TOP STORY
The EmpowerHR project
team is pleased to announce the much anticipated Oracle Cloud System upgrade to
Release 13 that has been scheduled for mid-February. This upgrade (from
Release 12) will include the configuration of functionality to address the 28-day
and alternate work week overtime calculations.
Once the update to R13
has completed, regression testing will begin and could last up to eight weeks.
While awaiting this
major milestone, the project team has been busy addressing and completing
project activities that include the following:
- CRP1 sessions have just completed for the Recruiting/Onboarding
module.
-
LEARN, the Oracle-based learning management system, is on track
and scheduled to go live by this summer.
-
Configuration and defect resolution activities of R12 in
anticipation of the R13 upgrade.
The project team continues to complete tasks to
ensure all agency concerns and requirements are addressed and the new system is
configured to meet agency needs.
If you have not already done so, please consider
joining our advisory council by emailing your full name and email address to empowerhr@omes.ok.gov.
The advisory council serves a critical role in conveying agency needs during
the implementation process. We hope to work closely with you to communicate key
project information and solicit your comments and concerns to make sure we are
connecting with all stakeholders who have human resources expertise.
If you are unable to join the advisory council but
would still like to contribute, email questions or suggestions to empowerhr@omes.ok.gov.
You can also visit http://empowerhr.hub.ok.gov/
at any time for more information.
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PAYROLL
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and state tax agencies have
once again renewed their warning about an email scam to request employee Forms
W-2 from company payroll or human resources departments.
Agencies are urged to double check any executive-level or unusual
requests for lists of Forms W-2 or Social Security numbers. Cybercriminals are
tricking payroll and human resource officials by disguising emails to make it
appear as if it is from an organization executive. An email is sent to an
employee in the payroll or human resources departments, requesting a list of
all employees and their Forms W-2. The thieves then attempt to file fraudulent
tax returns for tax refunds.
The IRS is investigating phishing emails. If an agency receives an
email of this type, please contact Lisa Raihl at 405-521-3258 or Jean Hayes at
405-522-6300 immediately.
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The IRS has not yet released the 2018 Form W-4. The expected release date may not be until
after Feb. 15. As a
result, several modifications to normal procedures and deadlines have been
made:
-
Employers may continue using the 2017 Form W-4 that was in effect
for existing 2017 income tax withholding exemptions until Feb. 28, 2018;
-
The deadline for employees to claim an exemption for 2018 has been
extended to Feb. 28, 2018.
-
Employees may claim an exemption for 2018 by submitting a 2017
Form W-4 until 30 days after the 2018 form is released.
o
This must be a new 2017 form (as opposed to a continuation of the
form used for 2017).
o
Exemptions filed after that date must use the 2018 form.
o
It is not necessary to replace the 2017 form with a 2018 form.
-
In order to use the 2017 form for a 2018 exemption, it must be
done in one of the following ways:
- modifying the 2017 Form W-4 by striking
“2017” in the text on Line 7 of the Form W-4 and entering “2018” in its place
and signing the form in 2018;
- modifying the 2017 Form W-4 by entering
“Exempt 2018” on Line 7 of the 2017 Form W-4 and signing the form in 2018;
- using the 2017 Form W-4 without modification
and signing the form in 2018, provided that the employer establishes and
communicates to employees a procedure under which an employee signs and
furnishes the 2017 Form W-4 in 2018 to certify both that the employee incurred
no income tax liability for 2017 and that the employee anticipates that he or
she will incur no income tax liability for 2018 and thus claims exemption from
withholding for 2018; or
- any method substantially similar to 1 – 3
that clearly conveys in writing an employee’s intent to certify his or her
exemption from withholding for 2018.
- The requirement for employees to furnish a new Form W-4 within 10
days of changes that result in fewer allowances has been temporarily suspended.
Employees are not required to furnish employers with a new Form W-4 until 30
days after the 2018 Form W-4 is released.
The IRS is also revising the withholding calculator on their
website to reflect the changes of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Once released,
employees can use the calculator to determine if they should update their Form
W-4 in response to the Act or due to changes in personal circumstances for
2018.
Until the new Form W-4 is released, employers should continue to
use the 2017 Form W-4. The IRS has stated that the 2018 withholding tables will
work with existing Forms W-4 on file for employees. Employees do not have to
submit a new Form W-4 unless they are claiming exemption or have any changes.
If you receive an exempt W-4 after Feb. 28, 2018, do not process a
tax refund to the employee or submit one to OMES for processing. The W-4 will
take effect on the next pay cycle; it is not retroactive to the beginning of
the year. The PeopleSoft HCM query: GO_PY_TAX_EXEMPT_STATUS - Fed or
State Tax Exemption can be run by agencies to see who currently is claiming an
exemption from income tax withholding.
Please refer to the Guidance on Withholding Rules, Notice 2018-14 on
the IRS
website.
