Frequently Asked Questions

FICA and Medicare How can I make FICA and Medicare corrections?FICA and Medicare How can I make FICA and Medicare corrections?

FICA and Medicare can be adjusted using the External Adjustments (EADJ) transaction and executing the No Pay Calc or Supplemental payroll cycles to process the FICA and Medicare corrections.

FICA deductions are deducting beyond the wage limit. What is causing this?FICA deductions are deducting beyond the wage limit. What is causing this?

Verify the DKEY configuration for FICA table 0532 for key offset to confirm it is set to 30.

How can I refund the additional FICA and Medicare deducted from employees after payroll processing?How can I refund the additional FICA and Medicare deducted from employees after payroll processing?

To refund additional FICA and Medicare deducted from employees and to allow negative values for FICA and Medicare set the Site Specific Parameter (SPAR) entry for NEGATIVE FICA/MEDICARE ALLOWED' to Yes.

Why is the pay category calculating FICA and Medicare even when employee is set to exempt FICA and Medicare?Why is the pay category calculating FICA and Medicare even when employee is set to exempt FICA and Medicare?

Verify if there is any Benefits Policy Type (BPLT) reference data that is set up to auto enrollment for FICA and Medicare deductions. Modify the configuration to remove auto enrollment.

How are the columns EMPL_YTD_DED_AM & EMPLYR_YTD_DED_AM calculated for the FICA table?How are the columns EMPL_YTD_DED_AM & EMPLYR_YTD_DED_AM calculated for the FICA table?

EMPL_YTD_DED_AM and EMPLYR_YTD_DED_AM are calculated based on covered wages and percentage mentioned on Deduction Plan (DPLN). For Social Security tax the rate would be 6.2 % for both the employee and employer deductions. For Medicare tax the rate is 1.45 % for both the employee and employer deductions.

Note: Social Security and Medicare taxes rates will be applicable as per IRS Publications.

Federal Tax

Federal tax calculation is incorrect. How do I resolve this?Federal tax calculation is incorrect. How do I resolve this?

Verify the Include/ Exclude Pay Categories (DPPC) configuration and remove the Base pay event from DPPC configuration federal tax calculated correctly.
Confirm the Annual Exemption Amount-W4 Effective 2020+ field on Tax parameters (TAXP) is configured correctly.

I am receiving an error stating Federal Allowance Not Allowed on Employee Tax Parameters (TAX) for New Assignment Added after 2020. How do I resolve this error?I am receiving an error stating Federal Allowance Not Allowed on Employee Tax Parameters (TAX) for New Assignment Added after 2020. How do I resolve this error?

In 2020 the IRS changed the federal tax calculation and as part of that change employees are no longer allowed to claim allowances on W-4 forms submitted after 1/1/2020. If you look at the Form W-4, there is no longer a field available for Federal Tax Allowance. The validation is in place to ensure compliance with the IRS requirements.

In the event that state tax information needs to be updated without submitting a new federal W-4, the State Update Only checkbox on the TAX transaction can be selected to bypass the error. This flag should be used for state tax updates only.

State and Local Taxes

Can Employee role users update state and local taxes like they can for federal W-4s using the Create Tax button?Can Employee role users update state and local taxes like they can for federal W-4s using the Create Tax button?

In Advantage 4, state and local tax updates should be completed by an administrator only. Sites utilizing the enhanced multi-state tax functionality (only available for sites utilizing Next Generation Payroll) can allow employees to update state taxes using the Employee State Tax Withholding Certificate (ETAXS) transaction. Local tax enrollments still need to be done by an administrator.

Does Advantage have ability to add more than 10 State IDs for a single Taxing Entity (TXEN)?Does Advantage have ability to add more than 10 State IDs for a single Taxing Entity (TXEN)?

Advantage supports the ability to associate more than 10 State IDs with a single TXEN when utilizing the enhanced multi-state tax functionality. Sites can set the SINGLE TAX ENTITY Site Specific Parameter (SPAR) to true, enable the enhanced multi state tax functionality, and configure the Enhanced Taxing Entity (TXENE) reference page with an unlimited number of State Tax IDs. On Application Parameter (APPCTRL) set the Multi State Tax parameter to Yes. If you are not utilizing the enhanced multi-state tax functionality, the limit is 10 State IDs per TXEN entry.

Note: the enhanced Multi State Tax feature is supported only in Next Generation Payroll.

Why is the Mississippi state tax calculating incorrectly Why is the Mississippi state tax calculating incorrectly

The Standard Deduction Value (for example: 2300) must be added in the Annual Exemption field and the Annual Exemption Amount (for example: 6000) in the Standard Deduction Amount field for Mississippi tax deductions on the Tax Parameters (TAXP) reference page.

Georgia State Tax was not calculating as per the 2024 Département of Labor website. How do I resolve this?Georgia State Tax was not calculating as per the 2024 Département of Labor website. How do I resolve this?

