FY 2002

DATE:	June 28, 2001
SUBJECT:	Change in Organization Dues Deduction for Pittsburg State University-Kansas National Education Association #30
EFFECTIVE DATE:	Payroll Period Beginning August 19, 2001 and Ending September 1, 2001, Paid September 14, 2001
CONTACT:	Earl Brynds	(785) 296-5376	(earl.brynds@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	Organization Dues Changes for ORG030

The organization dues for members of the Pittsburg State University Kansas National Education Association, deduction code 'ORG030', will change from $21.40 to $22.00 per bi-weekly payroll period. The new rate will become effective with the payroll period beginning August 19, 2001 and ending September 1, 2001, paid September 14, 2001.

The Division of Accounts and Reports, Payroll Systems Team is responsible for making this change in the SHaRP system. Regent's institutions are responsible for ensuring this change is reflected in their individual systems and is effective for paychecks issued on or after September 14, 2001.

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DATE:	July 13, 2001
SUBJECT:	New Payroll Deduction Codes for Parking - Conservation Commission
EFFECTIVE DATE:	Payroll Period Beginning June 24, 2001 and Ending July 7, 2001, Paid July 20, 2001
CONTACT:	Roger Basinger	(785) 296-5387	(roger.basinger@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	Addition of New Parking Deduction Codes PPKA06 and APKA06

To facilitate a parking lease recently entered into by the Conservation Commission for employees of their agency who park in the garage located near 9th and Quincy in Topeka, payroll deduction codes PPKA06 (pre-tax parking) and APKA06 (after-tax parking) have been added to SHARP effective June 24, 2001. The employee deduction will be $20.77 per bi-weekly payroll period. The employer rate, payroll deduction code PKAD05 (which is already established), will be $1.59 (.0765 X $20.77) per payroll period.

The Division of Accounts and Reports, Payroll Systems Team will make the necessary updates to the SHARP payroll system to effect this change for all employees for whom SHARP calculates pay. Regent's institutions are responsible for ensuring that this change is made in their individual systems.

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DATE:	July 13, 2001
SUBJECT:	Fiscal Year 2002 Unemployment Insurance Contribution Rate
EFFECTIVE DATE:	Immediately
CONTACT:	Roger Basinger	(785) 296-5387	(roger.basinger@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	Fiscal Year 2002 Unemployment Insurance Contribution Rate

Informational Circular 01-P-047, dated June 19, 2001, reported the Fiscal Year 2002 Unemployment Insurance Rate for the State of Kansas as .1%. The correct rate is .07% and should be effective for the pay period beginning June 10, 2001 and ending June 23, 2001, paid July 6, 2001.

The Division of Accounts and Reports, Payroll Systems Team will make the necessary updates to the SHARP payroll system to effect this change for all employees for whom SHARP calculates pay. Regent's institutions are responsible for ensuring that this change is made in their individual systems.

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DATE:	July 16, 2001
SUBJECT:	New Payroll Deduction Codes for Parking - Signature Building Garage
EFFECTIVE DATE:	Payroll Period Beginning July 8, 2001 and Ending July 21, 2001, Paid August 3, 2001
CONTACT:	Roger Basinger	(785) 296-5387	(roger.basinger@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	Addition of New Parking Deduction Codes PPKT08 and PKT08B

To facilitate the collection of parking fees for the Signature Building Garage, payroll deduction codes PPKT08 (pre-tax parking) and PKT08B (after-tax parking) have been added to SHARP effective July 8, 2001. The employee deduction will be $20.77 per bi-weekly payroll period. The employer rate, payroll deduction code PKAD05 (which is already established), will be $1.59 (.0765 X $20.77) per payroll period.

The Division of Accounts and Reports, Payroll Systems Team will make the necessary updates to the SHARP payroll system to effect this change for all employees for whom SHARP calculates pay. Regent's institutions are responsible for ensuring that this change is made in their individual systems.

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DATE:	August 1, 2001
SUBJECT:	Voluntary Tax Sheltered Annuity Company Changes
EFFECTIVE DATE:	Immediately
CONTACT:	Earl Brynds	(785) 296-5376	(earl.brynds@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	VTSA Company Name and Address Changes

Payroll Services has been notified of a name and address change for the IDS Life Insurance Company (VTSA company #321). Effective immediately the name is changed to American Express Financial Advisors, Inc. Premium remittances should be mailed to the following address:

American Express Financial Advisors, Inc.
70205 AXP Financial Center
Minneapolis, MN 55474-0702

Payroll Services has also been notified of an address change for the remittances to MetLife (VTSA company #446). Effective immediately remittances should be mailed to the following address:

MetLife
P.O. Box 120945, Dept. 0945
Dallas, TX 75312-0945

In addition, effective immediately, VTSA company #239 (Fidelity Standard Life Insurance Company) is being removed from the list of valid VTSA companies. The ownership of this company has been assumed by MetLife Investors USA Insurance Company (VTSA company #843). Any employees currently enrolled in company #239 should be changed to company #843.

The vendor table in STARS has been updated to reflect these changes. 

The Division of Accounts and Reports, Payroll Systems Team is responsible for making any necessary updates to the SHARP payroll system. Regents' institutions are responsible for ensuring these changes are reflected in their individual systems.

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DATE:	August 14, 2001
SUBJECT:	Voluntary Tax Sheltered Annuity Company Change
EFFECTIVE DATE:	Immediately
CONTACT:	Earl Brynds	(785) 296-5376	(earl.brynds@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	Removal of VTSA Company

Payroll Services has been notified by the Kansas Board of Regents to remove VTSA company #688 (Scudder Fund Distributors, Inc.) from the list of valid VTSA companies. Effective immediately, the company is being removed from the list of valid VTSA companies due to employees no longer making voluntary contributions to this company.

The vendor table in STARS has been updated to reflect this change.

The Division of Accounts and Reports, Payroll Systems Team is responsible for making any necessary updates to the SHARP payroll system. Regents' institutions are responsible for ensuring these changes are reflected in their individual systems.

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DATE:	August 24, 2001
SUBJECT:	Board of Regents Institutions
EFFECTIVE DATE:	Payroll Period Beginning December 9, 2001 and Ending December 22, 2001, paid January 4, 2002
CONTACT:	Carla Johnston Kathy Ogle	(785) 296-2588 (785) 296-2290	carla.johnston@state.ks.us (kathy.ogle@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	Changes to STARS Funding and Providers for Group Health Insurance

The following provider changes have been made for the State of Kansas 2002 group health insurance plan year:

1.) New Medical Provider:

Kansas Preferred: plan type 10, deduction codes KSPRAT and KSPRBT
STARS funding file - fund 7700, index codes 9702 (employee) and 9802 (employer)

2.) New Vision Plan:

Enhanced Vision Plan: plan type 14, deduction codes VSHIAT and VSHIBT
STARS funding file - fund 7700, index code 9703
Note: The vision plans have no employer contribution.

3.) Provider name changes:

Healthnet will become Mid America Health. This is a name change only.
All other information will remain as plan type 10, deduction codes HLNTAT and HLNTBT.
STARS funding file - fund 7700, index codes 9716 and 9816.

Vision Service Plan will become Basic Vision Plan, in order to distinguish between it and the new Enhanced Vision Plan. This is a name change only.
All other information will remain as plan type 14, deduction codes VISNAT and VISNBT.
STARS funding file - fund 7700, index code 9739
Note: The vision plans have no employer contribution so index 9839 will be removed as a valid value from the STARS funding file pre-edit program.

Regents institutions are responsible for ensuring these changes are reflected in their individual systems, effective with the January 4, 2002 check issue date. Note: there are no changes to the DA175-176 files.

To submit a test file, please contact Nancy Ruoff, Payroll Services at 785-296-5369.

The attached "Index Codes for Agency and DOA Clearing Funds" replaces the one included with Informational Circular 01-P-014 dated October 20, 2000. All changes listed above are incorporated in this document.

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Attachment: Index Codes for Agency and DOA Clearing Funds (.pdf)

DATE:	August 28, 2001
SUBJECT:	New Payroll Deduction Codes for Parking - Signature Building Garage - Secretary of State's Office
EFFECTIVE DATE:	Payroll Period Beginning August 19, 2001 and Ending September 1, 2001, Paid September 14, 2001
CONTACT:	Roger Basinger	(785) 296-5387	(roger.basinger@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	Addition of New Parking Deduction Codes PPKT09, PKT09B, and PKAD06

To facilitate the collection of parking fees for the Signature Building Garage for employees of the Secretary of State's Office, payroll deduction codes PPKT09 (pre-tax parking) and PKT09B (after-tax parking) have been added to SHARP effective August 19, 2001. The employee deduction will be $9.23 per bi-weekly payroll period. The employer rate, payroll deduction code PKAD06 (which was also added), will be $0.71 (.0765 X $9.23) per payroll period.

The Division of Accounts and Reports, Payroll Systems Team will make the necessary updates to the SHARP payroll system to effect this change for all employees for whom SHARP calculates pay. Regent's institutions are responsible for ensuring that this change is made in their individual systems.

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DATE:	September 17, 2001
SUBJECT:	New Payroll Deduction Codes for Parking - Signature Building Garage - Kansas Department of Commerce and Housing
EFFECTIVE DATE:	Payroll Period Beginning September 30, 2001 and Ending October 13, 2001, Paid October 26, 2001
CONTACT:	Roger Basinger	(785) 296-5387	(roger.basinger@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	Addition of New Parking Deduction Codes PPKT10, PKT10B, and PKAD07

To facilitate the collection of parking fees for the Signature Building Garage for employees of the Kansas Department of Commerce and Housing, payroll deduction codes PPKT10 (pre-tax parking) and PKT10B (after-tax parking) have been added to SHARP effective September 30, 2001. The employee deduction will be $10.38 per bi-weekly payroll period. The employer rate, payroll deduction code PKAD07 (which was also added), will be $0.79 (.0765 X $10.38) per payroll period.

The Division of Accounts and Reports, Payroll Systems Team will make the necessary updates to the SHARP payroll system to effect this change for all employees for whom SHARP calculates pay. Regent's institutions are responsible for ensuring that this change is made in their individual systems.

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DATE:	September 27, 2001
SUBJECT:	Key Payroll Processing Dates in November 2001
EFFECTIVE DATE:	November 2001
CONTACT:	Roger Basinger	(785) 296-5387	(roger.basinger@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	Payroll processing schedule changes due to the November 2001 holidays

Monday, November 12, 2001 (Veterans Day Observed), Thursday, November 22, 2001 and Friday, November 23, 2001 (Thanksgiving Holiday) are designated holidays for state service in 2001. Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, the pay date for the payroll period ending November 10, 2001 will be Wednesday, November 21, 2001. Direct deposit advices for this pay date will be mailed Monday, November 19, 2001; paychecks will be mailed Tuesday, November 20, 2001.

Due to the holidays in November, the following variations have been made to the 'normal' payroll processing schedule. Agencies are asked to note the payroll processing date changes, which are occurring on a different day of the week than normally scheduled.

Thursday, November 8, 2001

Time and leave interface agencies must have time and leave files for the period ending November 10, 2001 submitted to the Department of Administration for processing by 5:00 PM on November 8, 2001 (These files would normally be due Monday). Paper agencies time and leave documents are due to Payroll Services by 5:00 PM on November 8, 2001.

Regents' Run C off-cycle payroll files for the period ending October 27, 2001 must be received by the Department of Administration by 5:00 PM on November 8, 2001.

