices previously emailed to agencies by Payroll Services.

An email will be sent to your agency staff with the [WF] Agy Payroll Administrator role in SHaRP, indicating that a KPAY210 has been placed in your agency’s MVS mailbox. This is the same role that receives W-4 changes and other SHARP payroll related workflow notices.  It is imperative that at least one employee from each agency has this role in order to receive the email so that the direct deposit information can be corrected in a timely manner.  In order to set up an employee with this SHaRP role, please reach out to your Agency SHARP Security Contact. If you don’t know who your contact is please check with staff in your agency’s human resource office.

When an agency receives an email indicating that KPAY210 has been placed in the agency MVS mailbox, the report should be downloaded from the MVS mailbox.  Please review the report and compare the records listed with the DA-184, Authorization for Direct Deposit of Employee Pay, previously completed by the employee.  The bank transit number, account number and account type (checking or savings) must be accurate to ensure proper handling of the direct deposit transaction. Contacting the employee may also be required.

The report displays department ID, employee ID, employee name, effective date, transaction code, bank transit routing number, account number, amount, and type of error.  Most errors are for incorrect transit numbers and/or account numbers.  An incorrect transaction code means the wrong account type is being used.  A Correct Data field showing transaction code of 21 or 22 signifies a checking account.  A Correct Data field showing transaction code of 31 or 32 signifies a savings account.

For SHaRP agencies, the corrected direct deposit information should be entered into SHaRP by agency staff through the Main Menu, Payroll for North America, Employee Pay Data USA, Request Direct Deposit.  If the correct information cannot be obtained prior to final pay calc, please inactivate the direct deposit information or delete the bad account so that money is not re-deposited to a problem account.  Regent institutions are responsible for ensuring changes are made in their individual systems and including correct direct deposit information in their interface files.

For EFT returns with money, a SMART check will be mailed to the employee’s address found in SHaRP.  If a different address should be used or the employee should not be paid, contact Payroll Services as soon as possible.  New direct deposit information must be updated in SHaRP and Regent interface files by payroll cut-off dates to avoid additional returned deposits.

Please direct any questions regarding the report or this circular, to the contacts listed above.

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This informational circular will discuss key payroll processing concepts to aid in fiscal year end closing.

Note:  Another informational circular regarding the fiscal year 2014 payroll contribution rates will be issued as soon as the information becomes available.

Benefits Contribution Rates

Supplementals and adjustments use the benefit contribution rates effective for the pay period being adjusted.  Supplementals and adjustments that are processed for pay periods ending on or before June 8, 2013 will use fiscal year 2013 benefits contribution rates (or prior fiscal years benefits contribution rates depending on the fiscal year of the payroll period being adjusted).  Supplementals and adjustments for pay period ending dates greater than June 8, 2013 will use fiscal year 2014 rates. Benefit contributions include: KPERS, TIAA-CREF, KPEDCP, workers compensation insurance, state leave reserve assessment, flexible spending accounts administrative fee, group health insurance (GHI), and parking administrative fee.

Tax Rates

Taxes for supplementals and adjustments will be calculated using the tax rates effective for the paycheck issue date for the off-cycle payroll being processed.  Taxes include: OASDI (Social Security), Medicare, federal withholding tax, state withholding tax, local withholding tax, and unemployment compensation insurance.  Note for Regents: the use of the 'current' UCI rate for calculation purposes does not replace the reporting requirements for prior period adjustments necessary for quarterly UCI reporting.

Fiscal Year Expenditure Impact   

Supplementals, adjustments and reversals will be charged to expenditures in the fiscal year the off-cycle paycheck is issued regardless of the pay period being adjusted.   Please note, the Run C off-cycle (scheduled for June 24, 2013, paid June 27, 2013) for the pay period ending June 8, 2013 will be the last opportunity to have a paycheck adjustment charged to fiscal year 2013 expenditures.

The fiscal year expenditure impact applies to both SHARP agencies and Regents institutions.

Budget End Date and Fiscal Year Changes

The Budget End Date and Fiscal Year on the Department Budget tables will be updated centrally at the beginning of the fiscal year.  This process is scheduled to run during the batch cycle the night of June 16, 2013 and should be completed by Monday morning, June 17, 2013.  In that process, a new row will be added to the Department Budget tables with an effective date of June 9, 2013 (beginning date of the first on-cycle payroll charged to FY2014).  The Budget End Date will be June 8, 2014.