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The IRS
released the 2018 Publication 1494, Tables for
Figuring Amount Exempt from Levy on Wages, Salary, and Other Income, which has
changed due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
-
The weekly exempt amount will be the total of $4,150
multiplied by the number of the taxpayer’s dependents for the taxable year plus
the standard deduction, divided by 52.
-
Another change due to the Act is the exemption
amount if an employee doesn’t submit a completed Part 3 of Form 668-W stating
the number of dependents. If not stated, the exemption will be determined as if
the employee is a married individual filing separate with no dependents.
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All compensation to employees and former
employees, no matter what form, constitutes wages unless specifically excluded
by the Internal Revenue Code. This includes stipends, allowances, employee
lawsuits and settlements, gifts, prizes, awards and fringe benefits to name
just a few. Before compensation is given to employees or former employees,
agencies must determine the correct method of payment (payroll vs accounts
payable) and reporting required (W-2, 1099, or none). In an audit, the Internal
Revenue Service will focus on the reason for the payment.
If the payment settles a lawsuit, the auditor
will focus on the basis of the lawsuit. The IRS has a recorded webinar that
provides valuable information for the taxability of lawsuits and settlements.
Agency payroll, finance, human resources and legal departments should obtain
the knowledge needed to accurately process compensation to employees or former
employees. Agencies are responsible for complying with IRS requirements for
withholding and reporting.
If an agency has a settlement agreement that
requires the payment be processed through accounts payable instead of the
payroll system to expedite processing, and the payment is reportable as
compensation, then applicable federal, state and FICA taxes must be remitted to
OMES on the same day the item is processed/provided to the individual. If taxes
are not withheld on the payment, the agency must gross up the amount and pay
both the employee and employer share of taxes. The employee’s record will be
updated for year-end reporting. If additional guidance is needed, please
contact Lisa Raihl at 405-521-3258 or lisa.raihl@omes.ok.gov.
NOTE: The Internal Revenue
Service has determined that Oklahoma public school teachers receiving payments
from a state agency are to be treated as employees of the state. As such, any
payments to teachers need to be evaluated to see if the payments should be
considered wages. If so, the amounts must be paid through the payroll system,
not accounts payable, to be reported on Form W-2 by the paying agency.
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Repayments from employees made in the current year (2018) that are
for overpayments of wages in a prior year (2017 or before) must be repaid at
the gross overpayment amount in accordance with Internal Revenue Service
regulations. A W-2C is required to be completed and sent to OMES. Only Social
Security and Medicare wages and taxes are corrected on the W-2C. The employee
must sign an IRS Form 843 in order for us to request a refund of employee FICA
taxes. If the employee will be seeking the refund themselves, the Form
843 is not required. DO NOT adjust Federal or State taxable wages or income
taxes. The employee received and had use of the funds during the year of
overpayment and, the amounts are taxable for federal and state purposes. The
employee may be entitled to a credit on their current year (2018) Form 1040.
Please advise the employee to speak to a tax accountant. Additional
instructions for Form W2-C are available on the IRS website. For
assistance, contact Lisa Raihl at 405-521-3258, lisa.raihl@omes.ok.gov or Jean
Hayes at 405-522-6300, jean.hayes@omes.ok.gov.
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When an employee chooses to reimburse an overpayment using annual
leave, the amount of annual leave reduced should equal the gross amount of the
overpayment. In the past there have been instances where agencies have
incorrectly reduced the annual leave by the net amount of the
overpayment.
If an employee reimburses an overpayment using terminal leave, an
OMES Form 94P must be submitted to correct the retirement amounts reported on
the check which included the overpayment. Terminal leave is not included in
retirement wage calculations; therefore, a payroll earnings adjustment is
required.
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MISCELLANEOUS
By this time agencies should have printed the forms by now from the
CD received from OMES. Employers are required to provide Form 1095-C to ACA
full-time employees. Employees that had an ACA eligibility status other than
‘Eligible’ are not required to be reported and will not have a form. The last
agency on record at the end of 2017 will have received the 1095-C form for the
employee with information for the entire year related to the employee’s status.
Corrections for Form 1095-C must be submitted to OMES/HCM Division
by Feb. 23, 2018.
Please send the original form, a copy of the corrected form, and a memo
explaining why the correction is needed. Please send corrections to the
attention of: Kristin Elsenbeck, Human Resources Coordinator, 405-521-6030. Any
corrections needed after this date should still be sent to OMES for us to
notify the IRS. This will ensure reporting is as accurate and complete as
possible.
If a form was not created for an employee and should have been,
the agency must manually create one, provide the employee a copy, and submit a
copy to OMES/HCM for inclusion on the IRS file.
For correcting a 1095-C after providing the original to the
employee and before the file is submitted to the IRS, correct the form as
needed and write, type, or print CORRECTED somewhere on the new 1095-C
furnished to the employee.
ONLY enter an “X” in the CORRECTED box after the file has been
submitted to the IRS (this won’t be done until after the Feb. 23, 2018 correction
deadline).
In addition to the form corrections, please ensure the data
entered on the ACA Employee Eligibility (0674) page in the HCM system is
correct. The data entered on this page is critical to correct reporting
of an employee’s offer and periods of coverage.
