With the new year upon us, please take a moment to review the updated PeopleSoft User Guide to help aid with frequently asked questions or general knowledge. Additionally, updated COR manuals for PeopleSoft are also ready for review.

The full list of manuals is available on the CAR webpage.

PeopleSoft Financials end-users can now delegate workflow item approvals to teammates, ensuring the approval process continues during absences. Self-service instructions are available in the PeopleSoft Financials Delegation User Guide.

The IRS announced the mileage reimbursement rate effective Jan. 1, 2025, is $0.70 per mile. This is an increase from the $0.67 IRS rate for 2024. (Refer to Internal Revenue Notice 2024-312, released Dec. 19, 2024.) All state agencies may use the IRS rate for travel incurred on and after Jan. 1, 2025.

The Trip Optimizer law is still in place for determining the lowest cost of transportation for travel on state business. The new 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.

Agencies are reminded to double-check any executive-level or unusual requests for lists of Forms W-2 or Social Security numbers. Cybercriminals continue to trick payroll and human resources officials by disguising emails to make them appear as if they are 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 and/or post the information for sale on the dark net. Pay close attention to the sender's email address and verbally confirm requests for any sensitive data either in person or using previously known phone numbers.

As part of the 2017 Security Summit effort, the Don’t Take the Bait education series focused on raising awareness of the critical need for increased computer security and caution when reviewing email inboxes – specifically email scams that identify themselves as a friend, customer or company. View the series on the IRS website. In addition, the Security Summit continues to meet annually to address areas of need and help raise public awareness.

The IRS continues to investigate 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.

When entering a new employee’s name and Social Security number or updating a current employee’s name, please verify the name and SSN being entered is exactly as it appears on the employee’s Social Security card. This is critical in reporting not only the W-2 wages at year-end but the Affordable Care Act required health offer/coverage information as well. If the name and SSN do not match the Social Security Administration records, the employee’s wages may not be credited to their Social Security account. Additionally, if the name and SSN do not match, the employee may not be reported correctly for ACA purposes, which could result in an IRS letter to the employee for possible lack of health coverage or an IRS letter to the agency for not offering coverage.

Since September 2007, when the Social Security Administration updated the Social Security card, the cardholder’s name will always be printed on two lines with the last name printed directly below the first and middle names. If you receive a prior version from an employee and are unsure, please ask the employee to verify the first, middle and last names.

Additionally, compound names do not need to be hyphenated. If an employee provides a name with an apparent compound or multiple last names, ask the employee which name is the beginning of the last name and which (if any) is the middle name.

Please ensure the employee completes the business process in Workday@OK timely. Not having the information entered will cause issues with year-end reporting. In addition, other required processes and reporting are delayed when this information is not timely entered and in a complete status, such as E-Verify, new hire report and retirement files.

You may enter the name that the employee currently uses as their preferred name if desired so that their paycheck will continue to reflect the same name as in the past, but the employee record and W-2 information should match the Social Security card for the legal name.

With employee self-service in Workday@OK, direct deposit information should be entered directly by employees per OAC 260:25-25-16. If an agency makes an exception to enter an employee’s direct deposit information on their behalf, the employee must provide a completed HCM-73 Automatic Deposit Transmittal form to the agency along with an official document from the financial institution.

Please remember that 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 a 5. This indicates a branch of the bank and will cause the direct deposit to fail.

A direct deposit that fails will leave OST not to be paid, and additional processing by the agency will be required to pay the employee.

Once again, bad actors are attempting to defraud employees by submitting requests to change banking information. Please continue to be cognizant that this issue is still ongoing and be aware when receiving requests to update payroll information. To avoid processing fraudulent information, it is necessary to verify any attempts for payroll changes that are requested. Employees should be updating their payment elections directly in Workday@OK as stated above. Any exceptions should follow these best practices:

• Personnel who handle employee payroll direct deposit procedures should verify all requests for changes to direct deposit by personally contacting the employee by a known phone number or a Microsoft Teams call and verifying information such as employee ID number, employment start date, etc.
• Do not contact the employee by responding to the email requesting the change. Make direct contact and ensure you are actually communicating with the employee and not someone posing as the employee.
• We advise agencies to set a time delay when changing direct deposit information to decrease the chance of wage theft.
• Call the OMES Service Desk at 405-521-2444 or contact the appropriate IT or security support for your organization if you receive a suspicious phone call or email.