Agencies should send Combination Code files or any Department Budget Table files for FY14 changes into Payroll Services by Friday, June 14, 2013.  These files will be loaded into SHARP beginning Monday, June 17, 2013. Agencies should not enter any rows with an effective date greater than or equal to June 9, 2013 until after the FY2014 insert has been completed. When adding new rows for FY2014, agencies should verify that June 8, 2014 was used as the Budget End Date for FY2014.

A special run of the KPAYGL5C (paycheck accounting transactions file) will be processed on Friday, June 21 after the 'B' off-cycle process has been completed for the June 8, 2013 pay period end date.  A SHARP Infolist message will be sent out to agencies after the KPAYGL5C has finished processing on June 21.  Agencies are encouraged to complete all FY13 payroll adjustments on or before the 'B' off-cycle which processes on Wednesday night, June 19, 2013, to take advantage of this early run of the KPAYGL5C.    Otherwise, any adjustments processed in the 'C' off-cycle on Monday, June 24, 2013 will not be included on the KPAYGL5C file until it is run again on Wednesday night, June 26, 2013.

GHI Adjustments

As of July 1, 2013, NO GHI adjustments can be processed for any pay period prior to the December 24, 2011 pay period end date, which was the beginning of contract year 2012.  Contact Brenda Vaughn (785) 296-3147 or Lea Weishaar (785) 296-0611Weishaar@kdheks.gov at Kansas Dept of Health & Environment, Division of Health Care Finance, State Employee Health Plan about any event maintenance changes that may affect claims processing for contract year 2011 or prior.

Regents’ Institutions Responsibilities

Regents' institutions are responsible for ensuring that the correct benefit and tax contribution rates are used when calculating payroll for employees of their agencies and for ensuring that the SMART INF06 interface files affect the correct fiscal year expenditures. 

Reminders

To help reduce the number of adjustments to process, SHARP agencies are reminded of the following:

1. Enter job data changes prior to the creation of paysheets.  Paysheets for on-cycle payrolls are generally created on the Tuesday night following the end of the payroll period.  Some changes to the employee's job data information (i.e. change in FLSA status) that are entered after the creation of the paysheets will not be reflected in the employee's on-cycle paycheck for the period and will require special handling.
    
2. Agencies should review the accuracy of the gross-to-net payroll information and employer contributions after each preliminary pay calculation.  The PAY002 report can be used to review the gross-to-net data. Agencies can review employer contributions by accessing the employee's paycheck deduction information for the period. Employer contributions have a deduction class of 'Nontaxable'.

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Senate Sub for HB 2022 prohibits the employer from deducting any portion of the employee's pay to be used for partisan or political purposes. As a result, payroll deductions for KOSE PAC and fees, deduction codes ORG501 and ORF501, will be discontinued effective with the payroll period beginning June 9, 2013 and ending June 22, 2013, paid July 5, 2013.  

No action is required from SHARP agencies to implement this change.  A Deduction End Date of 06/09/2013 will be inserted centrally into any active ORG501 and ORF501 rows for employees on the General Deduction Table on Tuesday, June 25, 2013 to discontinue these deductions.

The Office of Systems Management, Payroll Systems Team, will make the necessary updates to the SHARP payroll system to effect this change for all employees for whom SHARP calculates pay.  Regent's institutions are responsible for ensuring that this change is made in their respective systems effective with the payroll period noted above.

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Pursuant to Kansas Administrative Regulation 1-45-22(b)(2), parking fees for the Curtis Building Garage will increase by 2% effective with the start of fiscal year 2014.  To facilitate this change, the following payroll deduction codes and associated administrative fee code will increase effective with the payroll period beginning June 9, 2013 and ending June 22, 2013, paid July 5, 2013:

Employees with Attorney General who park in the Curtis Building Garage under parking deduction codes PKT10B and PPKT10 will see their bi-weekly deduction and associated administrative fee increase as follows:

The parking rates for Secretary of State employees are listed below and do not change:

The Office of Systems Management, Payroll Systems Team will make the necessary updates to the SHARP payroll system to effect this change for all employees for whom SHARP calculates pay.  Regents’ institutions are responsible for ensuring that this change is made in their individual systems.  

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House Sub for SB 294, passed in the 2012 legislative session, suspended employer contributions for KPERS Death and Disability Insurance beginning April 1, 2013 until June 30, 2013.  The 2013 moratorium will expire on July 1, 2013.  As a result, the Office of Systems Management, Payroll Services will resume collecting and remitting the employer portion of KPERS Death and Disability insurance contributions starting with the pay period beginning June 9, 2013 and ending June 22, 2013, paid July 5, 2013.

