Special Payments

Purpose: The Special Payment action is used to create a one-time payment for an employee that is issued as a separate warrant.  Up to three entries with different earnings codes may be entered on the Special Payment action.  Each entry on a Special Payment action will be taxed separately.  More than one Special Payment action can be processed, but only one warrant will be issued for that pay period with a total amount from all of the Special Payment actions.  The only deductions taken from this payment are Retirement, FICA, and Federal and State Taxes (based on the employee’s eligibility and tax exempt status).  All of the other employer deductions will not be taken.
 
Note: The special payment form only allows for three rows of information. If you need more rows for multiple earnings codes or for multiple distributions, you will need to complete an additional form.
 
This payment will not be deposited automatically into an employee's bank account.
 
Taxing Procedure:
When processing a Special Payment (supplemental wages), the percentage based supplemental taxing method will be used.  This taxing method will multiply the federal and state taxable grosses by a percentage tax rate provided by the IRS and the Idaho State Tax Commission.  For Special Payments, federal  & state taxable gross equals gross pay less retirement.
 
To find the applicable percentage tax rate for supplemental wages, please refer to the applicable tax guides for the current calendar year.  The federal tax rates are found in the IRS' Employer's Tax Guide (Publication 15).  The Idaho tax rates are found in the 'Idaho State Tax Commission's Guide to Idaho Income Tax Withholding'.  If there are questions about the percentage taxing rates for other states, please contact the Division of Statewide Payroll at (208) 334-3100, option 2.
 
Procedure for Leave Payoffs:
 
When using the Special Payment action to pay off leave for an employee who is terminating, follow these instructions:
 
1. All the employee’s normal hours for the pay period must be coded (on Time Sheet or I-Time) if they are Time Sheet Required. If they are 'Time Sheet Not Required', the system will generate regular hours, however, if there are any exceptions (leave taken, overtime, etc.), all hours must be coded (on Time Sheet or I-Time).
 
2. Code leave payoff(s) using the applicable earnings codes.  ZCP (Covered Comp Time Pay Off), ZEP (RHH Reg Hours Held Pay Off), and ZVP (Vacation Pay Off). Refer to Earnings Codes.  Enter the hours the employee currently has on record, and the system will generate their accruals for the pay period.
 
The Special Payment action cannot be used for covered comp time payoffs on the first payroll in January and the first payroll in July because of the automatic comp time payoff process.
 
Use 'Comments' to explain the action and how the amount was calculated.  Use this link for the specifics involving Comments.
 

 
FILLING OUT THE FORM
 
Fields that are mandatory will have yellow font and must be completed before the document can be submitted or sent to the next reviewer/approver.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE: Select effective date from the drop-down list.
The date that appears in this field will be the pay period begin date for the first pay period that has not yet processed.  You can also click on the drop-down list and choose from twelve (12) future pay period begin dates. Effective date chosen should be the pay period begin date of the payroll the special payment is to be processed.
 
Permanent Record Information: (Mandatory) Enter information pertaining to this action. This information will be transferred to IBIS into the Employee Earnings reporting group.
 
PCN:  The employee's PCN will automatically populate, unless they are active in more than one PCN.  If the employee is active in more than one PCN, you must choose a PCN from the drop-down list or by typing the first number of the PCN.
 
EARNINGS CODE:  (Mandatory)  Select the earnings code either from the drop-down list or by typing the first character of the code. If you want to see the earnings code and its description select the blue check mark .   
 
·    Only the earnings codes that are valid for each agency/employee can be selected.  For additional information see Earnings Codes
 
·    Earnings code MOV must be accompanied by other taxable earnings, otherwise code MOV on the Other Earnings Action.
 
·    When using earnings codes 'REC', 'REN', 'STC' or 'TSM', a current performance evaluation with the status of APS, SS or EX is required for classified employees.

HOURS or GROSS AMOUNT:   (Mandatory) Must select one.  If hours are entered only one decimal place will be allowed, if an amount is used it must be in dollars and cents.  If a whole number is entered in the hours or amount, zero(s) after the decimal will automatically be generated (if you enter 10 it will become 10.00 in the amount, 10 will become 10.0 in the hours). 
 
 
TAX PCT:  ADV indicates the special payment amount will be taxed at the current percentage tax rate for supplemental wages.  The tax rates are set by the IRS and the State of Idaho Tax Commission.  See taxing procedure above.
The Index/PCA/Grant and Project will default to the existing distribution on the position, unless they are overridden in the following fields.  When overriding the existing distribution, there are not any defaults and all fields must be coded.
To override Index/PCA/Grant and Project
Index:  Select from the drop-down menu, by typing in the number or by clicking on the blue check mark under the Index field.  Only the allowable Indexes for your agency will be displayed.
PCA:  Select from the drop-down menu, by typing in the number or by clicking on the blue check mark  under the PCA field.  Only the allowable PCAs for your agency will be displayed.
Grant:  Select from the drop-down menu, by typing in the number or click on the blue check mark under the Grant field. Only the allowable Grants for your agency will be displayed. 
Project:  Select from the drop-down menu, by typing in the number or click on the blue check mark under the Project field.  Only the allowable Projects for your agency will be displayed.
Note: You may see a 'click to view' in a field for either of two reasons.
 
1. This indicates that an additional screen will need to be displayed to accommodate the number of Index's, PCAs, Grants or Projects allowed for your agency.
 
or
 
2. There are not any codes to be displayed.
 
SEND TO:  After all information is entered, select the next reviewer/approver from drop-down list and press send.  You will get a message that the document was successfully sent or a warning/error message.
For information on the Payroll Approval Cycle