Monday, November 12, 2001
(Veterans Day Holiday Observed)

Paysheets for the on-cycle payroll for the period ending November 10, 2001 will be created on Monday, November 12, 2001 (Paysheets would normally be created on Tuesday). All job actions (i.e., promotions, terminations, new hires, leave of absences, step increases, etc.) must be entered by 5:00 PM on November 12, 2001 in order to be reflected on the paysheets for this period. The first on-cycle preliminary pay calculation for the period ending November 10, 2001 will also occur November 12, 2001; therefore, all time and leave data should be entered into SHARP and designated 'OK to process' by 5:00 PM.

Please note that there will only be two SHARP on-cycle preliminary payroll calculations for the period ending November 10, 2001

The Run C off-cycle for the period ending October 27, 2001 will be processed November 12, 2001. SHARP agencies have until 5:00 PM on this date to enter supplemental and /or adjustments run controls for the Run C off-cycle.

Please Note: While the SHARP system will be available for on-line entry on Monday, November 12, 2001, it is a designated holiday for state service. Agency staff not working on November 12 in observation of the holiday will need to have all processing completed by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, November 9, 2001.

Tuesday, November 13, 2001

The second on-cycle preliminary pay calculation for the period ending November 10, 2001 will occur November 13, 2001.

The general ledger extract for the payroll period ending October 27, 2001 will also be created on this date.

Wednesday, November 14, 2001

Final pay confirmation for the on-cycle payroll for the period ending November 10, 2001 will occur November 14, 2001 (Final pay confirmation would normally occur Friday). All employees' time and leave records must be 'OK to Process' by 5:00 PM on November 14, 2001 in order for a paycheck record to be created. All deduction and tax data changes must be entered by 5:00 PM on November 14, 2001 in order to be reflected in the final paycheck created for the employee.

Regents' on-cycle payroll files for the period ending November 10, 2001 are due to the Department of Administration by 6:00 AM on November 14, 2001 to ensure timely issuance of the payroll on November 21, 2001.

Thursday, November 15, 2001

On-line access to SHARP for all users will not be available due to batch processing which must occur to ensure timely issuance of payroll on November 21, 2001.

Regents' Run A off-cycle payroll files for the period ending November 10, 2001 must be received by the Department of Administration by 5:00 PM on November 15, 2001 in order to be processed on Friday, November 16, 2001.

Friday, November 16, 2001

The final SHARP on-cycle payroll reports, with the exception of the KPAYWAGE, for the period ending November 10, 2001 will be available in the agency directories on the MVS (for on-line agencies) and will be distributed (for paper-user agencies) no later than November 16, 2001.

The Run A off-cycle for the period ending November 10, 2001 will be processed November 16, 2001. SHARP agencies have until 5:00 PM on this date to enter supplemental and/or adjustments run controls for the Run A off-cycle.

Paychecks for the Run A off-cycle will be dated Wednesday, November 21, 2001.

Monday, November 19, 2001

KPAYWAGE reports for the on-cycle for the period ending November 10, 2001 will be available in the agency directories (for on-line agencies) and will be distributed (for paper-user agencies) no later than November 19, 2001.

Encumbrance transactions for the SHARP on-cycle payroll for the period ending November 10, 2001 will be posted to STARS during Monday night's STARS batch processing cycle.

Tuesday, November 20, 2001

Regents' Run B off-cycle payroll files for the period ending November 10, 2001 must be received by the Department of Administration by 5:00 PM on November 20, 2001 in order to be processed on Wednesday, November 21, 2001.

Wednesday, November 21, 2001

Payday for the payroll period ending November 10, 2001.

The Run B off-cycle for the period ending November 10, 2001 will be processed November 21, 2001. SHARP agencies have until 5:00 PM on this date to enter supplemental and /or adjustments run controls for the Run B off-cycle.

Paychecks for the Run B off-cycle will be dated November 28, 2001.

Regents' Run C off-cycle payroll files for the period ending November 10, 2001 must be received by the Department of Administration by 5:00 PM on November 21, 2001 in order to be processed on Monday, November 26, 2001.

Monday, November 26, 2001

The Run C off-cycle for the period ending November 10, 2001 will be processed November 26, 2001. SHARP agencies have until 5:00 PM on this date to enter supplemental and /or adjustments run controls for the Run C off-cycle.

Paychecks for the Run C off-cycle will be dated November 29, 2001.

Attached is a calendar for the month of November 2001, which highlights key payroll processing activity for the month. The attached calendar is intended for use as a supplementary reference tool only; it does not contain the level of detail that is included in the narrative portion of this circular.

Please note the changes to the payroll processing dates and adjust your schedules accordingly. If it becomes necessary to change any of the payroll processing dates identified above, notification of the change will be provided to all state agencies via the SHARP on-line message panel and the SHARP web site (http://www.da.ks.gov/sharp/). On-line users should review the SHARP message panel or web site daily to determine if new messages have been added. Paper-users will be notified of any changes to these dates via telephone.

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Attachment: November payroll calendar (.pdf) 

DATE:	October 1, 2001
SUBJECT:	New Organization for Org Dues Deductions
EFFECTIVE DATE:	October 13, 2001
CONTACT:	Janice Wolfley	(785) 296-3699	(Janice.Wolfley@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	Organization Dues Deductions for ORG900 and ORG901

Please be advised of two new deduction codes, ORG900 and ORG901, for organization dues for members of the Fort Hays State University-American Association of University Professors (FHSU-AAUP). The deduction code ORG900 is established for untenured faculty. This deduction will be $ 6.00 per biweekly pay period effective with the payroll period beginning September 30, 2001 and ending October 13, 2001 paid October 26, 2001. Additionally, the deduction code ORG901 is established for tenured faculty. This deduction will be $ 11.00 per biweekly pay period effective with the payroll period beginning September 30, 2001 and ending October 13, 2001 paid October 26, 2001. Enrollment and/or termination cards should be sent to Rosalie Nichols at FHSU-AAUP, P.O. Box 1315, Hays, Kansas 67601.

The Division of Accounts and Reports, Payroll Systems Team will make the necessary updates to the SHARP payroll system to effect this change for all employees for whom SHARP calculates pay. Regent's institutions are responsible for ensuring that these changes are reflected on all paychecks issued on or after October 26, 2001.

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DATE:	October 1, 2001
SUBJECT:	SHARP Bi-Weekly Payroll Schedule for Calendar Year 2002
EFFECTIVE DATE:	Calendar Year 2002
CONTACT:	Roger Basinger	(785) 296-5387	(roger.basinger@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	SHARP On-cycle and Off-cycle Payroll Processing Schedules

Attached are the finalized SHARP bi-weekly on-cycle and off-cycle schedules for calendar year 2002.

The attached schedules provide important information regarding the critical payroll processing deadlines for each bi-weekly payroll period. Agency personnel responsible for payroll processing will need to ensure that all appropriate information is entered or submitted by the cutoff dates indicated on the schedules to ensure timely issuance of pay for their employees. Time and leave interface agencies, please note that time and leave files for the payroll period ending December 22, 2001 are due Friday, December 21, 2001.

SHARP off-cycle payrolls will generally be processed each Monday and every other Wednesday night and will include all activity entered into SHARP since the last off-cycle payroll. If a holiday occurs on a Monday or Wednesday, the off-cycle payroll will normally be changed to the following business day. Payroll payments resulting from the first off-cycle for the payroll period (Run A) will be issued with the same paycheck/direct deposit date as the on-cycle pay date for the payroll period. Payroll payments resulting from the remaining off-cycles (Runs B & C) will normally be dated three working days from the date the off-cycle was processed. SHARP agencies have until 5:00 p.m. on Mondays and every other Wednesday to enter adjustments and/or supplemental data into SHARP for processing in that night's off-cycle payroll. All agencies, please note that the Run C off-cycle for the pay period ending November 9, 2002 will run on the night of November 25, 2002 and will have a check issue date of November 27, 2002.

Off-cycle payroll for Regents' institutions are also normally scheduled for each Monday and every other Wednesday night. Regents' institutions generally have until 5:00 p.m. on Fridays and every other Tuesday to submit off-cycle payroll interface files. The Division of Accounts and Reports must approve all interface files for processing by 5:00 p.m. on the following Monday or every other Wednesday for the files to be processed in that night's off-cycle payroll. Regents' off-cycle payroll will be issued with the same check/advice date as the SHARP off-cycle processed the same night.

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Attachment: SHARP Bi-Weekly Payroll Schedules (.pdf)

DATE:	October 9, 2001
SUBJECT:	Voluntary Tax Sheltered Annuity Company Address Changes
EFFECTIVE DATE:	Immediately
CONTACT:	Earl Brynds	(785) 296-5376	(earl.brynds@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	Voluntary Tax Sheltered Annuity Company Address Changes

Payroll Services has been notified of an address change for the American Funds Investors (VTSA #839). Effective immediately remittances must be mailed to the following new address:

American Funds Investors
135 S. State College Boulevard
Brea, CA 92821

Additionally, Payroll Services has been notified of an address change for the New England Financial (VTSA #842). Effective immediately remittances must be mailed to the following new address:

New England Financial
Wells Fargo Bank Iowa NA
666 Walnut Street
Des Moines, IA 50309

The vendor table in STARS has been updated to reflect these address changes.

The Division of Accounts and Reports, Payroll Systems Team is responsible for making any necessary updates to the SHARP payroll system. Regents' institutions are responsible for ensuring these changes are reflected in their individual systems.

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DATE:	October 25, 2001
SUBJECT:	Voluntary Tax Sheltered Annuity Company Address Correction
EFFECTIVE DATE:	Immediately
CONTACT:	Earl Brynds	(785) 296-5376	(earl.brynds@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	Voluntary Tax Sheltered Annuity Company Address Correction

Payroll Services has been notified of a correction to the address for American Funds Investors (VTSA #839) that was previously changed on Informational Circular #02-P-013 dated October 9, 2001. Effective immediately remittances must be mailed to the following new address:

American Funds Investors
3500 Wiseman Boulevard
San Antonio, TX 78251-4321

The vendor table in STARS has been updated to reflect this address correction.

The Division of Accounts and Reports, Payroll Systems Team is responsible for making any necessary updates to the SHARP payroll system. Regents' institutions are responsible for ensuring these changes are reflected in their individual systems.

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DATE:	October 25, 2001
SUBJECT:	Change in Social Security Base Rate
EFFECTIVE DATE:	January 1, 2002
CONTACT:	Carla Johnston Kathy Ogle	(785) 296-2588 (785) 296-2290	carla.johnston@state.ks.us (kathy.ogle@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	Social Security Wage Base Increase to $84,900 effective January 1, 2002

The Social Security wage base for OASDI will be $84,900 for calendar year 2002. This is a $4,500 increase from the 2001 wage base of $80,400. The OASDI tax rate remains at 6.2% for both employees and employers. The maximum OASDI employee contribution for 2002 will be $5,263.80. There continues to be no limit on wages subject to the Medicare tax in 2002. Medicare tax rates for employers and employees remain at 1.45%.

For Federal employees at Kansas State University who were hired prior to January 1, 1984, the employee contribution rate for reduced FICA remains at 1.45 % on all wages subject to the tax (there has been no maximum contribution since January 1, 1994). Federal employees hired after January 1, 1984 will have a maximum contribution of $5,263.80 for OASDI and no maximum for Medicare. The employer and employee rates continue to be the same.