The KPERS Death and Disability contributions for off-cycle payrolls are calculated based on pay period end dates, so paycheck adjustments processed after July 1, 2013 for pay periods ending on and between April 3, 2010 and June 12, 2010, on and between March 19, 2011 and June 11, 2011, on and between March 31, 2012 and June 9, 2012 and on and between March 30, 2013 and June 8, 2013 will continue to NOT have the contributions collected and remitted.

The Office of Systems Management, Payroll Systems Team, will make the necessary updates to the SHARP payroll system to effect this change for all employees for whom SHARP calculates pay.  Regent’s institutions are responsible for ensuring that this change is made in their respective systems effective with the payroll periods noted above.

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Attached is form DA-171, Housing, Food Service and Other Maintenance Policy for your agency to complete.  It is not necessary to return this form to the Office of Systems Management.  The completed form should be maintained at your agency.  If the items that you provide have been determined to be taxable to the employee, any changes in rates for fiscal year 2014 will require entry into the SHARP v9.1 system at Payroll for North America>Employee Pay Data USA> Create Additional Pay for fringe benefit income.  FY2014 rate changes for maintenance should be entered into SHARP by 6:00 pm on Monday, June 24, 2013 in order to be reflected in the paychecks produced in the first preliminary on-cycle pay calculation for the payroll period ending June 22, 2013 (paychecks dated July 5, 2013).   

Regent institutions should also complete the Form DA-171 and maintain the completed form at their agency.  Regents’ are responsible for updating any rate changes into their payroll system.

Attachment

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The attached schedules contain employer’s contribution rates for KPERS, unemployment insurance, state leave assessment, group health insurance, and worker’s compensation insurance for fiscal year 2014.  The fiscal year 2014 rates will become effective with the on-cycle payroll period beginning June 9, 2013, ending June 22, 2013 and paid July 5, 2013.  The withholding rates for OASDI, Medicare, federal income taxes, and Kansas income taxes remain unchanged for the remainder of calendar year 2013.

For Fiscal Year 2014, the employer’s contribution to KPERS Death and Disability Insurance will be 0.85% (except for retirement codes J1, J2, J3 which are .4%).  Due to the end of the moratorium implemented from April 1, 2013 to June 30, 2013, the Office of Systems Management will resume collecting and remitting the employer portion of KPERS Death and Disability insurance contributions at the new rate of 0.85% effective with the pay period beginning June 9, 2013 and ending June 22, 2013, paid July 5, 2013.

Since SHARP uses pay period end dates to determine if the KPERS Death and Disability Insurance contribution is taken, no contribution will be taken for paycheck adjustments with payroll period end dates that contain an original check date within a moratorium period.  Previous moratoriums for KPERS Death and Disability Insurance contributions were in place for payroll periods with an original check date between April 1, 2000 and December 31, 2001; between July 1, 2002 and December 31, 2002; between April 1, 2003 and June 30, 2004; between March 1, 2009 and November 30, 2009; between April 1, 2010 and June 30, 2010; between April 1, 2011 and June 30, 2011; between April 1, 2012 and June 30, 2012; and between April 1, 2013 and June 30, 2013.

For Regent institutions, moratoriums do not extend to members of Board of Regents retirement plans who elect to continue the Death and Disability Insurance coverage while on leave without pay under the provisions of K.S.A. 74-4927a(8), which specifically requires the “employee” to remit the required contribution while on leave without pay.

Legislation passed in 2006 changed rules about KPERS retirees who work after retirement for the same or a different KPERS employer.  More detailed information on these changes can be found in the KPERS DA Memo – April 21, 2006, located at http://www.kpers.org/damemos042106.htm.  These changes do not affect KP&F or the Retirement System for Judges.  For retirees who begin work for a different KPERS employer, the employer must make contributions based on retiree compensation.  This includes all retirees who first begin actively working in KPERS-covered positions on or after July 1, 2006.  Employees who meet these criteria should be enrolled in Benefit Plan ‘PR’ and Deduction Code ‘RETRET’.  For fiscal year 2014, employer rates are 9.82% Actuarial Employer Rate, 4.00% Statutory Employer Rate, for a Total Combined Rate of 13.82%.  Retirees enrolled in the ‘PR’ benefit plan are not subject to KPERS death and disability insurance.

The Office of Systems Management, Payroll Systems Team will update the SHARP system to reflect the changes in employer’s contribution rates.  Regents’ institutions are responsible for ensuring the changes in rates are made in their individual systems.  Regents’ institutions are also responsible for ensuring that the SMART INF06 impacts the correct fiscal year and account codes.

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Attachment A pdf

Attachment B pdf
Attachment C pdf