Georgia has changed to flat tax rate from income level-based tax rate from Jan 1st, 2024. As all the employees have flat tax rate of 5.49 for tax year 2024, it is recommended to update the Tax Parameter (TAXP) and Marginal Taxes (DEDX) reference pages to use flat rate.

W-4

Users receive an error on the Employee Tax Withholding Certification (MYW4C) transaction when Exempt Tax is configured. How do I resolve this?Users receive an error on the Employee Tax Withholding Certification (MYW4C) transaction when Exempt Tax is configured. How do I resolve this?

Ensure the Text Value on the Site Specific Parameter (SPAR) entry for W4 EXEMPT TAX CLASS is configured correctly to allow exempt tax for the employee.

The Additional Withholding Amount given in the Employee Tax Withholding Certificate (MYW4C) transaction displays incorrectly on the Deduction Management (DEDM) activity folder as an Additional State Withholding Amount instead of Federal and for Employee user details are not displaying in the Tax information pageThe Additional Withholding Amount given in the Employee Tax Withholding Certificate (MYW4C) transaction displays incorrectly on the Deduction Management (DEDM) activity folder as an Additional State Withholding Amount instead of Federal and for Employee user details are not displaying in the Tax information page

Confirm the Federal/State Marital Status is Federal and add MYW4C in the Valid Transactions section on the Deduction Type (DEDT) reference page.

How can we restrict W4 RESTRICTED TAX CLASS Processing for Lock-In Letter employees?How can we restrict W4 RESTRICTED TAX CLASS Processing for Lock-In Letter employees?

The way the W4 RESTRICTED TAX CLASSES SPAR works is the user can enter up to 40 Tax Classes that do not allow employees to create an Employee Tax Withholding Certificate (MYW4C) transaction. When an employee receives a lock in a letter, they should be moved to one of the W4 Restricted Tax Classes. The restricted tax class would have the same tax enrollments as the non-restricted tax class so the tax withholding would be the same regardless of which tax class the employee is enrolled in. For example, if a site currently has 10 tax classes that they assign to employees to withhold various taxes, then they need 10 restricted tax classes to move those employees to when the lock in letter is received.

When an employee creates an Employee Tax Withholding Certificate (MYW4C) , Appointment ID is defaulted to blank instead of * (asterisk). How can I change this?When an employee creates an Employee Tax Withholding Certificate (MYW4C) , Appointment ID is defaulted to blank instead of * (asterisk). How can I change this?

On the Tax Class (TAXC) reference page under the General Information section, update the Employee vs Appointment field to Both to default the Appointment ID to * (asterisk).

My employee is not able to create a MYW4C transaction and the application issues an error message that states “New Drafts are not permitted for this transaction code (Q0048). What is causing this error?My employee is not able to create a MYW4C transaction and the application issues an error message that states “New Drafts are not permitted for this transaction code (Q0048). What is causing this error?

On the Transaction Control (DCTRL) reference page, set the Active checkbox to Yes for the MYW4C transaction.

Additional withholding completed on the MYW4C transaction does not display on the Tax Information section of the Manage Employee Information - Pay page for employees. How do I get this information to display?Additional withholding completed on the MYW4C transaction does not display on the Tax Information section of the Manage Employee Information - Pay page for employees. How do I get this information to display?

Ensure that the resource group for QRY_DEDUCTIONS (DEDMSEC) is available for the Employee security role.

The Last W-4 File Dateon Deduction Management (DEDM) was updated, but when the transaction is validated/submitted the date does not change. Why does it stays the same?The Last W-4 File Dateon Deduction Management (DEDM) was updated, but when the transaction is validated/submitted the date does not change. Why does it stays the same?

This field is used to determine when an employee last submitted an electronic version of the W-4. When the W-4 is submitted by the employee using the Employee Tax Withholding Certification (MYW4C) transaction, the Last W-4 File Date automatically gets updated with the submitted date. When an administrator manually submits updated tax information on behalf of the employee, the Last W-4 File Date field should be left blank.

External Adjustments (EADJ)

Why are External Adjustment (EADJ) transactions issuing a warning messages on Update Pay/Ded Summ State, and Update Pay/Ded Summ Local fields?Why are External Adjustment (EADJ) transactions issuing a warning messages on Update Pay/Ded Summ State, and Update Pay/Ded Summ Local fields?

When the Site Specific Parameter (SPAR) entries listed below are enabled and the check boxes on EADJ are not in sync with the SPAR settings, the system will issue a warning/information message.
SPAR values:

STATE TRACKING OF PAYROLL SUMM
LOCAL TRACKING OF PAYROLL SUMM

For control purposes, each External Adjustment transaction must be internally consistent. That is, the pay summary adjustments must equal the deduction summary adjustments check boxes selected. This error indicates users that deduction summary and pay summary are not matching. For example, when the STATE TRACKING OF PAYROLL SUMM is enabled, the Update Pay/Ded Summ State check box must be selected.