For Kansas Police and Fireman's program participants, who are subject to the mandated Medicare coverage, the contribution rate remains at 1.45% on all wages subject to the tax (there has been no maximum contribution since January 1, 1994).

The Division of Accounts and Reports, Payroll Systems Team is responsible for making any necessary updates to the SHARP payroll system. Regents' institutions are responsible for ensuring these changes are reflected in their individual systems.

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DATE:	October 30, 2001
SUBJECT:	FY 2002 Group Health Insurance Payroll Contribution Rates
EFFECTIVE DATE:	Plan Year 2002
CONTACT:	Kathy Ogle	(785) 296-2290	(kathy.ogle@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	GHI semi-monthly employer contribution rates for Fiscal Year 2002

The attached schedule is a listing of the Group Health Insurance semi-monthly employer contribution rates for Fiscal Year 2002 which become effective with the on-cycle payroll period beginning December 9, 2001 and ending December 22, 2001 paid January 4, 2002.

For plan year 2002, the GHI coverage periods are changing from biweekly to monthly. Deductions for GHI for plan year 2002 will be made on a semi-monthly rather than a biweekly basis; deductions will be taken on the first and second paycheck of each month for that month's coverage. For example, GHI deductions taken on the January 4, 2002 and January 18, 2002 paychecks will be premium deductions for the coverage period January 1 through January 31, 2002. Months with three paydates will not have a GHI deduction taken on the third paycheck. Annual employer contribution rates remain the same; however, the contribution amounts per payroll period are higher due to the implementation of 24 deductions annually (rather than 26) beginning in plan year 2002.

The Division of Accounts and Reports, Payroll Systems Team will make the necessary changes to the SHARP payroll system to effect these changes for all employees for whom SHARP calculates pay. Regents' institutions are responsible for ensuring that the correct contribution rates are used when calculating payroll for employees of their agencies.

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Attachment A (.pdf)

DATE:	November 13, 2001
SUBJECT:	2001 Calendar Year-End Processing
EFFECTIVE DATE:	Immediately
CONTACT:	Roger Basinger	(785) 296-5387	(roger.basinger@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	Schedule for Processing Transactions During 2001 Calendar Year-End

As 2001 calendar year-end approaches, the Division of Accounts and Reports is making preparations for the issuance of calendar year 2001 Wage and Tax Statements (Forms W-2) and Non-Resident Alien Compensation Statements (1042-S). Any 2001 paycheck adjustments processed after the established cut-off dates will update the employee's calendar year 2002 balances; a corrected W-2 (Form W-2C) for 2001 will not be issued for the employee involved.

FINAL 2001 PAYCHECK

The final on-cycle paychecks for calendar year 2001 will be issued December 21, 2001. Paychecks will be mailed on December 20, 2001 and advices will be mailed on December 19, 2001. The final off-cycle paychecks for calendar year 2001 will be issued on December 28, 2001 for the off-cycle processed on December 24, 2001.

PAYCHECK REVERSALS

Any 2001 paychecks that are undeliverable should be reversed as soon as possible. After proper authorization SHARP agencies have until 5:00 p.m. on December 24, 2001 to enter paycheck reversals; paper user agencies should submit Form DA-180, 'SHARP Paycheck Reversal/Adjustment/Supplemental', for any paycheck reversals by 12:00 noon on December 24, 2001. Any reversal requests entered/received after the 5:00 p.m./12:00 noon deadline on December 24, 2001 will update calendar year 2002 balances and will not be reflected in the employee's 2001 W-2.

PAYCHECK ADJUSTMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTALS

SHARP agencies have until 5:00 p.m. on December 24, 2001 to enter paycheck adjustment requests for any 2001 paychecks. Adjustments processed in the December 24, 2001 off-cycle payroll will be reflected on the employee's 2001 Form W-2. Please remember that only one adjustment can be processed per employee per off-cycle; this applies to agency entered adjustments, supplementals and centrally entered adjustments. If a 2001 paycheck has been previously adjusted and requires additional adjustment, form DA-180, 'SHARP Paycheck Reversal/Adjustment/Supplemental', should be submitted to the Division of Accounts and Reports, Payroll Section by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, December 17, 2001. The December 17, 2001 deadline for submitting Form DA-180 also applies to all adjustment requests for paper user agencies.

Payroll Services staff will make every effort to process all DA-180 forms submitted by 5:00 p.m. on December 17, 2001 for inclusion in the December 24, 2001 off-cycle. However, if a large volume of DA-180 forms is received on the December 17, 2001 cut-off date, Payroll Services cannot guarantee that all forms will be processed as calendar year 2001 business. Agencies can assist in the processing effort by submitting any DA-180 forms and the completed attachment as soon as you become aware a centrally entered adjustment is needed.

Adjustment requests entered after December 24, 2001 which are adjusting paychecks issued prior to January 1, 2002 will not result in a W-2C; the adjustment will update the employee's 2002 payroll balances regardless of the reason the paycheck is being adjusted. Likewise, any supplemental requests that are entered either by agencies or centrally by Payroll Services after December 24, 2001 will update the employee's 2002 payroll balances.

REGENTS' INSTITUTIONS: ON-CYCLE FILES

Regent on-cycle files for the pay period ending December 8, 2001, paid December 21, 2001 are due to the Department of Administration by 6:00 am December 14, 2001.

REGENTS' INSTITUTIONS: OFF-CYCLE FILES

2001 Paycheck Reversals

Regent Institutions must submit all transmittals for 2001 paycheck reversals by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, December 21, 2001 in order to update the employee's 2001 W-2. These files should contain a 'C' indicating current year business and the pay adjust check date field should contain the original check issue date for the paycheck being reversed. Any paycheck reversals submitted after this date will update the employee's calendar year 2002 payroll balances regardless of the paycheck issue date of the paycheck being reversed. Reversals for paychecks issued prior to January 1, 2002 submitted after 5:00 pm on December 21, 2001 should default the pay adjust check date to January 1, 2002.

2001 Adjustments and Supplementals

In order to update employee balances for 2001, any paycheck adjustments and supplementals must be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday, December 21, 2001. The off-cycle for the pay period ending December 8, 2001 generated on the night of Monday, December 24, 2001 will have an issue date of December 28, 2001; all activity for this off-cycle will be reflected in the employees' 2001 W-2. These files should contain a 'C' indicating current year business. For supplementals and salary underpayments, the pay adjust check date should be blank; for all other adjustment types, the pay adjust check date field should contain the original paycheck issue date of the paycheck being adjusted and the date must be a 2001 date.

2002 Adjustments and Supplementals

With the exception of arrearages or refunds for OASDI and or Medicare for tax years prior to 2002, any adjustments or supplementals submitted after 5:00 p.m. on Friday, December 21, 2001, will be considered to be 2002 business regardless of the pay period end date to which the pay is related. Since this activity will be considered calendar year 2002 business, the employee's 2002 balances will be updated. These files should contain a 'C' indicating current year business and the pay adjust check date should be a 2002 date (regardless of the original paycheck issue date of the paycheck being adjusted -- if the original check date was prior to January 1, 2002, agencies should default the pay adjust check date to January 1, 2002).

With the exception of OASDI and/or Medicare tax refunds or arrearages for tax years prior to 2002, Regents institutions may continue to submit adjustments and supplementals throughout the month of January 2002 regardless of the original pay period ending date of the paycheck being adjusted. The activity will be processed on the regular Monday and every other Wednesday off-cycle schedule and will update 2002 payroll balances.

Arrearages or refunds for OASDI and or Medicare taxes for prior calendar years and limited to those adjustments resulting from a change in Social Security status must be submitted on separate payroll interface files. These files should contain a 'P' indicating prior year business and the pay adjust check date field should contain the original check issue date of the paycheck being adjusted. Prior year OASDI and/or Medicare arrearages/refunds are the only situations in which a prior year indicator of 'P' should be used; payroll interface files for any other type of adjustments which contain a prior year indicator of 'P' will be rejected and will not be processed.

Any prior year OASDI and/or Medicare refunds/arrearages identified after the December 24, 2001 deadline will not be processed until the January 28, 2002 off-cycle payroll. Since the files will be held, please do not begin submitting those files for processing until the week of January 21, 2002. The deadline for submitting payroll interface files for the January 28, 2002 off-cycle is 5:00 p.m. on January 25, 2002.

GENERAL REMINDERS

The deduction END date on the general deduction panel for 2001 United Way contributions should be dated between December 9, 2001 and December 22, 2001 in order for the last 2001 deduction to be taken on the paycheck issued December 21, 2001. Agencies should verify the deduction end date for all employees enrolled in United Way to ensure deductions are taken correctly. For calendar year 2002, agencies can enter a new row effective-dated between December 9, 2001 and December 22, 2001 in order for the first deduction for 2002 to be taken on the January 4, 2002 paycheck. If the 2002 deduction is to be taken over 26 pay periods, a deduction end date of December 8, 2002 should be entered.

All deductions for calendar year 2002 are biweekly except:

• Group Health Insurance: semi-monthly, deducted on the first and second paydates of the month.
• Health Care Flexible Spending Accounts: semi-monthly, deducted on the first and second paydates of the month.
• Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts: semi-monthly, deducted on the first and second paydates of the month.
• Long Term Care: monthly, deducted on the first paydate of the month.
• Optional Group Life Insurance: monthly, deducted on the second paydate of the month.

Every effort should be made to collect all arrearage balances either by personal reimbursement or paycheck deduction prior to the cut-off date of December 24, 2001 (December 17, 2001 for paper user agencies). Please refer to the most recent KPAY007, 'Deductions in Arrears Report' and evaluate all existing arrearages for your agency and verify that collection will be made; agencies should continue monitoring the KPAY007 reports to determine collections will be made by calendar year-end. For sufficiently large balances that cannot be collected in one sum, agencies should establish a deduction override as soon as possible so paycheck deductions can be made and the balance collected by the cut-off date for year-end processing. Also, as adjustments are processed from now until the end of the year, please monitor any new arrearage balances and collect in an expedient manner. Any arrearage collections made by personal reimbursement that are collected after December 14, 2001, and prior to December 24, 2001, must be sent to the Division of Accounts and Reports, Payroll Section for processing in order to impact the 2001 W-2.

One of the changes implemented at the time of the v7.0 SHARP upgrade is the new advance ('ADV') earnings being paid to employees in situations where the employee's earnings are not sufficient to cover certain deductions. 'ADV' earnings are taxable wages at the time the earnings are paid; taxable wages are then reduced when the advance is collected ('ADVNCE' deduction). Any 'ADV' earnings paid to an employee in calendar year 2001 will increase the employees' W-2 taxable wages if the earnings are not collected by the end of the calendar year. Agencies should collect any outstanding advances for payroll periods ending before December 8, 2001 by personal reimbursement as soon as possible. All 'ADV' earnings paid to employees on the on-cycle paychecks dated December 21, 2001 (i.e., on-cycle for the payroll period ending December 8, 2001) should be collected by personal reimbursement to avoid the advance from being included in the employee's 2001 Form W-2.

The 2001 W-2 forms will again be mailed directly to the employee's home address stored on the Personal Data 1 panel in the Personnel Administration window. Please make any name, address, or social security number changes to this panel by 5:00 pm on December 28, 2001 to guarantee the updated information is included in the W-2 data. However, since this panel is not effective dated, the information on the panel as of the day the final W-2 data is loaded will be the data reflected on the W-2 form. This final load may take place anytime between January 1, 2002 and January 15, 2002.

