CAR Newsletter - January 2022

Volume 32 | Number 7 | Fiscal Year 2022 | Jan. 10, 2022

• BrightPath Update  
• PeopleSoft Upgrade 
• Mileage Rate for 2022 
• Daily Submission of 340 Fund Disbursements 
• GASB 87 – Lease Information Now Past Due  
• Annual Comprehensive Financial Report – Extension 
• Beware of Email Scams for W-2 Information 
• Searching for Individuals Using Statewide Employee View  
• Social Security Number Changes  
• Employee Direct Deposit Verification of Bank Routing Number 
• Updating Employee Bank Routing Numbers 
• W-2 and 1099 Pick-up Instructions 
• Affordable Care Act Form 1095-C Distribution Change 
• Forms W-2 and W-2C Terminology 
• Form W-2 Corrections 
• Employee Tax Refunds  
• Reporting Requirements for Repayments of Prior Year Wage Amounts  
• Annual Withholding Tax Exemption Certification for Military Spouse 
• 1099 NEC and 1099 MISC Forms and Corrections 
• Agency-submitted 1099s – Deadline Reminder  
• Federal Tax Payments Scheduling  
• Payroll Law 2022 

The Workday implementation testing phases – End-to-End, User Acceptance and Parallel Payroll testing – provide the BrightPath team with the feedback needed for a seamless implementation prior to going live midyear 2022. The team has completed the first of four End-to-End testing cycles, and cycle 2 will include integrations and the financial aspects of the system. Parallel Payroll testing begins in early February.

The second statewide assessment conducted prior to the Workday implementation was distributed to the entire state workforce through agency-appointed change agents on Jan. 4. Participation in the assessment is critical to help the project team gauge statewide employee understanding of the BrightPath project. Feedback will be used to create communications and training that prepare employees to complete essential Workday tasks, such as entering time. You are encouraged to complete the pulse assessment by Jan. 21.

Visit the BrightPath project website for status updates and resources to learn more about Workday and how it will affect your role.

On Jan. 17, OMES will update the PeopleSoft Financials platform from PeopleSoft Update Manager (PUM) version 33 to version 40. Beginning Jan. 14 until Jan. 16 at midnight, PeopleSoft Financials will be inaccessible due to the transition.

This upgrade will provide your financial team with an improved new user experience including a more intuitive look and feel, refined navigation features, optimized search functionality and more:

• Enhanced search capabilities.
• Ability to add favorites.
• A recent places feature.
• A new color scheme.
• Alphabetical navigation order.

Resources: Use this tips and tricks resource to get prepared for PUM40. You can also find more information on the OMES Business Application Services – Financial web page.

Support: Contact the OMES Service Desk for any questions or issues you may have. We are standing by and look forward to supporting you through this transition.

The IRS announced an increase in the mileage reimbursement rate effective Jan. 1, 2022, to $0.585 per mile. This is an increase from the $0.56 IRS rate for 2021 (refer to Internal Revenue Notice 2021-251, released Dec. 17, 2021). All state agencies may use the IRS rate for travel incurred on and after Jan. 1, 2022.

The Trip Optimizer law is still in place for determining the lowest cost of transportation for travel on state business. The new $0.585 rate is now used for the mileage calculation and for the OMES mileage reimbursement amount referenced in paragraphs E and F of 74 O.S. § 85.45l.

All agencies that process 340 fund payments directly on the ACES system are required to submit those transactions in a summarized format each day that payments are processed. If payments are only processed from the fund on a weekly basis, the summarized data must be submitted the day the weekly payments are processed. The 340 funds are not exempted from the requirement that cash must be available when the payment is processed. Submit the summarized data to the CAR general ledger group email at accounting@omes.ok.gov and include the xml file and a pdf file showing the total of the expenditure and the signed certification. The certification must be signed by an agency approving officer.

The lease template for the implementation of GASB 87 was due by agencies Dec. 17, 2021. Thank you to all the agencies that met the deadline. For agencies that have not yet submitted the information, please expect to be contacted by your financial reporting analyst.

Due to factors outside our control, the audit of the ACFR was unable to be completed by Dec. 31. The report is expected to be published during January. If you are aware of any impact this delay will have on your agency, please email the OMES Financial Reporting Manager Matt Clarkson.

The IRS and state tax agencies once again are warning about email scams requesting employee Forms W-2 from company payroll or human resources departments.

Double-check any executive-level or unusual requests for lists of Forms W-2 or Social Security numbers. Cybercriminals are tricking payroll and human resources officials by disguising emails to make it appear as if from an organization executive. The request a list of all employees and their Forms W-2. The thieves then attempt to file fraudulent tax returns for tax refunds and/or post the information for sale on the Dark Net. Personnel should pay close attention to the email address of the sender and confirm requests for any sensitive data verbally, either in person or calling previously known phone numbers.

