October 2026 Payroll News

In planning your work for November, Veterans Day will be observed on Wednesday, Nov. 11. The Thanksgiving holiday is recognized on Thursday, Nov. 26, and Friday, Nov. 27.

November biweekly payroll for state agencies will be paid on Friday, Nov. 13, and Wednesday, Nov. 25.

November monthly payrolls will be paid on the last working day of the month, Monday, Nov. 30.

With these dates in mind, agency staff should plan their work accordingly:

SUPPLEMENTAL: Supplemental payroll is set to pay on Thursday, Nov. 12. Agencies must have the payroll processed and paperwork forwarded to OMES by Wednesday, Nov. 4.

BIWEEKLY: Biweekly payroll is set to pay on Friday, Nov. 13. Agencies must have the payroll processed and paperwork forwarded to OMES by noon on Thursday, Nov. 5.

The next biweekly pay date will be Wednesday, Nov. 25. Agencies must have the payroll processed and paperwork forwarded to OMES by noon on Wednesday, Nov. 18.

MONTHLY/LEGISLATIVE MONTHLY: Monthly payrolls will be set to pay on Monday, Nov. 30. Agencies must have these payrolls processed and paperwork forwarded to OMES by noon on Thursday, Nov. 19.

Workday@OK state agencies are required to have payroll documents to OMES by noon five business days prior to the pay date. All required documents must be submitted by the deadline to ensure adequate time for audit and processing. The following documents are required to be submitted by state agencies:

1. The final budget-checking report showing no budget deficit.

2. The signed payroll claim document.

Email the paperwork to payrolltransprocess@omes.ok.gov with read receipts turned on. On-cycle payrolls are completed based on the published schedules. Payrolls not submitted timely are subject to being placed on hold so that processing may continue for all other agencies.

Off-cycle payrolls are processed upon receipt of required documents listed above and according to the standard processing schedule.

Institutions of higher education have different documentation requirements. The following is required from these institutions:

1. The validated PFT Funding report showing no budget deficit.

2. The signed payroll claim document.

Institutions of higher education are required to have payroll documents to OMES by 3 p.m. five business days prior to the pay date.

Workday@OK HR partners have access to search by Social Security number (SSN) for employees to verify if they are already in the system. Searching by name or any other criteria can lead to misidentification, finding someone who is not the intended person. To search by SSN, go to the search bar and enter “ID:” and then the nine-digit SSN without dashes (i.e., ID:123456789).

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act suspended the tax-free exclusion of qualified moving expenses paid to or on behalf of an employee by an employer. The suspension period was for tax years beginning Jan. 1, 2018, through Dec. 31, 2025. The One Big Beautiful Bill made permanent the taxability of moving expense payments.

Authorized moving expenses paid directly or indirectly to or for an employee will be taxable as wages and must be processed through the payroll system. This includes payments made with the P-card and those processed through accounts payable.

If paying the employee directly (through accounts payable) or a third party for moving expenses, the agency must notify its payroll department of the amount paid. The amount must process through the payroll system as nonpaying, taxable earnings so the amount will be taxed and properly reported on the employee’s W-2. We recommend the amount be processed through payroll on the employee’s next paycheck. Delaying until the end of the year could cause a hardship for the employee by taking the taxes out during the holidays. Delaying could also cause issues with collecting the employee taxes if the employee has terminated employment.

For any amounts paid directly to the employee through the Workday system, taxes will be withheld from the gross amount, and the employee will receive the net payment.

When a payroll warrant is reversed in Workday, you must pay any associated payable time using the on-demand process, selecting Create Replacement Payment. Workday does not change those hours from paid back to approved to be included in a retro or the next main payroll. However, to mitigate any wage and tax balance discrepancies, best practice is to not process another payroll before the reversal is complete.

If processing a new payroll before the reversal is complete, the on-demand option to select will be Create Additional Payment. Agencies will need to be mindful of any wage or tax limits and process the new payroll as a paper warrant in case the original EFT amount does not come back to the state. The central payroll team can confirm the funds have been returned, and the paper warrant can then be distributed to the employee.