Regent's Institutions should make their name, address, and social security number changes by submitting them through the management reporting interface by 5:00 p.m. on December 28, 2001.

W-2 forms will be mailed on or before January 31, 2002. A message will appear on the SHARP message panel to advise agencies of the W-2 mailing date in January.

Attached is a calendar for the month of December 2001 that highlights the key payroll processing activity. This calendar does not provide the same level of detail as that provided in this informational circular or in the SHARP bi-weekly payroll schedules issued under Informational Circular No. 02-P-012, dated October 1, 2001. The attached calendar is intended for use as a supplementary reference tool to this informational circular.

Please make note of the above payroll processing dates and adjust your schedules accordingly. If, in order to ensure the timely issuance of payroll, it becomes necessary to change any of the processing dates identified above, notification of the change will be provided to all state agencies via the SHARP on-line message panel and the SHARP web site (http://www.da.ks.gov/sharp/). On-line agencies should be reviewing the SHARP message panel on a daily basis to determine if new messages have been added. Paper-user agencies will be notified of any changes to these dates via telephone.

Attachment: 2001 December payroll processing calendar (pdf)

DB:JJM:rdb

DATE:	November 13, 2001
SUBJECT:	Employee Taxability of State-Owned Vehicles
EFFECTIVE DATE:	January 1, 2002
CONTACT:	Roger Basinger	(785) 296-5387	(roger.basinger@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	IRS Changes to Cents-Per-Mile Valuation Rule for Calendar Year 2002

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has increased the mileage rate to 36.5 cents under the Cents-Per-Mile method of valuing an employee's personal (commuting) use of a state-owned vehicle. The new rate becomes effective January 1, 2002. The Cents-Per-Mile valuation is one of several methodologies that can be used to calculate fringe benefit income. Using this methodology, fringe benefit income is calculated by multiplying the 36.5 cents rate by the number of personal (commuting) miles driven by the employee in the state-owned vehicle. To be eligible to use the Cents-Per-Mile method, at least 50% of the vehicles total mileage is used for the employer's trade or business, or the vehicle is primarily used by employees and the total mileage for the vehicle exceeds 10,000 miles per year. The Cents-Per-Mile method may not be used for 'luxury' vehicles. If a vehicle is first made available to an employee for personal (commuting) use in calendar year 2002 and the agency wishes to use the Cents-Per-Mile method, please contact Payroll Services for the 'luxury' vehicle definition. Agencies and employees are also reminded that the only personal use of a state vehicle allowed under state law is to commute between the employee's work station and home, and then in only limited situations.

Please note that this Informational Circular does not impact the State's privately owned vehicle mileage reimbursement rate.

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DATE:	November 15, 2001
SUBJECT:	Voluntary Tax Sheltered Annuity Company Address Correction
EFFECTIVE DATE:	Immediately
CONTACT:	Earl Brynds	(785) 296-5376	(earl.brynds@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	Voluntary Tax Sheltered Annuity Company Address Correction

Payroll Services has been notified of a correction to the remittance address for LifeUSA (VTSA #838). Effective immediately remittances must be mailed to the following new address:

LifeUSA
Box 290
Minneapolis, MN 55440-0290

The vendor table in STARS has been updated to reflect this address correction.

The Division of Accounts and Reports, Payroll Systems Team is responsible for making any necessary updates to the SHARP payroll system. Regents' institutions are responsible for ensuring these changes are reflected in their individual systems.

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DATE:	November 20, 2001
SUBJECT:	Voluntary Tax Sheltered Annuity Company Address Correction
EFFECTIVE DATE:	Immediately
CONTACT:	Earl Brynds	(785) 296-5376	(earl.brynds@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	Voluntary Tax Sheltered Annuity Company Address Correction

Payroll Services has been notified of a correction to the name and remittance address for Northern Life Insurance Company (VTSA #506). Effective immediately remittances must be mailed to the following new name and address:

Reliastar Northern Life Insurance Company
P.O. Box 5060
Minot, ND 58702-5060

The vendor table in STARS has been updated to reflect this name and address correction.

The Division of Accounts and Reports, Payroll Systems Team is responsible for making any necessary updates to the SHARP payroll system. Regents' institutions are responsible for ensuring these changes are reflected in their individual systems.

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DATE:	November 27, 2001
SUBJECT:	KPERS Death and Disability Insurance Contributions
EFFECTIVE DATE:	January 1, 2002
CONTACT:	Kathy Ogle	(785) 296-2290	(kathy.ogle@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	End of Moratorium on Employer's Contributions for KPERS Death and Disability Insurance

The moratorium on KPERS Death and Disability Insurance employer contributions will expire as of December 31, 2001. As a result, the Division of Accounts and Reports will again begin collecting and remitting KPERS Death and Disability contributions effective with the pay period beginning December 9, 2001 and ending December 22, 2001, paid January 4, 2002.

Agencies are reminded that it is extremely important that the appropriate 'GTL' code be established in SHARP's General Deduction Data for new employees so that the proper contribution amount is calculated. (Go, Compensate Employees, Maintain Payroll Data U.S., Use, General Deduction Data) Attached is a schedule listing the percentage rates for employee/employer retirement plan contributions, updated with the Death and Disability Insurance Contribution rates and 'GTL' codes.

The Division of Accounts and Reports, Payroll Services Team will make the necessary updates to the SHARP payroll system to effect this change for all employees for whom SHARP calculates pay. Regent's institutions are responsible for ensuring that this change is made in their respective systems prior to December 22, 2001.

DB:JJM: kao

Attachment A (.pdf)

DATE:	December 3, 2001
SUBJECT:	Voluntary Tax Sheltered Annuity Calculations for Kansas Board of Regents, School for the Deaf, and School for the Blind
EFFECTIVE DATE:	Immediately
CONTACT:	Sunni Zentner	(785) 296-7058	(Sunni.Zentner@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	Formulas for Calculating the Maximum Allowable Voluntary Tax Sheltered Annuity (VTSA) Contributions for Calendar Year 2001

Please find attached worksheets for calculating the maximum allowable Voluntary Tax Sheltered Annuity (VTSA) contributions for calendar year 2001.

The attached worksheets have been developed in accordance with the current provisions of the Internal Revenue Code and contain a change to the Maximum Exclusion Allowance (MEA) calculation for 2001. In determining the 'amounts previously excludable' portion of the MEA calculation, any prior year's contribution to a defined benefit plan are not to be included. Because KPERS is a defined benefit program, the KPERS "Priors" Calculation has been removed from the attached worksheets. Please note that present year KPERS Employee Contributions (including KPERS buyback) are still used in calculating gross earnings for the MEA.

The Division of Accounts and Reports, Payroll Services will continue to provide calculation worksheets for each VTSA participant employed at the Board of Regents, Kansas State School for the Blind, and School for the Deaf. These agencies will be contacted in the month of December to assist in gathering the data necessary to complete the worksheets.

Regent's institutions are responsible for applying the maximum VTSA formulas for their employees and processing any necessary refunds prior to the end of the calendar year.

DB:JJM:rdb

Attachment  (.pdf)

DATE:	December 5, 2001
SUBJECT:	New Payroll Deduction Codes for Parking - Signature Building Garage - Agreement with Board of Accountancy
EFFECTIVE DATE:	Payroll Period Beginning November 25, 2001 and Ending December 8, 2001, Paid December 21, 2001
CONTACT:	Roger Basinger	(785) 296-5387	(roger.basinger@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	Addition of New Parking Deduction Codes PPKT11 and PKAD08

To facilitate the collection of parking fees due to an agreement with the Board of Accountancy, payroll deduction codes PPKT11 (pre-tax parking) and PKAD08 (employer rate) have been added to SHARP effective November 25, 2001. Payroll deduction codes PPKT11 and PKAD08 are to be used for Board of Accountancy employees who park in surface Lot 1. The deduction amounts for PPKT11 and PKAD08 are $2.31 and $0.18 ($2.31 X .0765) per bi-weekly payroll period. For Board of Accountancy employees who park in the Signature Garage, payroll deduction codes PPKT10 and PKAD07 (employer rate) should be used. The deduction amounts for PPKT10 and PKAD07 are $10.38 and $0.79 ($10.38 X .0765) per bi-weekly payroll period.

The Division of Accounts and Reports, Payroll Systems Team will make the necessary updates to the SHARP payroll system to effect this change for all employees for whom SHARP calculates pay. Regent's institutions are responsible for ensuring that this change is made in their individual systems.

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DATE:	December 5, 2001
SUBJECT:	New Tables for Federal Withholding Tax for 2002
EFFECTIVE DATE:	January 1, 2002
CONTACT:	Carla Johnston Kathy Ogle	(785) 296-2588 (785) 296-2290	carla.johnston@state.ks.us (kathy.ogle@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	New Federal Withholding Tax Rates Effective for Paychecks Issued On or After January 1, 2002.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued advance copies of the new federal percentage tables for computing the federal withholding tax deductions effective for all paychecks issued on or after January 1, 2002. In addition, the standard deduction for one withholding allowance changes to $3000.00 per year in calendar year 2002.

The attached tables have been prepared for use in computing all federal withholding tax payments for wages paid on or after January 1, 2002. When calculating federal and state withholding tax by annualizing, 26 pay periods should be used to arrive at an annualized amount.

IRS regulations require employees who claim an exempt status from federal withholding tax, for income earned in the United States, to file a new W-4 form annually. Employees who claimed an exempt status in calendar year 2001 must file a new W-4 form for calendar year 2002 if they wish to continue their exempt status.

Employees may be eligible for the withholding tax exempt status if the following criteria are met:

1. The employee had no income tax liability in the previous year; and
2. The employee anticipates no income tax liability in the upcoming year.

Additionally, IRS regulations require non-resident alien employees who claim an exempt status from federal withholding tax up to their treaty limit, for income earned in the United States, to file a new 8233 annually. Employees who claimed a non-resident alien exempt status in calendar year

2001 must file a new 8233 form for calendar year 2002 if they wish to continue their non-resident alien status. As a reminder, Regents Institutions are responsible for the accuracy of the eligibility of their non-resident alien employees and for monitoring maximum presence.

The Department of Administration will be updating the SHARP federal and state tax data records on December 17, 2001, for all employees currently claiming exempt from withholding; the tax data record updates will be effective January 1, 2002. On-line agencies must enter a new effective-dated row into SHARP for employees who wish to claim exempt from withholding. Paper user agencies should submit an employee data sheet to the Division of Personnel Services for employees who wish to claim exempt from withholding in 2002. The new tax data row should be effective January 2, 2002. Please refer to the Employee Payroll Tax Data section of the Payroll module in the on-line CBT (Computer-Based Training) for specific instructions on entering employee tax data information.

A new-effective dated row will also be added in the SHARP federal tax data records on December 17, 2001 for employees with a special tax withholding status of 'Non-Resident Alien' to reflect that no 8233 form has been submitted for calendar year 2002. The new tax data row will be dated January 1, 2002. Payroll Services will update the 8233 indicator on the tax data records once a form 8233 for calendar year 2002 has been submitted.

The Division of Accounts and Reports will provide a listing to agencies, which identifies all employees whose withholding tax status was updated on December 17, 2001. This listing will include department, employee ID, name, SSN, and withholding tax exempt status. A listing will not be provided for the 'Non-Resident Alien' updates since reports are generated periodically throughout the calendar year to identify employees who have had non-resident alien earnings reported but who do not have a current 8233 form on file in Payroll Services.