As part of a Security Summit effort by the IRS, the Don’t Take the Bait education series continues to focus on raising awareness of the critical need for increased computer security and caution when reviewing your email inbox – specifically email scams identifying themselves as a friend, customer or company.

The IRS is investigating phishing emails. If an agency receives an email of this type, immediately contact Lisa Raihl at 405-521-3258 or Jean Hayes at 405-522-6300.

The Statewide Employee View functionality can be used to find any person in PeopleSoft HCM. When trying to determine if an individual already exists in the system, search by National ID (Social Security number). Searching with criteria other than National ID can cause an agency to identify a person that isn’t truly the one they want. Please review the search results carefully to ensure the correct individual is found. Navigation: Home>Workforce Administration>Personal Information>Statewide Employee View (0491).

If an incorrect Social Security number has been entered into the HCM system, please contact the OMES Service Desk to have the number corrected. Do NOT create another employee in the system, which only compounds the issue. Employees with multiple employee IDs must have data combined onto the one correct record, which requires many corrections and changes in the HCM system.

Employee bank deposit slips should not be used to get the bank routing/transit number for setting up direct deposit information. A voided check from the employee is the most reliable method. If the employee does not have a voided check or wants to deposit into another type of account, have the employee call the bank directly to get the routing/transit number. A bank routing/transit number should never start with the digit 5. This indicates a branch of the bank and will cause the direct deposit to fail, leaving OST unpaid with additional processing required by the agency to pay the employee.

Agencies may receive a report generated from the Office of the State Treasurer’s current ACH application. The OST’s current ACH application automatically updates bank routing numbers based on the latest table of Federal Reserve Bank routing numbers, allowing the items to continue processing for payment. When an update is made, the Participant Old/New Routing Number report is generated listing the employee, the incorrect bank routing number and the correct bank routing number. This report is distributed to agencies to update employee banking information. These updates must be made so transactions will continue to process without interruption. This report is sent out by OMES to the contact listed for the Updated Banking Information report.

OMES will have W-2 and 1099 forms ready for release beginning at 10 a.m. on Jan. 18 until 3 p.m. on Jan. 20. Agencies will pick up the forms from our Will Rogers Building location at 2401 N. Lincoln Blvd. You may park on the west side of the building in any parking spot not marked with a reserved sign. As you enter the building, you will be directed to room 104 to pick up your package.

With employees using laptops, the use of CDs for distributing state agency 1095-C forms is no longer the best method. Secure files will be sent to agencies at year-end. Agencies are required to print and distribute the forms to employees. To send the files, we need contact information for each agency.

If you have not already provided the contact information, please email HCMClassComp@omes.ok.gov and payrollreporting@omes.ok.gov with the following information for the agency’s primary and alternate contacts:

• Agency number.
• Agency name.
• ACA contact name.
• ACA contact phone number.
• ACA contact email address.

These terms are frequently used for different types of W-2s based on when the form is completed:

Original W-2: Form W-2 that was originally issued to an employee by Jan 31.

Reissued W-2: Original Form W-2 reissued to an employee when an original form is lost, misplaced, not received, etc. Write REISSUED STATEMENT and the reissued date (MM/DD/YYYY) on the employee’s new copies. A reissued W-2 can be produced at any time because the data is not being changed.

Corrected W-2: A Form W-2 used to correct the original W-2 when an error has been discovered, before OMES submits the file to the Social Security Administration. Write CORRECTED on the employee’s new copies along with a corrected date (MM/DD/YYYY).

• Corrected W-2 forms must be delivered to OMES by Jan. 25. Please send the original W-2, a copy of the corrected form and a memo explaining why the correction is needed. Do not send copies of checks or other items.

W-2C: The form used to adjust the original W-2 (or corrected W-2) information when an error has been discovered after OMES has submitted the file to SSA.

• W-2Cs must be submitted to OMES as soon as completed and will be filed with the SSA. Please send a copy of the original W-2, Copy A of the W-2C and a memo explaining why the correction is needed. Do not send copies of checks or other items. The employee should receive a copy and the agency should keep Copy D for their records.

Corrected W-2 forms must be delivered to OMES by Jan. 25 for the corrections to be in the submission file. Due date for submission of Form W-2 information to the Social Security Administration is Jan. 31, 2022.

Please send the original W-2, a copy of the corrected form and a memo explaining why the correction is needed. If the correction is due to a statutory canceled warrant that is not to be replaced, include a letter asking that the warrant not be replaced.

• When a warrant has been canceled by statute, there is no reason for a W-2 correction unless the payment was made in error. If it was a valid payroll payment, the employee is still entitled to a replacement warrant; therefore, the W-2 reporting is proper.

Any correction needed after this date must be sent to OMES as a W-2C for us to notify the SSA. This ensures reporting is as accurate and complete as possible.

Employee payroll tax withholdings are not authorized to be refunded to an employee once withheld from payroll. Refunds will not be given for those employees who did not submit a W-4 in time for payroll processing. All agencies should have a deadline for employees to submit W-4 changes. Per IRS regulations, the effective date of the new W-4 will be the beginning of the next pay cycle for the employee. The system should not be backdated to refund taxes to the employee (not authorized by the IRS).

