Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Payroll
Please refer to the Payroll Schedules and Deadlines regarding the pay date.
Salaried monthly employees will get paid on the 1st working day of the month.
University employees are encouraged to enroll in Direct Deposit to have paychecks automatically deposited into their bank account on scheduled pay dates. Please click here for Direct Deposit’s user guide on how to enroll in Direct Deposit.
In a situation where no Direct Deposit account is set up, a manual paper check is printed and available for pick up at the Bursar’s Office based on your work location.
Employees may enroll in direct deposit through PeopleSoft’s Employee Self- Service Portal following steps below or click here for the Direct Deposit’s user guide.
- Visit utrgv.edu and log in with your UTRGV credentials
- Click on the PeopleSoft icon
- Click on Payroll and Compensation tile (located within Employee Self-Service)
- Click on Direct Deposit
- Click on Add Account and enter your banking information
Please review the PeopleSoft Pay Slip User Guide for detailed information on reading your earnings statement.
Please send a detailed email to HR Benefits at benefits@utrgv.edu.
- Your appointment was not fully approved.
- Your timesheet did not get approved before the payroll deadline.
- Please, contact your department to find out more information on your pay.
FICA is the abbreviation for the Federal Insurance Contribution Act and a combination of a 6.2% Social Security tax and a 1.45% Medicare tax the IRS imposes on employee earnings. FICA taxes are withheld from employee paychecks unless the employee qualifies for an exemption.
Social Security tax is also known as OASDI (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance). There is a wage base limit for Social Security taxes, meaning you stop paying Social Security tax once your income exceeds a certain threshold.
There is no wage base limit for Medicare tax. However, if wages paid in excess of $200,000 in a calendar year, you will be subject to an additional 0.9% Medicare tax on earnings above that threshold.
The IRS provides an exemption from FICA taxes for students paid by the universities in which they are enrolled. There are regulations that define who is eligible for the exemption from these taxes.
- Student FICA exemption rules require that students:
- Be enrolled at least half time (6 hours during the regular academic semester, 3 hours during summer academic terms).
- Work no more than 20 hours per week across all assignments.
- Are not eligible to participate in employee retirement plans, or receive employee benefits such as employee paid leave, or employee insurance benefits.
- A student in their final semester (has applied for graduation) and enrolled in the number of hours needed to complete his/her graduation requirements, is still eligible for the FICA exemption, even if he/she is taking fewer credit hours than required.
Note: FICA is the abbreviation for the Federal Insurance Contribution Act and a combination of a 6.2% Social Security tax and a 1.45% Medicare tax the IRS imposes on employee earnings. FICA taxes are withheld from employee paychecks unless the employee qualifies for an exemption.
To exempt students from FICA tax, we cross-check employee and student records using Social Security numbers (SSNs). If a student’s SSN is missing from their records, they may still be subject to FICA tax until it’s updated. Please email payroll@utrgv.edu for assistance if you have additional questions.
Note: FICA is the abbreviation for the Federal Insurance Contribution Act and a combination of a 6.2% Social Security tax and a 1.45% Medicare tax the IRS imposes on employee earnings. FICA taxes are withheld from employee paychecks unless the employee qualifies for an exemption.
Federal income tax withholding on employees' regular payroll is calculated based on an employee's Form W-4 settings and the Internal Revenue Service's Tax Withholding Tables, which the IRS updates annually.
Earnings paid to employees that are not regular wage payments, such as employee awards, one-time merits, performance pay, voluntary separation incentive program payouts, and vacation payouts, are considered supplemental wages and are subject to a flat 22% federal tax withholding rate.
Note: Form W-4, also known as the Employee's Withholding Certificate, is an IRS form that employees complete to indicate their tax withholding preferences to their employer.
W-2
A W2 form, also known as a “Wage and Tax Statement,” is an official tax document that employers furnish to the employees by January 31st. It reports your taxable income, taxes withheld from your paychecks as well as benefits provided during the previous year.
After receiving the form, you are required to file your U.S. personal income tax return with the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) using information from W2.
The U.S. tax filing deadline is the 15th of April, or the first business day after.
Active Employees:
- Electronic copies are available on PeopleSoft for active employees who have provided consent.
- Paper Copies are mailed out to the last address on file for active employees that have not consented to electronic copies.
- To update your address:
- Active Employees: Please login into PeopleSoft and click on the Personal Details tile. Click on the Mailing Address to update.
- To update your address:
- Paper Copies are mailed out to the last address on file.
- To update your address on file, please reach out to HR Records Office at records@utrgv.edu with your full name and new mailing address to update what is in PeopleSoft.
- If you need to request a W2 that was lost or mailed out to a previous address, please fill out the Former Employee W2 Request Form.
Employees can elect in PeopleSoft to receive their W2 electronically.
- Log into PeopleSoft
- Select Payroll and Compensation
- Click W2/W2c Consent
Your W-2 reports taxable wages, not gross wages. The IRS allows gross wages to be reduced by certain pre-tax benefits to determine your reportable taxable wages. Below are the calculations for Box 1, Box 3, and Box 5 wages.
Box 1: Taxable wages = gross pay - pre-tax medical deductions and retirement deductions.
Box 3: Social Security wages = gross pay – pre-tax medical deductions (not including retirement deductions)
Box 5: Medicare wages = gross pay – pre-tax medical deductions (not including retirement deductions)
Box 12 reports elective deferrals and designated Roth contributions, neither of which TRS or ORP falls under.
TRS and ORP contributions are mandatory contributions and cannot be reported in Box 12 of the W-2.The amount in Box 12 of your W-2 with Code DD is the total employer-contributed medical insurance coverage. This information is for reporting purposes only and is not taxable to the employee.
W2 has a limit to the characters in the name box; if your name exceeds the limit, your name will be shortened. The most important details are your first initial of your first name and your full last name.
- For example: John Smith will show as J. Smith
The W2 is a calendar year tax form. If you are a faculty member and started working in September and have an assignment ending in August of the following year, your contract will be paid partially in one W2 and partially in the next year’s W2.