The Department of Administration will make all of the necessary changes in the computation of withholding taxes for SHARP agencies. Regents' institutions are responsible for implementing the new withholding tax rates in their respective payroll systems.

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Attachment

DATE:	December 10, 2001
SUBJECT:	Parking Permit Fees
EFFECTIVE DATE:	Paychecks Dated January 4, 2002
CONTACT:	Roger Basinger	(785) 296-5387	(Roger.Basinger@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	Increase in Parking Permit Fees for Non-reserved Spaces and the Establishment of New Parking Permit Fees/Payroll Deduction Codes for Reserved Spaces.

Kansas Administrative Regulation 1-45-7 increases the parking permit fee to $6.92 per bi-weekly pay period for non-reserved spaces in the state-owned surface parking lots and establishes the new parking permit fee of $8.08 per bi-weekly pay period for reserved spaces in the surface lots. The parking fee increase is effective for the payroll period beginning December 9, 2001 and ending December 22, 2001 paid January 4, 2002.

The $6.92 non-reserved rate will be effective for payroll deduction codes of PK0001, PKT01B, PKT02B, PKT04B, PKT05B, PKT06B, PKT07B, PPKT01, PPKT02, PPKT04, PPKT05, PPKT06, and PPKT07. The employer rate, payroll deduction code PKAD01 will be increased to $.53 (.0765 X $6.92). For employees under the Board of Accountancy agreement, the new rates for payroll deduction codes PPKT11 and PKAD08 (employer rate) will be $3.46 and $.26 (.0765 X $3.46).

To facilitate the collection of parking fees for the new $8.08 reserved rate, payroll deduction codes PPKTR1, PPKTR2, PPKTR5, and PPKTR7 have been established. The employer rate is $.62 (.0765 X $8.08) and will be collected through the new payroll deduction code of PKADR1.

The Division of Facilities Management will perform the necessary deduction enrollments in SHARP for employees who currently have reserved spaces in the surface lots. The Division of Accounts and Reports, Payroll Systems Team will make the necessary updates to the SHARP payroll system to effect this change for all employees for whom SHARP calculates pay. Regent's institutions are responsible for ensuring that this change is made in their individual systems.

DB:JJM:rdb

DATE:	December 11, 2001
SUBJECT:	Changes to December 2001 Payroll Processing Schedule
EFFECTIVE DATE:	Immediately
CONTACT:	Roger Basinger	(785) 296-5387	(Roger.Basinger@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	Changes to December 2001 payroll processing schedule due to December 24, 2001 being designated as a state holiday.

As a result of Governor Graves declaring Monday, December 24, 2001 as an additional state holiday for 2001, the following changes have been made to the December payroll processing schedule:

Wednesday, December 19, 2001

The Run 'B' off-cycle for the payroll period ending December 8, 2001 continues to be scheduled for December 19, 2001. The check issue date for the Run 'B' off-cycle will be moved from Monday, December 24, 2001 to Wednesday, December 26, 2001.

Thursday, December 20, 2001

Regents Run 'C' off-cycle files for the payroll period ending December 8, 2001 are due to the Department of Administration by 5:00 p.m.

Monday, December 24, 2001

The Run 'C' off-cycle for the payroll period ending December 8, 2001 continues to be scheduled for December 24, 2001. The check issue date for the Run 'C' off-cycle continues to be Friday, December 28, 2001. Agencies are reminded that this is the last off-cycle for 2001 paycheck adjustments and reversals. Adjustments processed in the December 24, 2001 Run 'C' off-cycle will be reflected on the employee's 2001 Form W-2. Please note that although Monday, December 24, 2001 is a state holiday, the SHARP system will be operational and on-line agencies will have access to SHARP until 5:00 p.m.

Wednesday, December 26, 2001

Paysheets for the payroll period ending December 22, 2001 will be created on Wednesday, December 26, 2001 rather than Monday, December 24, 2001. This delay will continue to allow agencies one working day after the end of the pay period to enter job actions effective for the payroll period ending December 22, 2001 and to have the job changes reflected on the paysheets.

The first preliminary payroll calculation for the payroll period ending December 22, 2001 is scheduled for Wednesday, December 26, 2001. Please note that there will only be two preliminary payroll calculations for the payroll period ending December 22, 2001.

Thursday, December 27, 2001

The second preliminary payroll calculation for the payroll period ending December 22, 2001 is scheduled for Thursday, December 27, 2001.

Friday, December 28, 2001

The final payroll calculation and confirm for the payroll period ending December 22, 2001 is scheduled for Friday, December 28, 2001. Regent's on-cycle files for the payroll period ending December 22, 2001 are due to the Department of Administration by 6:00 a.m. on Friday, December 28, 2001.

Attached is a revised calendar for the month of December 2001 that highlights the key payroll processing activity. This calendar does not provide the same level of detail as that provided in this informational circular or in the SHARP bi-weekly payroll schedules issued under Informational Circular No. 02-P-012 dated October 1, 2001. The attached calendar is intended for use as a supplementary reference tool to this informational circular.

Please make sure to note the above payroll processing dates and adjust your schedules accordingly. If, in order to ensure timely issuance of payroll, it becomes necessary to change any of the processing dates identified above, notification of change will be provided to all state agencies via the SHARP on-line message panel and the SHARP web site (http://www.da.ks.gov/sharp/). On-line agencies should be reviewing the SHARP message panel on a daily basis to determine if new messages have been added. Paper-user agencies will be notified of any changes to these dates via telephone.

DB:JJM:rdb

Attachment: December Calendar (.pdf)

DATE:	December 18
SUBJECT:	Deferred Compensation and Voluntary Tax Sheltered Annuity Limits
EFFECTIVE DATE:	January 1, 2002
CONTACT:	Janice Wolfley	(785) 296-3699	(janice.wolfley@da.state.ks.us)
	Sunni Zentner	(785) 296-7058	(sunni.zentner@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	2002 Deferred Compensation and Voluntary Tax Sheltered Annuity Changes

Per the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA), the annual deferred compensation and voluntary tax sheltered annuity (VTSA) limits will change effective January 1, 2002 as follows:

457(b) Deferred Compensation:

The deferred compensation annual contribution limit increases from the lesser of $8,500 or 33 1/3% of includible compensation to the lesser of $11,000 or 100% of includible compensation. The dollar limit will increase annually by $1,000 through plan year 2006 and indexed for inflation by $500 increments beginning in plan year 2007.

The deferred compensation special catch-up limit increases from $15,000 to two times the normal limit, which is $22,000 for plan year 2002. This special catch-up is only available to employees who are within three years of normal retirement age.

A new catch-up provision for participants age 50 or over (Benefit Plan 457DEC) increases the annual contribution limit by $1,000 making the limit $12,000 for plan year 2002. Please note that the two different catch-up provisions cannot be used concurrently.

403(b) VTSA:

The limit on annual contributions for tax sheltered annuities increases from the lesser of 25% of includible compensation or $35,000 to the lesser of 100% of includible compensation or $40,000. The dollar limit is subject to future indexing in $1,000 increments.

The limit on elective deferrals will increase from $10,500 to $11,000. The dollar limit will increase annually by $1,000 through plan year 2006 and indexed for inflation by $500 increments beginning in plan year 2007.

The Act repeals the Maximum Exclusion Allowance. The Alternative Limits A (Year of Separation), B (Any Year Limit), and C (Overall Limit) are also repealed.

A new catch-up provision for participants age 50 or over increases the annual contribution limit by $1,000 making the limit $12,000 for plan year 2002.

The Act repeals the coordination requirements for employees who participate in both 403(b) - Tax Sheltered Annuities, and 457(b) - Deferred Compensation plans. Employees eligible for both plans will be able to defer the full amount to both plans.

Aetna will notify all Deferred Compensation Plan Participants that are currently at the limits, giving them the opportunity to increase their contributions. They will also notify those participants eligible for the new catch-up provision. Please inform employees in your agency of this change.

Regent's institutions are responsible for applying the maximum VTSA formulas for their employees.

DB:JJM:kao

DATE:	December 18, 2001
SUBJECT:	Missouri State Withholding
EFFECTIVE DATE:	January 1, 2002
CONTACT:	Roger Basinger	(785) 296-5387	(roger.basinger@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	Change in Missouri State Withholding Tax Formula for 2002

The Missouri Department of Revenue has made changes to the Missouri Withholding Tax Formula effective January 1, 2002. The following table is a list of current filing statuses and the standard deduction for 2002.  
 

For the single, married and spouse works, and married and spouse does not work, the employee is allowed a $1,200.00 deduction for each allowance claimed on the MO W-4. For the head of household status, an employee is allowed $3,500.00 for the first allowance claimed on the MO W-4, no deduction for allowances two through four, and then $1,200.00 per allowance for allowances five and greater. Please note that allowances two through four are not allowed using the withholding tax formula; however, allowances two through four are still used for employers using the withholding tax tables. Please find attached copies of the 2002 Missouri Withholding Tax Formula and MO W-4 for your review.

The Division of Accounts and Reports, Payroll Systems Team will make the necessary updates to the SHARP payroll system to effect these changes for all employees for whom SHARP calculates pay. Regent's institutions are responsible for ensuring that these changes are reflected on all paychecks issued through their systems.

DB:JJM:rdb

Attachment: MO W-4 and 2002 Missouri Withholding Tax Formula (.pdf)

DATE:	December 20, 2001
SUBJECT:	New Tables for Earned Income Credit for 2002
EFFECTIVE DATE:	January 1, 2002
CONTACT:	Roger Basinger	(785) 296-5387	(roger.basinger@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	New Earned Income Credit Rates Effective for Paychecks Issued On or After January 1, 2002

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued the new percentage tables for computing the advance earned income credit (EIC) payments effective for all paychecks issued on or after January 1, 2002. The attached tables have been prepared for use in computing all EIC payments for wages paid on or after January 1, 2002. When calculating EIC by annualizing, 26 pay periods should be used to arrive at an annualized amount.

The Internal Revenue Service has released the 2002 Form W-5, Earned Income Credit Advance Payment Certificate. A copy of the 2002 Form W-5 is attached; the 2001 Form W-5 expires on December 31, 2001. The 2002 Form W-5 must be filed with the employer before advance 2002 payments can begin. Generally, employees have to successfully answer questions listed on page 2 on Form W-5 in order to be eligible for advance payments. In addition to meeting other criteria, advance EIC qualifiers must have at least one qualifying child and expect that 2002 earned and adjusted gross income will each be less than $29,201.00 for single employees or $30,201.00 if filing jointly (include spouses income if filing jointly). Employees cannot claim the EIC if planning to file either Form 2555 or Form 2555-EZ (relating to foreign earned income). Finally, a nonresident alien may not claim the EIC for 2002 unless married to an U.S. citizen or resident and elects to be taxed as a resident alien for all of 2002.

Beginning in 2002, the IRS has established the following three employee status categories: (a) Single or Head of Household, (b) Married Without Spouse Filing Certificate, and (c) Married With Both Spouses Filing Certificate. Married employees must indicate on Form W-5 if their spouse receives advance EIC payments. Please note that the IRS created the new 'Married Without Spouse Filing' category and issued the new tables in late December 2001. Because of this change, no updates are currently available to the SHARP system to reflect the new category and rates. Agencies are advised to continue to use the 'Single or Married Without Spouse Filing' selection on the employee's Federal Tax Data 2 panel (Compensate Employees/Maintain Payroll Data U.S./Use/Employee Tax Data) for employees who qualify for the 'Married Without Spouse Filing Certificate' status. Agencies are also advised that the difference in rates between the 'Single or Head of Household' status and 'Married Without Spouse Filing Certificate' status is minimal. Once the programming changes have been made to SHARP for the new 'Married Without Spouse Filing Certificate' status and rates, agencies will be notified and qualified employees can be assigned to the new status for all remaining paychecks issued in 2002.

