What's New

Spam E-Mail Causes Confusion
We have received numerous inquiries from employees regarding an e-mail from “PayPal” requesting “verification” of  “PayPal” information.  This e-mail is not from FCPS  and is believed to be a scam.  Please use the following link to the IT website for more information on removing spam e-mail:

• http://servicecatalog.fcps.edu/it/communications/messaging/em_spamremove.shtml

If you have payroll related questions e-mail payroll.help@fcps.edu or call the main Payroll phone number 571-423-3500.

“Making Work Pay” Tax Credit
New federal income tax withholding tables reflecting changes from the recently enacted Making Work Pay tax credit were released electronically by the Internal Revenue Service.
The withholding allowance amounts (value of each exemption claimed) remain the same under the new tables but the withholding rates in the new tables were adjusted to account for the $400 credit for single filers and $800 for joint filers.

The IRS is instructing employers to implement the updated withholding amounts as soon as possible.  The tax credit will phase out for taxpayers with an adjusted gross income of more than $75,000, or $150,000 for married couples filing jointly.

The IRS instructions indicate that is not necessary to submit a new Form W-4.  Please be aware that employees with multiple jobs or married couples whose combined incomes place them in a higher tax bracket may elect to submit a revised W-4 to ensure enough withholding is held to cover the tax for his or her combined income. 

These new tax amounts will be effective for the biweekly payday of March 27th and for the monthly March 31st payday. Please refer to www.irs.gov and Publication 919 for more information.

Additional Information and Management Tips On Your Electronic Pay Advice

Security

• General security best practice standards consider information within a secure enterprise network is as secure as the US Mail.
  
  
• The implementation of the fcpssecure SSID on FCPS wireless network two years ago has added authentication and encryption to the wireless traffic, which affords sufficient safeguards for applications containing sensitive information to run over the wireless network.
  
  
• Confidential information such as social security number and full bank account number are not displayed.

Management of the Electronic Pay Advice

• Log into UConnect and take a look at the payroll information UConnect offers. If UConnect contains enough information for you, then there is no need to save the .pdf attachment. You can press down the “shift” key while hitting “delete” to permanently delete the e-mail.
  
  
• If you only want to keep a paper copy of the pay stub, you can print out the .pdf file, file the paper, and delete the e-mail.
  
  
• If you still want to save an electronic version of the .pdf file, you can save the attachment. For better security, do not save the attachment on your desktop. You can also save the .pdf file to your personal storage devices (i.e. your personal flash drive). You would, in that case, be solely responsible for the security and maintenance of the files. Be mindful of who can access it, especially if you lose the storage device. 

Administrative Fees charged to participants in the 403(b) and 457 programs
As part of the Approved FY09 budget, FCPS will begin charging an annual administrative fee to participants of both the 403(b) and the 457 programs to help offset FCPS’s administrative costs associated with offering these programs effective 1/1/2009. This $9 fee will be charged to active participants in the first available payroll of the calendar year. If an employee begins participation mid-year, the same $9 fee will be charged at the time. If an employee participates in both the 457 and 403(b) programs, two $9 charges will be applied.

Review Federal Tax Witholding Status
Now is the time for each employee to review his or her federal tax withholding status for the coming year.  Employees claiming total exemption from federal tax withholding must file a new W-4 form to continue exempt status in 2008; the new Form W-4 must be received by the Office of Payroll Management on or before February 15, 2009.  Each employee is required by the Internal Revenue Service to withhold an amount equal to his or her taxes or at a rate of at least 90 percent of the current year obligation.  If the number of personal allowances that an employee is eligible to claim changes, the employee must file a new W-4 form with the Office of Payroll Management within ten days of the change.   Form W-4 may also be obtained from work locations or by contacting the Office of Payroll Management at 571-423-3500.

Review District of Columbia and Maryland Tax Witholding Status
The District of Columbia (Form D-4) and Maryland (Form MW507) require new Withholding Certificate forms to be filed each calendar year by February 15 to certify the exemption from withholding income taxes.  A new withholding certificate must be submitted to the Office of Payroll Management by February 15, 2009 to continue exempt status in 2009.  These forms may also be obtained from work locations or by contacting the Office of Payroll Management at 571-423-3500.

Review Virginia Tax Witholding Status
Now is the time for each employee to review his or her tax withholding status for the coming year.

An employee who wants to continue his or her exemption from Virginia tax withholding in 2009 must file a new VA-4 form. Exempt status is available to single employees whose yearly-adjusted gross earnings are less than $7,000 or $14,000 for married employees filing joint returns.

Forms should be submitted to the Office of Payroll Management by December 31, 2008. Tax withholding for employees who do not re-file by the deadline will be set at the single with no exemptions rate.  The Office of Payroll Management is required by the Department of Taxation to report all employees claiming exempt from state taxes and those claiming 10 or more exemptions.

Social Security Tax Rates and Wage Bases for 2009
2009 withholding for Social Security-OASDI (old age, survivors and disability insurance) and Social Security-Medicare (hospital insurance) will continue at the current rates of 6.2% and 1.45% respectively.  The OASDI wage base has been increased to $106,800. There is no wage base for Social Security-Medicare.

Life Changes
The list of items on the chart below are common 'life events' that can occur. As a result of a life event, you might want to update personal information. If you have had a recent life event, review that row to determine which actions you may need to complete as a result of that life event.

You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view/download the forms.

Questions? Please call 571-423-3000