Payroll

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• Payroll

  The following will answer FAQs and provide links regarding Payroll. Please visit our Payroll page for additional information and resources.

• Pay

  • Deceased Pay- My garnishment payment has not reached the custodial parent. Who do I contact? You may reach out to Alex Oliveros at 713-743-1059 or via email at hracctg@central.uh.edu for assistance.
  • ORP, 403(b) and 457's- When will the ORP, 403(b) and 457 contributions be applied to my account? Allow 5-7 business days after pay day for contributions to be reflected.
  • TRS- When is TRS processed? TRS contributions are processed once a month for the previous month’s pay dates. Allow 30 days for TRS contributions to be reflected as well as any withdrawals.

  • Deceased Pay - Does Payroll need to be notified of an employee's death? Yes! Notify Payroll and Benefits via email when an employee has died. Provide the decedent's name, empil ID, and date of death. There are specific laws governing paychecks issued after an employee has passed away. Timely notification and processing of required documents helps prevent delays in issuing final checks and processing of required legal documentation.
  • Direct Deposit
    • When will my paycheck be direct deposited? Direct deposit paychecks are credited to your bank’s account on payday. The University of Houston’s paydays are listed on the Payroll and TRAM Website. The actual time of deposit varies according to your bank's practices. It may be early or late in the day.
    • I closed or changed my Bank account and my direct deposit has not reached my new account.  What do I do? Please allow 24-48 hours for your bank to send back the funds. Once Payroll receives notice that the funds have been returned, it will be reissued on the next available off-cycle.
    • Payday has passed, and I haven’t received my paycheck. What do I do? Check with your departmental payroll contact to confirm that your assignment and/or time and leave was processed by The University of Houston’s payroll deadlines. If all records were completed in time, the department will contact Payroll to resolve the issue.
    • Can I choose to have my paycheck direct deposited into multiple accounts? Yes, you may elect to have your money split into multiple accounts. This is done via P.A.S.S. and is set up as an “amount” type, then you’ll specify the dollar amount to be deposited.
  • Garnishments - Who do I contact for received & released garnishment questions? You may contact Kimberly Thompson regarding these type of questions at 713-743-8682 or via email at hrpay@central.uh.edu.
  • Overpayments - An employee has been overpaid. What should I do? Contact Payroll immediately and include the employee's name, Empil ID, applicable date(s), and a brief explanation of the overpayment. Action to resolve the overpayment should be taken as soon as possible. It is not necessary to wait for assignment changes, timesheets, etc. to be final approved before contacting Payroll Services. Payroll will evaluate the situation and respond with the best course of action, so you can notify the employee.
  • Stop Payments and Stale Dated Checks - How do I replace a lost or stale dated check? Contact Payroll and the following information must be provided by the employee or departmental contact in order for Payroll to research the lost paycheck:
    • Employee Name
    • Empil ID
    • Check Date
    • Reason for Request
      After Payroll has confirmed the paycheck status, a request form must be completed and signed by the employee. Completed forms must be submitted to Payroll Services. Replacement checks are generated after Payroll Services receives the signed form, and the employee is notified when the replacement check is ready for pick up.
  • Underpaid - My absence was approved but I didn’t get paid for it, what do I do? Verify the date and time that the absence was approved. Biweekly absences must be approved before 12:00 noon on Wednesdays for the preceding work week to be picked up in the absence process. If the absence is approved late after Week 2 of the biweekly pay period, it will be picked up and paid in the next on-cycle payroll. Please refer to the Payroll Calendar to determine the monthly deadline, as the schedule for monthly fluctuates month to month.
  • Fringe Benefits - What are fringe benefits? Fringe benefits refer to non-wage expenses paid by The University of Houston on behalf of their employees. It includes insurance premium sharing, employer matching Old Age and Survivor's Insurance (OASI), Unemployment Compensation Insurance (UCI), Workers' Compensation Insurance (WCI), Teacher Retirement System (TRS), Optional Retirement Program (ORP) matching, and Vacation/Sick leave assessment.