Repayments from employees made in the current year (2022) for overpayments of wages in a prior year (2021 or earlier) must be repaid at the gross overpayment amount in accordance with the IRS. A Corrected W-2 or a W-2C, as applicable, must be completed and sent to OMES. Only Social Security and Medicare wages and taxes are corrected on the Corrected Form W-2 or W-2C.

Do not correct 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 able to consider such repayments on their current year (2022) income tax return. Please advise them to speak to their tax accountant. Additional instructions for Form W-2 and Form W2-C are available on the IRS website. For assistance, contact Jean Hayes at 405- 522-6300 or jean.hayes@omes.ok.gov or Lisa Raihl at 405-521-3258 or lisa.raihl@omes.ok.gov.

Remember to review and ensure employees have a valid OTC Form OW-9-MSE (Annual Withholding Tax Exemption Certification for Military Spouses) on file for 2022. This form must be completed annually to continue the exemption for 2022. If a new exemption form has not been submitted for 2022, the employee’s withholding status must go back to the last valid Form W-4 on file. When an employee submits the Form OW-9-MSE, they must also submit a completed Form OK-W-4. If you receive an exempt Form OK-W-4 with Form OW-9-MSE after processing a payroll, do not process a tax refund to the employee or submit one to OMES for processing. The new exemption form will take effect on the next pay cycle; it is not retroactive to the beginning of the year.

As a reminder, a nonresident spouse of a nonresident service member may be exempt from Oklahoma income tax on income from services performed in Oklahoma. OTC Form OW-9-MSE must be completed and returned to the employer with the required documentation, along with Form OK-W-4. The instructions contain a list of requirements the employer must meet before the withholding exemption will be allowed. The forms must be completed each year the exemption is to be claimed.

This exemption requires an update to the employees State Tax Data in PeopleSoft. The Special Tax Status will be changed to Maintain Taxable Gross; SWT zero unless specified in Additional Withholding below. This does not affect the Federal Tax Data. Federal withholding will still be calculated based on the IRS Form W-4 in effect.

Although exempt from state income tax withholding, the income is still reportable on the W-2 as Oklahoma wages. Employees with questions should contact their tax accountants.

1099 NEC and MISC forms will be ready to pick up from 10 a.m. on Jan. 18 until 3 p.m. on Jan. 20, along with W-2s and other year-end tax forms. All forms will be available in Room 104 of the Will Rogers Building at 2401 N. Lincoln. Please review the 1099s you receive, and advise OMES of any necessary changes. A few blank 1099 NEC and MISC forms will be included for you to make any necessary corrections (you may make more copies of the blank forms if needed). If you have several corrections, please contact Alicia Reel or Beth Brox who will create new 1099s with your corrections and forward them to you. Please return as many changes as possible to OMES prior to Jan. 25.

Please note the following procedures pursuant to such changes in the 1099 documents:

• For missing addresses or address changes, send us a copy of the 1099 which includes the address you added or changed; include a notation as to the type of change as well as an updated W-9.
• For name or FEI/SSN changes, send us a copy of the original and the amended document as well as an updated W-9 or Vendor/Payee form so that we have appropriate documentation for the changes.
• For all amount changes, please send us appropriate documentation explaining the nature of the transaction changes.
• Any changes that need to be made after Jan. 25 must be sent to OMES as soon as possible; we will forward them to the IRS.

In all instances, please make sure that your documentation includes enough information for us to understand your changes, the reasons for them and a contact person in case we have questions.

As in the recent past for 1099 reporting – To ensure security on Form 1099M, we will truncate the SSN and FEI number so only the last four digits are shown; e.g., xxxxx1234. If you have an inquiry on any 1099 NEC or MISC, please provide OMES with the account number, found in the lower left portion of the form.

Before submitting our 1099 file to the IRS, we will TIN-match the file with the IRS e-Services system. Any vendors that mismatch in this process must be corrected before we can submit our final file to the IRS on Jan. 31.

Questions or comments should be directed to Alicia Reel at 405-522-9479, 405-522-1099 or alicia.reel@omes.ok.gov, or Beth Brox at 405-401-5792 or beth.brox@omes.ok.gov.

For agencies that produce their own 1099 forms, the deadline to submit the 1099 file to the IRS is Jan. 31. We have recently received notice of penalties for late filing and for mismatches and we will be reaching out to agencies for payment of those penalties.

To ensure payments are entered and set to pay by the liability due date, please be aware of the processing time when entering the tax journal entry and scheduling the tax payment on the OST ACES system. Tax payment information must be provided by 10 a.m. for the payment to be released that day. With the release on one day, the effective date must be at least one day in the future.

Live online seminars presented by Fred Pryor Seminars. For more information, please visit the Pryor website.