Agencies may, on occasion, receive a report generated from the Office of the State Treasurer’s current ACH application. OST’s current ACH application automatically updates bank routing numbers based on the latest table of Federal Reserve Bank routing numbers. This update allows 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. OMES sends this report to the contact listed for the Updated Banking Information report.

Employees should see an announcement on the Workday@OK homepage to Opt in to Electronic Tax Document Delivery. Agencies are requested to encourage employees to select electronic only for both W-2 and 1095-C documents by Jan 10, 2025. Electronic delivery is a more secure method of distribution, allows employees to receive their documents quicker and helps save taxpayer dollars by reducing the expense of printing and mailing.

OMES will have W-2s ready electronically by Jan. 17, 2025. Employees who do not elect to receive electronic ONLY for their W-2 will have their form printed and mailed on Jan. 31, 2025. The attached W-2 and 1095-C user guides have been created to assist employees in opting out of receiving the W-2 and 1095-C by mail.

The following are terms 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. “CORRECTED” must be written on the employee’s new copies along with a corrected date (MM/DD/YYYY).

NOTE: Corrected W-2 forms must be delivered to OMES by Jan. 24, 2025. 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 the SSA.

NOTE: 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. 24, 2025, for the corrections to be in the submission file. Due date for submission of Form W-2 information to the SSA is Jan. 31, 2025.

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.

Note: 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 will ensure reporting is as accurate and complete as possible.

Repayments from employees made in the current year (2025) that are for overpayments of wages in a prior year (2024 or earlier) must be repaid at the gross overpayment amount in accordance with IRS regulations. A Corrected W-2 or a W-2C, as applicable, must be completed and sent to OMES Central Payroll. 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; therefore, the amounts are taxable for federal and state purposes. The employee may be able to take into account such repayments on their current year (2024) income tax return. Please advise them to speak to their tax accountant. Additional instructions for Form W-2 and Form W-2C 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.

Agencies are reminded to review and ensure employees have a valid OTC Form OW-9-MSE, Annual Withholding Tax Exemption Certification for Military Spouses, on file for 2025. The form must be completed annually to continue the exemption for 2025. If a new exemption form has not been submitted for 2025, the employee’s withholding status must go back to the last valid Form W-4 on file. Employees can enter the military spousal exemption directly in Workday@OK for their OK W-4 entries. The system will send notification of documentation and review/approval needed prior to the exemption taking effect. When an employee submits a paper Form OW-9-MSE to the agency, 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 Central Payroll for processing. The new exemption form will take effect going forward; 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 will require an update to the employees' State Tax Election in Workday@OK. The Military Spouse Exemption box should be selected and will kick off the approval process. This does not affect the federal tax withholding. Federal withholding will still be calculated based on the IRS Form W-4 in effect.

NOTE: Agencies with employees who claim the military spouse exemption and are in other states must follow the specific state rules.

All 1099 forms will be emailed as an Adobe PDF file from Jan. 14-17, 2025.

Please email your contact information to payrollreporting@omes.ok.gov with the following details for a primary and alternate contact:

• Agency number.
• Agency name.
• 1099 contact name.
• 1099 contact phone number.
• 1099 contact email address.

NOTE: This does not apply to higher ed institutions, which will process their own 1099 reporting.

Agencies will be responsible for printing all 1099 forms. All 1099 forms can be printed on traditional 8 ½ x 11 white paper. The forms can be trifolded and will fit in a Standard No.10 windowed envelope. Sample printed forms can be provided, if requested. For sample forms, please contact Alicia Reel at 405-522-1099 or alicia.reel@omes.ok.gov.

NOTE: This does not apply to higher ed institutions, which will process their own 1099 reporting.

Any agency needing to submit an additional file for 1099M reporting should use the format listed below. Instructions are provided in a separate link as well as a listing of 1099M reportable account codes. Due to the sensitive nature of the data, please email your password protected file to alicia.reel@omes.ok.gov. It is recommended that these agencies submit a test file to have a name and TIN match done with the IRS.

These file instructions and the format can be found on the CAR Forms page of the OMES website:

• 1099 Detail File Format – Outside Agencies.
• 1099 Instructions – Detail File Format.
• 1099 Account Code Cross-Reference.

NOTE: This does not apply to higher ed institutions, which will process their own 1099 reporting.

1099 NEC and MISC forms will be ready for email distribution the week of Jan. 14-17, 2025. Please thoroughly review the 1099s you receive. Any changes must be urgently reported to OMES. Corrected 1099s can be created and submitted to your agency for distribution to the vendor. Please return as many changes as possible to OMES prior to Jan. 24, 2025.