• Payroll Tax

  • Additional Medicare Questions
    • What is the rate of the Additional Medicare Tax? The rate is 0.9 percent (%).
    • What wages are subject to Additional Medicare Tax? All wages that are currently subject to Medicare Tax are subject to Additional Medicare Tax if they are paid in excess of the applicable threshold for an individual’s filing status. For more information on what wages are subject to Medicare Tax and additional questions, refer to IRS Publication 15, (Circular E), Employer’s Tax Guide.
    • When are indivduals liable for Additional Medicare Tax?  An individual is liable for Additional Medicare Tax if the individual’s wages, compensation, or self-employment income (together with that of his or her spouse if filing a joint return) exceeds the threshold amount for the individual’s filing status:
      • Married Filing Jointly (Threshhold Amount:  $250,000)
      • Married Filing Separately (Threshhold Amount:  $125,000)
      • Single (Threshhold Amount:  $200,000)
      • Head of Household [With Qualifying Person]  (Threshhold Amount:  $200,000)
      • Qualifying Widow(er) with Dependent Child  (Threshhold Amount:  $200,000)
    • FICA and Medicare (OASDI)
      • What is the FICA?  The Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA)is the federal law that requires you to withhold two separate taxes from the wages you earn. It includes Social Security Tax and Medicare Tax at a flat percentage rate. The Social Security Tax is 6.2% rate of your wages, and the Medicare Tax is 1.45% of your wages.
      • What is the FICA cap?  Social Security Tax is subject to a cap, which is adjusted every year for inflation. The 2017 cap is $127,200.00.  There is no cap on Medicare Tax.
      • Is there a student exemption to FICA (Social Security and Medicare) taxes?  Students who are enrolled and employed by the University of Houston may be exempt from paying FICA taxes if they meet certain eligibility criteria established by the IRS.  More information is available on the Tax Website.
      • What are Social Security and Medicare (OASDI) taxes?  OASI stands for Old Age and Survivor's Insurance. OASI is also known as Social Security. All employees are subject to this withholding unless exempt by visa status and length of presence in the U.S. or by the student employee rules. The Social Security and Medicare rates, as well as the Social Security wage limit, are updated annually and posted on the Internal Revenue Service website.
    • W2 and W2C Questions
      • Why doesn't my W-2 reflect my December earnings paid in January?  The IRS requires employers to report wages on tax form W-2 in the year in which the wages were paid. Wages for the December are paid in January and are therefore reportable in the following calendar year.
      • I did not work for the University of Houston last year, so why did I receive a W-2?  Form W-2 reports wages paid during the year, not wages earned during the year. The University of Houston pays monthly salaries on the first working day of the following month. If your last day worked was in December of one year and you were paid in January of the following year, those wages would be reported on the W-2 for the second year.
      • I started working in December, but did not receive a W-2.  Why not?  Wages for December are normally paid in January of the following year. If you started working in December you probably did not receive a payment until January, and those wages will be reported on next year’s W-2. The W-2 reports wages paid during the year, not wages earned during the year.
      • Why is the amount in Box 1 not the same as my calendar year to date gross pay amount? The amount reflected in Box 1 represents taxable wages for a given calendar year. The amounts reflects gross wages less pre-tax deductions such as medical, dental and life insurance premiums, pre-tax parking, retirement contributions, tax sheltered annuity contributions, Texflex, etc.
      • Why is the amount in Box 3 and Box 5 more than the amount in Box 1?  Boxes 3 and 5 report your social security and Medicare taxable wages. Some deductions that are sheltered from income tax are not sheltered from social security and Medicare. These deductions include tax sheltered annuities, deferred compensation, Teacher Retirement, and Optional Retirement.
      • Why is the amount in Box 3 less than the amount in Box 5?  There is an annual maximum on the amount of wages subject to social security retirement deductions. These deductions stop when your salary reaches that maximum. There is no maximum on the Medicare portion of the social security taxes.
      • Why was Social Security and Medicare (OASDI) taxes not taken out of my checks?  The IRS exempts student employees who work at their own university and are employed in a position that requires them to be a student, from Social Security taxes as long as they are enrolled and attending classes half time. Certain foreign employees are also exempt from Social Security for a limited time period.
      • Why is there no amount listed in Box 12?  The Retirement Box is checked, and I had retirement deductions taken out.  Voluntary retirement contributions, such as to a tax sheltered annuity, ROTH, or deferred compensation plan contributions are reported in Box 12. TRS and ORP contributions are not voluntary, and therefore are not required to be reported in Box 12.
      • Why is there an amount listed in Box 12DD?  Will I be taxed on this amount?  This amount is both the employee and employer cost for health insurance coverage for the year, which is required to be reported on W-2 forms beginning in 2012.  This reporting to employees is for their information only. The reporting is intended to inform them of the cost of their health care coverage and does not cause excludable employer-provided health care coverage to become taxable.

• Glossary of Payroll Terms

  • Pay Period ID: Each payroll eriod is identified by a Pay Period ID. The biweekly (hourly) employee IDs begin with "B" for Biweekly, followed by the pay end date of that pay period.
    • Example: B070312 is the pay period ID of a biweekly payroll period ending on 7/3/12.
  • Start & End Date: These dates represent the day the pay period begins and when it ends.
  • Due Back to Payroll Date: This is the date when your timesheet is due back to payroll.
  • Empl ID: If you are a student, your Employee ID will be the same as your Student ID. This number must always be included on your timesheet
  • FTE: Full Time Equivalent (FTE) is a measure of the number of hours you are expected to work in a typical week. This number is based on the assumption that a 40-hour work week is full-time (1.0 FTE). If you are expected to work 20 hours per week, you are working half a 40-hour week, or .50 FTE.
  • Pos No (Position Number): The position number assigned to you correlates to your hourly rate for that job and the account you are paid from. It is therefore very important that if you are working multiple jobs, you record your hours against the correct position number.