The Department of Administration updated the existing SHARP federal tax data records on December 17, 2001, for all employees claiming the EIC in 2001 to reflect an Earned Income Credit status of 'Not applicable'. The tax data record updates are effective January 1, 2002. On-line agencies must enter a new effective-dated row into SHARP for employees who wish to claim the EIC in calendar year 2002; paper agencies should submit an employee data sheet to the Division of Personnel Services for employees who wish to claim the EIC in 2002. The new tax dated row should be added effective January 2, 2002 and will need to be entered into SHARP by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, December 28, 2001 in order to be reflected in the on-cycle paycheck dated January 4, 2002. Please refer to the Employee Payroll Tax Data section of the Payroll module in the on-line CBT (Computer Based Training) for specific instructions on entering employee tax data information.

The Division of Accounts and Reports provided a listing to agencies, which identifies all employees whose EIC status was updated in SHARP on December 17, 2001. The listing includes department, employee ID, name, SSN, and EIC exempt status.

The Department of Administration will make all of the necessary changes in the computation of EIC for SHARP agencies. Regent's institutions are responsible for implementing the new EIC rates in their respective payroll systems.

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Attachments: 
Advanced Earned Income Credit Formulas, 
W-5 Earned Income Credit Advance Payment Certificate (.pdf)

DATE:	January 2, 2002
SUBJECT:	New Supplemental Rate for Federal Withholding Tax for 2002
EFFECTIVE DATE:	January 1, 2002
CONTACT:	Carla Johnston Kathy Ogle	(785) 296-2588 (785) 296-2290	carla.johnston@state.ks.us (kathy.ogle@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	New Federal Withholding Tax Supplemental Rate Effective for Paychecks Issued On or After January 1, 2002.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued the new supplemental withholding tax rate effective for all paychecks issued on or after January 1, 2002. The supplemental withholding rate is decreased to 27% effective January 1, 2002. The federal percentage tables for computing the federal withholding tax were issued in Informational Circular 02-P-024.

The Department of Administration will make all of the necessary changes in the computation of supplemental federal withholding taxes for SHaRP agencies. Regents' institutions are responsible for implementing the new supplemental withholding tax rate in their respective payroll systems.

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DATE:	January 3, 2002
SUBJECT:	Addition of Earnings Codes IWE and IWN
EFFECTIVE DATE:	Pay Period Beginning December 23, 2001 and Ending January 5, 2002 paid January 18, 2002
CONTACT:	Carla Johnston Kathy Ogle	(785) 296-2588 (785) 296-2290	carla.johnston@state.ks.us (kathy.ogle@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	Addition of Earnings Codes IWE and IWN for the new Inclement Weather Policy

A new Inclement Weather Policy has been issued for all agencies of the Executive Branch. This policy supersedes the 1992 Inclement Weather Policy and is effective on December 23, 2001.The following two new earnings codes have been added to SHARP for the Inclement Weather Policy:
 

Both non-exempt and exempt employees record this leave in .25 hour increments. Employees who work during the period of Declared Inclement Weather shall record hours worked as they normally would had there not been a Declaration of Inclement Weather. Employees who received prior approval for authorized leave during the period covered by the Declaration of Inclement Weather shall record the leave they originally requested instead of IWE or IWN.

The Division of Accounts and Reports, Payroll Systems Team is responsible for adding the new earnings codes to the SHARP payroll system. Regents instituions are responsible for ensuring the new earnings codes are available on their individual systems.

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DATE:	January 8, 2002
SUBJECT:	W-2 Wage and Tax Statements for Calendar Year 2001
EFFECTIVE DATE:	Immediately
CONTACT:	Sunni Zentner	(785) 296-7058	(Sunni.Zentner@da.state.ks.us)
	Debbie Esquibel	(785) 368-6313	(Debbie.Esquibel@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	Information Pertaining to Employee 2001 W-2 Statements

The final version of the KTXPR55 W-2 listing has been generated. The KTXPR55 report contains all information printed on the 2001 W-2 Wage and Tax Statement for each employee of your agency. Agencies that are on-line users of SHARP will find the report in your agency mailbox on the MVS dated December 29, 2001. The KTXPR55 listing will be distributed to paper user agencies via the normal report distribution process.

The KTXPR55 W-2 listing is sorted as follows: 1) by department number, 2) alphabetically by last name, and 3) by social security number (SSN). Totals are included for each 10-digit department number as well as a grand total summary for the entire agency. The 'DIST. TOTAL' represents the total number of 2001 W-2's that were printed for your agency. The Department of Administration will be preparing a STARS voucher to bill each agency for the applicable costs associated with mailing the 2001 W-2's.

In those instances where an employee has worked for more than one department, one W-2 form has been prepared which includes earnings and deductions for all departments. The W-2 information for these employees will be included on the KTXPR55 W-2 listing for the department number appearing on the employee's most current job record.

In situations where the address information is not correct or is not sufficient for postal delivery, the W-2 form will be mailed to the agency for distribution to the employee. The return address for all W-2 forms mailed this year will again be the agency address.

All 2001 W-2's which are considered undeliverable to the employees and are returned to the agency by the U.S. Postal Service should be retained by the agency until April 16, 2002. At that time, they should be sorted in alphabetical order by last name, first name, and middle initial within department number and returned to the Division of Accounts and Reports, Payroll Services.

In cases where the 2001 W-2 Wage and Tax Statement form does not agree with your records, please send a copy of the form to this office with an explanation. For all cases where the social security number is incorrect, please include a copy of the employee's social security card with the explanation. State agencies are not authorized to make changes on the W-2 forms. The Social Security Administration and the Kansas Department of Revenue must be notified of corrections made by the Department of Administration.

Duplicate laser printed W-2's for calendar year 2001 will be printed for distribution to the agencies on each Monday, beginning February 4, 2002 and continuing through April 15, 2002. The agencies are requested to submit one blanket request for duplicate 2001 W-2's for each printing. Requests received in the Division of Accounts and Reports, Payroll Services, by noon of each Thursday will be printed for distribution the following Monday. The requests should be in social security number order and should include each employee's name and employee ID in addition to the SSN. Requests for duplicate W-2's for years prior to 2001 should be submitted separately. Duplicate 1042S form requests should also be submitted separately. Requests for either duplicate W-2 or 1042S forms should be directed to Debbie Esquibel in Payroll Services at telephone number 785-368-6313 or via e-mail at Debbie.Esquibel@da.state.ks.us.

Attachment A, which defines what items must be added (+) or subtracted (-) to arrive at the amounts shown on the W-2 form, has been included to assist agencies in answering questions regarding the W-2 forms. On-line agencies may also want to consider utilizing the SHARP KPAY318, 'Year to Date Balances' report to assist in answering W-2 related questions. The KPAY318 report is located in SHARP v7.02 under the 'Compensate Employees' window, 'Maintain Payroll Data U.S.', 'Report', 'Year to Date Balances'. See Accounts and Reports Informational Circular No. 97-P-005 dated October 31, 1996 for additional information regarding the KPAY318.

Please note that on-cycle paychecks dated December 21, 2001 and the off-cycle paychecks dated December 28, 2001 are included in the 2001 W-2 amounts.

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Attachment A

DATE:	January 8, 2002
SUBJECT:	2002 W-2 Production Reports
EFFECTIVE DATE:	Immediately
CONTACT:	Sunni Zentner	(785) 296-7058	(Sunni.Zentner@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	2002 W-2 Production Reports to be Run Throughout the Year

In an effort to reduce the time and effort required of Regents and SHARP agency personnel as well as Payroll Services staff at the end of the calendar year, the 2002 W-2 production reports will be produced throughout the calendar year. By producing the reports on a scheduled basis during the year, the work associated with identifying and correcting errors/address problems can be more evenly distributed. Following is a list of the dates the 2002 W-2 production reports are scheduled to be generated:

• Friday, February 15, 2002
• Friday, March 15, 2002
• Friday, April 12, 2002
• Friday, May 10, 2002
• Friday, June 7, 2002
• Friday, July 5, 2002
• Friday, August 2, 2002
• Friday, August 30, 2002
• Friday, September 27, 2002
• Friday, October 25, 2002
• Friday, November 8, 2002
• Friday, November 22, 2002
• Friday, December 6, 2002
• Wednesday, December 18, 2002
• Monday, December 23, 2002
• Friday, December 27, 2002 - Tentative Final Load

Agencies should anticipate finding copies of the KTXPR55 and TAX910ER reports in their agency directory on the first working day following the above listed scheduled dates. Agencies should access the TAX910ER through Rapid Filer to review the report; a copy of the TAX910ER will be distributed to paper agencies. Any necessary corrections should be processed as soon as possible to eliminate the error from appearing on the next TAX910ER report that is generated. No action is required by the agency on the KTXPR55. Once the W-2s for 2002 are complete, a final KTXPR55 report will be generated for each agency's information and review.

In addition, the Regent's institutions will receive the report KTAX900 in their agency directory. The KTAX900 report should be thoroughly reviewed and any correcting transactions processed timely. It will continue to be the Regent's responsibility to use the Management Reporting Interface file (MRI) to reconcile the year-to-date amounts in SHARP to the year-to-date amounts in their individual payroll systems.

Regent's institutions are also reminded, in accordance with Informational Circular No. 1242 issued March 2, 1994, to submit copies of the completed forms 8233, Exemption From Withholding on Compensation for Independent Personal Services of a Nonresident Alien Individual, to Payroll Services on a timely basis.

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DATE:	January 8, 2002
SUBJECT:	Change in Organization Dues Deduction Amounts
EFFECTIVE DATE:	January 6, 2002
CONTACT:	Janice Wolfley	(785) 296-3699	(janice.wolfley@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	Organization Dues Changes for KAPE

The Board of Directors for the Kansas Association of Public Employees (KAPE) has advised that the regular bi-weekly dues for members of KAPE will be changing effective with the payroll period beginning January 6, 2002 and ending January 19, 2002, paid February 1, 2002 as follows:
 

The Division of Accounts and Reports, Payroll Systems Team will make the necessary updates to the payroll system to affect all SHARP employees enrolled in the above KAPE dues deductions. Regent's institutions are responsible for ensuring that these changes are reflected on all paychecks issued on or after February 1, 2002. 

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DATE:	January 11, 2002
SUBJECT:	Deletions from the Approved List of Providers for Voluntary Tax Sheltered Annuities
EFFECTIVE DATE:	Payroll Period Beginning January 6, 2002 and Ending January 19, 2002, Paid February 1, 2002
CONTACT:	Roger Basinger	(785) 296-5387	(roger.basinger@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	Notification from the Kansas Board of Regents to Remove Three Companies from the Approved List of Providers for Voluntary Tax Sheltered Annuities

The Kansas Board of Regents has notified Payroll Services to remove the following three companies from the list of 'approved' providers for Voluntary Tax Sheltered Annuities:
 

<table width="90%" summary="This table lists the companies removed from the approved VTSA providers by Company Code and Name"> Company Code Company Name 133 Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company 239 Fidelity Standard Life Insurance Company 358 Jackson National Life Insurance Company

These VTSA companies have no current subscribers and were deleted with an effective date of January 6, 2002 in the SHARP system. The vendor table in STARS has also been updated.