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

• For missing addresses or address changes to the 1099 document only, email a copy of an updated W-9 to alicia.reel@omes.ok.gov.
• If a change to the permanent vendor file is needed, submit an updated W-9 to Central Purchasing - Supplier Registration via a ServiceNow ticket or email to servicedesk@omes.ok.gov. Please include the updated W-9 with your request.
• For name or FEIN/SSN changes to the 1099 document only, email a copy of the updated W-9 to alicia.reel@omes.ok.gov.
• If a change to the permanent vendor file is needed, submit an updated W-9 to Central Purchasing - Supplier Registration via a ServiceNow ticket or email to servicedesk@omes.ok.gov. Please include the updated W9 with your request.
• For all amount changes to the 1099 document, email the changes to alicia.reel@omes.ok.gov. Please send the appropriate documentation that explains the nature of the transaction changes. 
• Any changes that need to be made after Jan. 24, 2025, still need to be sent to OMES as soon as possible and we will forward the information to the IRS.

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

FYI:

• As in recent years for 1099 reporting – To ensure security on Form 1099M & 1099 NEC, we will truncate the SSN and FEIN so that only the last four digits are shown; e.g., xxxxx6789. 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.
• In January, 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 will need to be corrected before we can submit our final file to the IRS on Jan. 31, 2025.

Questions should be directed as follows:

1099 document changes only: alicia.reel@omes.ok.gov or 405-522-1099. 

Supplier registration changes: Central Purchasing ServiceNow Catalog or servicedesk@omes.ok.gov.

NOTE: This does not apply to higher ed institutions, which will process their own 1099 reporting.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 added Internal Revenue Code (I.R.C.) Section 6050X, which imposes a reporting requirement on certain government entities involved in settlements where I.R.C. Section 162(f) applies. Section 162(f)(1) disallows any deduction for amounts paid or incurred by a taxpayer, to or at the direction of a governmental entity, for violation of a law or the investigation or inquiry by such entity into the potential violation of a law. However, Section 162(f)(2) provides exceptions for amounts related to restitution, remediation and costs incurred by a taxpayer to come into compliance with a law.

Beginning with tax year 2022, the IRS required governmental entities to file IRS Form 1098-F for amounts required to be paid pursuant to a suit, court order or agreement with respect to any violation of law or the investigation or inquiry into the potential violation of a law, if the aggregate amount involved in all suits, orders or agreements in relation to the violation of the law equals or exceeds $50,000 (threshold may change in future years).

• Reporting is required for a suit, order or agreement that becomes binding on or after Jan. 1, 2023.
• The amount required to be paid includes costs to provide services or to provide property.
• A separate Form 1098-F must be filed with respect to each payer that is a party to the suit, order or agreement.
• Form 1098-F is not required for any person that doesn’t have a payment obligation or obligation for costs to provide services or to provide property.
• Forms are due to payers by January 31, 2025.

Instructions for IRS Form 1098-F can be found here. 

A reporting document has been created for state agencies to provide OMES with the required information to create the 1098-F forms. Please complete and submit the reporting document just as soon as possible but no later than January 17, 2024, to: payrollreporting@omes.ok.gov.

NOTE: Institutions of higher education will not submit any information to OMES for 1098-F reporting. Please consult your tax accountant if you feel reporting may be required.

With the new age of social media, agencies may be using social media influencers as part of their overall marketing strategy. This type of service creates an independent contractor relationship and as such any payments by cash or noncash methods are considered payments for services. Influencers often receive free gifts or services, such as trips, accommodations, food or swag, in exchange for their social media posts promoting the agency. Gifts or services related to this type of relationship are considered taxable income when the cumulative value to an individual influencer is $600 or more during a calendar year.

The agency will need to obtain the influencer’s taxpayer identification number using the IRS Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification, for the income to be reported on Form 1099-NEC. For any noncash income to be reported for 2024, the 1099 Detail File Format spreadsheet must have been completed and submitted no later than Jan. 7, 2025. If you have any questions, please contact Alicia Reel at 405-522-1099 or  alicia.reel@omes.ok.gov.

NOTE: This does not apply to higher ed institutions, which will process their own 1099 reporting.

Agencies that have collected backup withholding on miscellaneous claims, must submit payment to be received by OMES prior to Dec. 31, 2024. Make interagency wires payable to the State Contribution Fund (Vendor 0000000467, ADDR # 002, LOC # 0002). After processing the payment, please notify OMES Central Payroll.

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