For additional information or questions related to ACA reporting,
please contact Kristin Elsenbeck, Human Resources Coordinator: 405-521-6030; kristin.elsenbeck@omes.ok.gov.
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Higher
Education Entities
As a reminder, when an MWC or EWC is submitted to cancel a payroll
warrant, a corresponding PFT Reversal file must be submitted to remove the
funds from the 789 class-funding and place them back in the originating class-funding. The amount in the PFT reversal file should be
the gross to net amount and employer share of taxes and benefits that processed
on the original warrant.
The PFT Reversal process is also used to process amounts in or out
of the 789 fund based on business needs. This includes:
- processing of taxes
which were not processed through the normal 500Misc/PFT process but must be
submitted through the ACES system;
- corrections necessary for overpayment
refunds; and
- correction of items improperly reported or omitted from the
original PFT submitted.
Additional information on processing PFT Reversal files can be
found on the CIO website.
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1099 INFORMATION
All
1099 corrections for 2017 or for previous years must be submitted to OMES
and we will report the corrections to the IRS.
If you should have any 1099s that are returned by the vendor requiring
changes, please issue a ‘corrected 1099’ to the vendor using the blank forms
provided with the original 1099s or you may contact OMES to print them for you. Send copies of the incorrect 1099 and the
correct 1099 along with any documentation to support the change to OMES. Please contact Beth Brox with any questions
at 405-522-1099 or Beth.Brox@omes.ok.gov.
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P-CARD
The State of Oklahoma Policy & Procedures for Purchase
Card and Online Booking Tool has been updated and is available online.
Effective date is Feb. 1, 2018.
A new Training registration form is available on the website
with a revision date of February 2018. All previous versions are obsolete.
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PURCHASING
In January 2018, the
state entered into a contract with Amazon Business Services as an approved
supplier to the state of Oklahoma. The
contract provides negotiated terms and conditions that are more favorable to
state customers than the click through terms for typical customers.
The new Amazon contract supersedes
any individual Amazon account established previous to the Amazon Business
Account set up by the State of Oklahoma in order to protect the State of
Oklahoma’s interest. The state Amazon
account will replace any other Amazon related membership of a state agency and
should not be duplicated with an individual agency’s membership.
The Amazon Business Prime
model falls within the Buying Club Direct Account referenced in Chapter 50 of
the State Wide Accounting manual; however, if the state purchases an Amazon
Business Prime membership to benefit state agencies, agencies may make an
otherwise permissible acquisition through the Prime program by use of a
purchase card rather than utilizing a purchase order.
Utilization of the state Amazon contract and
corresponding Business Prime membership continues to be subject to the rules
promulgated under OAC 260:115; applicable Purchase Card procedures and
applicable state law including but not limited to requirements under Title 74
and Title 62. As a reminder, the use of
the Amazon state contract does not supersede any mandatory statewide contract
and the P-card user will still be held accountable to ensure compliance with the
State Use program as well as Oklahoma Correctional Industries.
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In the past the Statewide Accounting Manual and Central
Purchasing Procurement Information Memorandum 10-02 have provided inconsistent
guidance on the appropriate use of authority orders. This is being remedied in the upcoming
revision of the Statewide Accounting Manual and the PIM has been removed from
the Central Purchasing website. The new
guidance is outlined below and should be considered official in advance of the
release of the revised Statewide Accounting Manual.
Approved
Uses for Authority Orders
While vendor-specific POs are recommended, AFP’s have
been authorized by the Director of OMES for the following uses:
-
Regulated
utilities or regulated services;
-
Purchases
from another state agency;
-
To
establish an encumbrance for low-dollar purchases made throughout the year not
to exceed $5,000 to any one payee over the course of the year.
o The AFP may not be used to avoid a statewide
or state use contract. Statewide
contracts should not be paid through an authority order except for emergency
payments;
o The AFP may be used to cover non-travel employee
reimbursements (under $5,000);
-
Acquisitions
specifically exempt from the Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act;
-
Multiple-payee
encumbrances; examples include:
o stipends (ie. teachers, real estate agents,
etc.);
o grant and scholarship recipients;
o voter registration commission payments to
tag agencies;
-
To
encumber amounts for bank charges;
-
To
encumber amounts to be paid through a purchase-card, under the limitations for
p-card use;
-
Structured,
court-ordered, settlement agreements;
-
To
encumber amounts for payroll.
Agencies under the purview of the Central Purchasing Act
are required to request approval of the State Purchasing Director to utilize an
authority order for any other type of acquisition not specifically authorized
above.
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ACCOUNTING
Due to issues that have recently come to light involving the
Oklahoma State Department of Health, the auditors have informed us that there
are now additional federal programs that must be audited as part of the 2017
State of Oklahoma Single Audit. Because of this additional audit work,
the audit will not be completed by the deadline. Auditors anticipate
issuing this audit on or before June 30, 2018. Federal agencies are being
notified.
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