The Division of Accounts and Reports, Payroll Systems Team is responsible for making the necessary updates to the SHARP payroll system. Regent's institutions are responsible for ensuring this change is reflected in their individual systems.

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DATE:	February 25, 2002
SUBJECT:	Change in Organization Dues Deduction Amounts for AFSCME Council 72
EFFECTIVE DATE:	Payroll Period Beginning February 17, 2002 and Ending March 2, 2002, Paid March 15, 2002
CONTACT:	Janice Wolfley	(785) 296-3699	(janice.wolfley@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	Organization Dues Change for AFSCME Council 72, Locals 1270, 1357, 1417, 1419, 1438, 1439, 1469 and 3371

Please be advised that the regular bi-weekly dues for members of AFSCME Council 72, Locals 1270 (ORG270), 1357 (ORG357), 1417 (ORG417), 1419 (ORG419), 1438 (ORG438), 1439 (ORG439), and 1469 (ORG469) will be increased to $11.16. In addition, the dues for Local 3371 (ORG371) will be increased to $13.52. The organizational dues deduction amounts for the AFSCME locals affiliated with Local 1715 will be as follows effective with the on-cycle paychecks dated March 15, 2002:
 

<table width="75%" summary="This table shows the organizational dues deduction amounts for the AFSCME locals affiliated with Local 1715 effective with the March 15 paychecks."> Deduction Code Union Dues Deduction ORG270 Local 1270 $11.16 ORG357 Local 1357 $11.16 ORG371 Local 3371 $13.52 ORG417 Local 1417 $11.16 ORG419 Local 1419 $11.16 ORG438 Local 1438 $11.16 ORG439 Local 1439 $11.16 ORG469 Local 1469 $11.16

The Division of Accounts and Reports, Payroll Systems Team will make the necessary updates to the SHARP payroll system to effect these changes for all employees for whom SHARP calculates pay. Regent's institutions are responsible for ensuring that this change is made in their individual systems.

DATE:	March 6, 2002
SUBJECT:	Change in Organization Dues Deduction Amounts for AFSCME Council 72
EFFECTIVE DATE:	Payroll Period Beginning February 17, 2002 and Ending March 2, 2002, Paid March 15, 2002
CONTACT:	Janice Wolfley	(785) 296-3699	(janice.wolfley@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	Organization Dues Change for AFSCME Council 72, Local 1689

Please be advised that the regular bi-weekly dues for members of AFSCME Council 72, Local 1689 (ORG689) will be increased to $ 11.16 effective with the on-cycle paychecks dated March 15, 2002. This change is in addition to the AFSCME Council 72 organizational dues rate changes recently announced in Informational Circular No. 02-P-036 dated February 25, 2002.

The Division of Accounts and Reports, Payroll Systems Team will make the necessary updates to the SHARP payroll system to effect these changes for all employees for whom SHARP calculates pay. Regent's institutions are responsible for ensuring that this change is made in their individual systems.

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DATE:	March 7, 2002
SUBJECT:	Voluntary Tax Sheltered Annuity Company Address Change
EFFECTIVE DATE:	Immediately
CONTACT:	Abby Moore	(785) 296-2133	(abby.moore@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	Voluntary Tax Sheltered Annuity Company Address Change

Payroll Services has been notified of an address change for the American United Life Insurance Company (VTSA #057). Effective immediately remittances must be mailed to the following new address:

American United Life Insurance Company
5771 Reliable Parkway
Chicago, IL 60686-0057

Vendor number 350145825-01 in STARS has been updated to reflect this address change.

The Division of Accounts and Reports, Payroll Systems Team is responsible for making any necessary updates to the SHARP payroll system. Regents institutions are responsible for ensuring these changes are reflected in their individual systems.

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DATE:	April 12, 2002
SUBJECT:	Change in Organization Dues Deduction for the Kansas State Troopers Association
EFFECTIVE DATE:	Payroll Period Beginning March 31, 2002 and Ending April 13, 2002, Paid April 26, 2002
CONTACT:	Janice Wolfley	(785) 296-3699	(janice.wolfley@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	Organization Dues Changes for ORG281, ORG282 and ORG283

The bi-weekly organization dues for members of the Kansas State Troopers Association will increase for all three levels as follows:
 

The new rates will become effective with the payroll period beginning March 31, 2002 and ending April 13, 2002, paid April 26, 2002.

The Division of Accounts and Reports, Payroll Systems Team is responsible for making this rate change in the SHARP system. Agencies are responsible for ensuring that employees are enrolled in the correct dues organization. Regent's institutions are responsible for ensuring this change is reflected in their individual systems and is effective for paychecks issued on or after April 26, 2002.

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DATE:	April 23, 2002
SUBJECT:	Earned Income Credit for 2002
EFFECTIVE DATE:	Payroll Period Beginning April 14, 2002 and Ending April 27, 2002, Paid May 10, 2002
CONTACT:	Roger Basinger	(785) 296-5387	(roger.basinger@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	New Earned Income Credit Category and Table Added to SHARP

In late December 2001, the Internal Revenue Service issued the 2002 Advance Earned Income Credit tables. With the release of the 2002 tables, the IRS established a new table and status for 'Married Without Spouse Filing Certificate'. Because of the late release date, no updates were available to SHARP to reflect this change. The programming changes have now been made to SHARP and the new 'Married Without Spouse Filing Certificate' status is now available on the Federal Tax Data 2 panel (Compensate Employees/Maintain Payroll Data U.S./Use/Employee Tax Data). Qualified employees can now be assigned to the new status for all remaining paychecks in 2002.

Please find attached 2002 Form W-5, Earned Income Advance Payment Certificate, and the tables for computing the advanced earned income credit. Agencies are reminded that in addition to meeting other criteria, advance EIC qualifiers must have at least one qualifying child and expect 2002 earned and adjusted gross income to be less than $29,201.00 for single employees and less than $30,201.00 for married employees (include spouses income if filing jointly). An employee cannot claim the EIC if planning to file either Form 2555 or 2555-EZ (relating to foreign earned income). A nonresident alien may not claim the EIC for 2002 unless married to a U.S. citizen or resident and elects to be taxed as a resident alien for all of 2002.

The Division of Accounts and Reports, Payroll Systems Team is responsible for making this change in the SHARP system. Regent's institutions are responsible for ensuring these changes are made to their individual payroll systems and are effective for all paychecks issued on or after May 10, 2002.

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Attachments: 
Advanced Earned Income Credit Formulas 
W-5 Earned Income Credit Advance Payment Certificate (pdf)

DATE:	May 10, 2002
SUBJECT:	New Payroll Deduction Codes for Parking - Security Benefit Parking Lot
EFFECTIVE DATE:	Payroll Period Beginning April 28, 2002 and Ending May 11, 2002, Paid May 24, 2002
ONTACT:	Roger Basinger	(785) 296-5387	(roger.basinger@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	Addition of New Parking Deduction Codes PPKT0B, PKT0BB, PPKTRB, and PKTRBB

To facilitate the collection of parking fees for the Security Benefit Parking Lot, payroll deduction codes PPKT0B (pre-tax parking, non-reserved), PKT0BB (after-tax parking, non-reserved), PPKTRB (pre-tax parking, reserved), and PKTRBB (after-tax parking, reserved) have been added to SHARP effective April 28, 2002. The employee deduction for the non-reserved spaces (codes PPKT0B and PKT0BB) will be $6.92 per bi-weekly payroll period. The employer rate for the non-reserved spaces, payroll deduction code PKAD01 (which is already established), will be $0.53 (.0765 X $6.92) per bi-weekly payroll period. The employee deduction for the reserved spaces (codes PPKTRB and PKTRBB) will be $8.08 per bi-weekly payroll period. The employer rate for the reserved spaces, payroll deduction code PKADR1 (which is already established) will be $0.62 (.0765 X $8.08).

The Division of Accounts and Reports, Payroll Systems Team will make the necessary updates to the SHARP payroll system to effect this change for all employees for whom SHARP calculates pay. Regent's institutions are responsible for ensuring that this change is made in their individual systems.

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DATE:	May 13, 2002
SUBJECT:	Employee Taxability for the Personal (Commuting) Use of a State-Owned Vehicle
EFFECTIVE DATE:	January 1, 2002
CONTACT:	Roger Basinger	(785) 296-5387	(roger.basinger@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	Information Concerning Employee Use of State-Owned Vehicles

The information provided herein is based on current provisions of the Internal Revenue Service Code, Treasury Regulations, Kansas Statutes Annotated and Kansas Administrative Regulations.

BACKGROUND

In general, an employee's personal (commuting) use of a state-owned vehicle is a taxable fringe benefit. Commuting is defined as travel back and forth between the employee's residence and official workstation. Employer's who allow employee's personal (commuting) use of a vehicle are generally required to determine the value of the personal (commuting) use and include it in the employee's gross income. The value of the personal (commuting) use is generally subject to income, Social Security and Medicare taxes. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) currently utilizes the Annual Lease, Commuting and Cents-Per-Mile methods to determine the amount of fringe benefit income to include in employee wages. The requirements for the different valuation methods will be discussed in Appendix A.

POLICY

K.S.A. 8-301 states that all state-owned vehicles are for official business only and may not be used for private business or pleasure. Kansas Administrative Regulation 1-17-2a states that a state-owned or leased motor vehicle shall not be used to commute between the employee's residence and the employee's official work station, except:

(1)(A) When parking the vehicle at the official work station overnight subjects the vehicle to a high risk of vandalism.

(1)(B) When the vehicle is used by an official or employee who is regularly called to duty after normal work hours in connection with law enforcement activities or dealing with emergencies which result from an act of God.

(1)(C) For trip vehicles assigned to the traveler, on the evening of the work day immediately preceding the date of travel or the evening of the work day in which travel is completed.

K.A.R 1-17-2a also states when a state-owned or leased vehicle is authorized to be used for travel to a employee's place of residence under paragraphs (1)(A) or (1)(B), the "reasonable distance" one-way between the employee's official work station and residence shall not exceed 10 miles unless the 10-mile limitation is specifically exempted by the Secretary of Administration or the Secretary's designee. For trip vehicles assigned to a traveler under paragraph (1)(C), "reasonable distance" shall be based on the determination that driving the vehicle home will not increase the total one-way trip mileage between the official work station and the destination by more than 10 miles.

Kansas Administrative Regulation 1-17-2(b)(1) allows field employees, such as inspectors, to commute between the field employee's residence and work sites in a state-owned or leased vehicle when the employee's residence is designated as the official work station. The employee's residence can be designated as the official workstation when over 50% of the employee's work time involves direct travel from his or her residence.

Please note that meeting the Kansas Administration Regulation requirements to commute with the state-owned vehicle does not exempt the employee from the IRS fringe benefit income reporting requirements. The employee would still need to report fringe benefit income for the commuting use of the vehicle unless the vehicle qualifies as a Nonpersonal Use Vehicle (listed in Appendix D) or the employee's residence meets the IRS's 'principal place of business' test discussed below.

PRINCIPAL PLACE OF BUSINESS TEST

Field employees generally do not report fringe benefit income for official travel between the employee's residence and work sites. To be excluded from the IRS's fringe benefit income reporting requirements, the employee's residence must qualify as the employee's 'principal place of business'. A principal place of business is defined as a place of business which is used by the taxpayer for the administrative or management activities of a trade or business of the taxpayer if there is no other fixed location of such trade or business where the taxpayer conducts substantial administrative or management activities of such trade or business. If the employee works both out of his or her home (because it has been designated as the official work station) and a state provided office, the employee's principal place of business needs to be determined by examining all the facts and circumstances.