For assistance processing the on-demand payment, please submit a Payroll Support request.

O.S. 47 § 156.1, as amended, prohibits the personal use of state-owned motor vehicles but permits the use of the vehicles for commuting in very specific situations. 2007 OK AG Opinion 18 also addresses this issue.

When a state employee is allowed to commute in accordance with the statute or the attorney general opinion, the agency must notify the governor, the president pro tempore of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives. In addition, when an employee is using a vehicle from OMES Fleet Management, the agency must complete OMES CAM FM Form 022, Authorization to Commute in State Vehicle.

The IRS considers commuting to be a noncash taxable benefit to the employee even when the use of the vehicle is for the benefit of the employer. There are very few exceptions to the taxability of commuting. Exceptions are for certain vehicles that are not likely to be used for personal use because of their design. These vehicles are listed in IRS Publication 15-B.

• The method of calculating the taxable fringe benefit is dependent on the employee’s status.
• Commuting Rule: Most state employees may use the Commuting Rule. Under this rule, the value of a vehicle provided to an employee for commuting is computed by multiplying each one-way commute by $1.50. If more than one employee commutes in the vehicle, this value applies to each employee. This amount must be included in the employee’s wages or reimbursed by the employee.
• Cents-per-Mile Rule: A cents-per-mile method may also be used by most state employees.
• Lease Value Rule: Elected officials or employees whose compensation is at least as great as a federal government employee at Executive Level V (for 2026: $184,900) are not allowed to compute taxable income under the Commuting Rule. These officials and employees must use the Lease Value Rule to compute taxable income.
• All valuation methods are described in detail in IRS Publication 15-B.

The employee may choose to have the value included as taxable income or pay the employer for personal use rather than having it treated as wages. When treating the value as wages, the imputed income is subject to FICA and income tax withholding. The taxable amount, if not paid by the employee, must be processed through payroll so that taxes are calculated, and amounts are reported on the employees’ W-2.

The taxable amount will need to be processed through Workday@OK as a one-time payment, a pay input or entered on the timesheet, depending on the agency’s processing policy. The amount will be included as taxable income and will be taxed on the paycheck.

We recommend the vehicle usage be included in the employee’s payroll each pay period to prevent a large sum being included in the employee’s last pay of the calendar year, resulting in a higher-than-normal amount of taxes being withheld. Additionally, up-to-date reporting of vehicle usage will benefit the agency should the employee terminate during the year.

For more information, please email HCM Central Payroll.

If, for any reason, an agency receives a payroll warrant issued in error, the warrant should be returned as soon as possible to HCM Central Payroll for cancellation. Payroll warrants must be accompanied by an OMES Form PWC.

Warrants issued by the state treasurer, which, for any cause, remain outstanding or unpaid for a period of 90 days shall be revoked and canceled under the provisions of O.S. 62 § 34.80. For warrants canceled by statute, the cash is transferred to the canceled warrant fund. Agencies will not be refunded the value of the statutorily canceled warrants.

Agencies should be reviewing the PS Financials Payroll 36-Month Statutory Cancellation Report on a regular basis.

If there is a payroll warrant listed and the employee is entitled to the funds, please complete OMES Form 20R and submit a service request to OMES CAR Transaction Processing. This will allow a replacement warrant to be issued to provide the employee their due pay.

Agencies should be reviewing the PS Financials Payroll 36-Month Statutory Cancellation Report on a regular basis.

If there is a payroll warrant listed and the employee is not entitled to the funds, the issuing agency must notify OMES (O.S. 62 § 34.80). Notification should include the warrant number, warrant date and must be signed by an agency approving authority. Please submit a service request to OMES CAR Transaction Processing stating that the warrant should not be reissued. In addition, the amounts must be removed from the employee’s earning record. Please email HCM Central Payroll.