AGENCY RESPONSIBILITY

Agencies shall identify and notify those employees who use state-owned vehicles and who park those vehicles overnight at their residences (commuting) that the commuting use of the vehicle is a taxable event to the employee. The personal (commuting) use is fringe benefit income and must be valued at one of the three methods approved by the IRS discussed in Appendix A unless the vehicle is listed in Appendix D or the employee's residence meets the 'principal place of business test'.

Agencies shall determine and install procedures similar to the attached accounting work sheet that will record the workdays on which the vehicles were parked overnight at the employee's residence and will report the calculated gross amount of such fringe benefit income for the pay period to the payroll system. The procedure will include at a minimum the data specified in the attached Statement of Personal Usage for State Provided Vehicles (Appendix B).

Agencies shall provide the payroll system with reports and data to:

1. Record fringe benefit income chargeable to each affected employee.
2. Calculate and withhold from each affected employee's pay the Social Security, Medicare and retirement contributions due.
3. Calculate and withhold from each affected employee's pay the federal and state income tax due.
4. Calculate the employer's share of Social Security, Medicare, retirement, unemployment compensation and workers compensation contributions due.
5. Remit all withheld taxes and contributions to the appropriate authorities.
6. Report on each affected employee's W-2, the total fringe benefit income for the calendar year.

DB:JJM:rdb

Attachment A: IRS Approved Methods of Reporting Fringe Benefit Income (.pdf) 
Attachment B: Statement of Personal Usage for State Provided Vehicles (.pdf) 
Attachment C: Daily Travel Log (.pdf) 
Attachment D: Vehicles Excluded From Fringe Benefit Income Reporting Requirements (.pdf) 

DATE:	May 29, 2002
SUBJECT:	Fiscal Year End Payroll Processing for FY 2002
EFFECTIVE DATE:	Immediately
CONTACT:	Joyce Dickerson	(785) 296-3979	(joyce.dickerson@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	Summary of Fiscal Year End Payroll Processing

This informational circular will discuss key payroll processing concepts to aid in fiscal year end closing. Please note that another informational circular concerning fiscal year 2003 payroll contribution rates will be issued as soon as the information is available.

Benefits Contribution Rates

Supplementals and adjustments use the benefit contribution rates effective for the pay period being adjusted. Supplementals and adjustments that are processed for the payroll periods ending on or before June 8, 2002 will use fiscal year 2002 benefits contribution rates or prior fiscal years benefits contribution rates depending on the fiscal year of the payroll period being adjusted. Supplementals and adjustments using a payroll period end date greater than June 8, 2002 will use fiscal year 2003 rates. Benefit contributions include: KPERS, TIAA-CREF, KPEDCP, workers compensation insurance, state leave reserve assessment, flexible spending accounts administrative fee, and group health insurance (GHI).

Tax Rates

Taxes for supplementals and adjustments will be calculated using the tax rates effective for the paycheck issue date for the off-cycle payroll being processed. Taxes include: OASDI (Social Security), Medicare, federal withholding tax, state withholding tax, local withholding tax, and unemployment compensation insurance. Note for Regents: The use of the 'current' UCI rate for calculation purposes does not replace the reporting requirements for prior period adjustments necessary for quarterly UCI reporting.

Fiscal Year Expenditure Impact

Supplementals and adjustments with the exception of reversals will be charged to expenditures in the fiscal year the off-cycle paycheck is issued regardless of the payroll period being adjusted. For example, Run B (processed June 19, paid June 24) and Run C (processed June 24, paid June 27) for the payroll period ending June 8, 2002 will be charged to fiscal year 2002 expenditures. Run A (processed July 1, paid July 5) for the payroll period ending June 22, 2002 will be charged to fiscal year 2003 expenditures.

Reversals will always reverse expenditures in the fiscal year originally charged. Please note that the off-cycle scheduled June 24, 2002 (paid June 27) will be the last opportunity to have the reissue of an adjusted paycheck charged to fiscal year 2002 expenditures.

Once the Run C off-cycle for the period ending June 22, 2002 (processed July 8, paid July 11) has been processed, agencies should not request or process paycheck reversals until STARS FY 2002 closing has been successfully completed. STARS is scheduled to resume processing July 22, 2002.

The fiscal year expenditure impact applies to both SHARP agencies and Regents institutions.

Budget End Date and Fiscal Year Changes

With the implementation of Peoplesoft 7.0, the Budget End Date and Fiscal Year on the Department Budget tables will be updated centrally at the beginning of the fiscal year. This process is scheduled to run on Monday morning June 17 and should be completed by 8:30 a.m. At that time a new row will be added to the Department Budget tables with an effective date of 06/09/2002 (beginning date of the first on-cycle payroll charged to FY2003). The Budget End Date will be 06/08/2003. On June 17 please refrain from making updates to these panels until after the update has been completed and you can view the 06/09/2002 effective dated row. When adding new rows for FY2003, agencies should verify that 06/08/2003 was used as the Budget End Date for FY2003.

GHI Adjustments

As of July 1, 2002, NO payroll processing for GHI adjustments should be made for contract year 2000. Contact Judy Allman in the Division of Personnel Services at (785) 368-6338 about any event maintenance changes that may affect claims processing for contract year 2000.

Julian Date Reset

The julian date used for the SHARP off-cycle document numbers will reset to 001 on July 1, 2002. The julian date used for the off-cycle's document number is determined by the process date of the cycle while the fiscal year is determined by the off-cycle's check issue date. For example, the off-cycle Run C (processed June 24, paid July 27) will have the 359 julian date in the document number and expenditures will be charged to fiscal year 2002. The off-cycle Run A (processed July 1, paid July 5) will have the 001 julian date in the document number and expenditures will be charged to fiscal year 2003.

Regents' Institutions Responsibilities

Regents institutions are responsible for ensuring that the correct benefit and tax contribution rates are used when calculating payroll for employees of their agencies and for ensuring that the STARS funding file and DA175/176 effect the correct fiscal year expenditures. Regents' institutions are also responsible for ensuring that all appropriate payroll clearing fund indexes are established in STARS for fiscal year 2003.

Reminders

To help reduce the number of adjustments to process, SHARP agencies are reminded of the following:

1. Enter job data changes prior to the creation of paysheets. Paysheets for on-cycle payroll are created on the Tuesday night following the end of the payroll period. Any changes to the employee's job data information (i.e., pay grade, rate of pay, FLSA status, etc.) that are entered after the creation of the paysheets will not be reflected in the employee's on-cycle paycheck for the period and will require special handling.
2. Agencies should review the accuracy of the gross-to-net payroll information and employers contributions after each preliminary pay calculation. The KPAY002 report can be used to review the gross-to-net data. On-line agencies can review employer contributions by accessing the employee's paycheck deduction information for the period. Employer contributions have a deduction class of 'N'.

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DATE:	May 29, 2002
SUBJECT:	Earnings Codes
EFFECTIVE DATE:	June 9, 2002
CONTACT:	Carla Johnston Kathy Ogle	(785) 296-2588 (785) 296-2290	carla.johnston@state.ks.us (kathy.ogle@da.state.ks.us)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	Inactivating SHARP Earnings Codes

Currently in SHARP there are 218 active earnings codes. In order to ensure that accurate and meaningful earnings data is captured and stored in SHARP, 54 earnings codes will be inactivated effective with the first pay period in Fiscal Year 2003, which is the pay period beginning June 9, 2002.

Codes to inactivate were chosen based on low usage, policy or regulation changes. Some of the codes are only applicable to Regent Institutions or specific state agencies. An on-going effort will be made to evaluate earnings code usage each year and make necessary updates.

Earnings codes that are inactive cannot be entered on timesheets for pay periods ending after June 8, 2002. Paychecks that contain an inactive code cannot be adjusted through the reversal/adjustment process, as payroll error messages will result. In these situations, the adjustment request should be submitted to Accounts & Reports, Payroll Section on a form DA-180, Paycheck Reversal/Supplemental/Adjustment.

The codes to be inactivated are:
AHR Additional Hours
BD1 Board Member-$65 Daily Rate
BD2 Board Member-Judicial Qualif.
BD3 Board Member-Judicial Nomin.
BD4 Board Member-Disciplinary
BD5 Board Member-$66.63 Daily Rate
BD6 Board Member-$69.29 Daily Rate
BD7 Board Member-$72.06 Daily Rate
BD8 Board Member-$74.58 Daily Rate
BDS Board Member-$35 Daily Rate
CSB Civil Service Board Members
CTA Comp Time Payout Accrual Hours
CTS Comp Time Payout Service Hours
HCB Holiday Comp 1.0-Bank Credit
HCL Holiday Comp Earned over HDC
HDL Holiday Pay 1.5 over HDC
HPE Holiday Pay for Exempts
HTA Holiday Comp Time Payout Accrl
HTS Holiday Comp Time Payout Servc
K01 KUMC Shift Rate C
K02 KUMC Shift Rate D
K03 KUMC Shift Rate F
K04 KUMC Shift Rate G
K05 KUMC Shift Rate E
K06 KUMC Shift Rate H
K07 KUMC Shift Rate T
K08 KUMC Shift Rate-Day 1
K09 KUMC Shift-Nurse add on A
K10 KUMC Shift-Nurse add on B
K11 KUMC Shift-Nurse add on C
K12 KUMC Shift-Nurse add on D
K15 Shift 2 for SP1 Students
K16 Shift 3 for SP1 Students
K17 Overtime for STR Students 1.5
LG1 Legislative Daily Rate-$60
LG2 Legislative Daily Rate-$62
LG3 Legislative Daily Rate-$66.63
LG4 Legislative Daily Rate-$69.29
LG5 Legislative Daily Rate-$72.06
LG6 Legislative Daily Rate-$74.58
LGD Legislative Daily Rate-$65
N17 December 17th Non-exempt
NR1 Nonresident Alien-Inc code 15
NR3 Nonresident Alien-Inc code 17
O28 Overtime-28 day ee
REM Other Remuneration
RTN Retro Negative Pay
RTR Retro Pay
ST3 Call Back Premium
ST4 KUMC Evening
ST5 KUMC Night/Weekend
ST6 KUMC Evening/Night
WCA Workers Compensation-Amount
WCD Workers Comp Dollars

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DATE:	June 3, 2002
SUBJECT:	Housing, Food Service and Other Employee Maintenance
EFFECTIVE DATE:	Immediately
CONTACT:	Roger Basinger	(785) 296-5387	(roger.basinger@da.state.us.ks)
APPROVAL:
SUMMARY:	Annual review of housing, food service and other employee maintenance rates required under K.S.A. 75-2961A and K.A.R. 1-19-9

Attached is Form DA-171, Housing, Food Service and Other Maintenance Policy for your agency to complete. It is not necessary to return this form to the Division of Accounts and Reports. The completed form should be maintained at your agency. Any changes in rates will require entry into the SHARP system through Compensate Employees window, Maintain Payroll Data U.S. menu, Additional Pay panel. Paper agencies should complete an Employee Data Sheet (DA-218 Part B) and submit it to the Division of Personnel Services for entry into SHARP.

Regent institutions should also complete the Form DA-171 and maintain the completed form at their agency. Regents are responsible for updating any rate changes into their payroll system.

Attachment: DA-171 (pdf) 

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