Payroll Services - Frequently Asked Questions

University faculty, staff, and student employees are paid on a biweekly basis. 

First, verify with your bank if you received a direct deposit of your check. If your check has not been deposited, please contact your Departmental Payroll Coordinator to verify that you have a paper check.  Payroll checks are available for pick-up at the Accounts Payable office pickup window on the fifth floor of 865 Research Parkway, Suite 580. The office can be reached at (405) 271-2410.

The State of Oklahoma makes the payment of earnings by direct deposit mandatory for all state employees effective June 2007. This requirement does not extend to students or temporary employees, but all employees are eligible and it is the preferred method of payment. All paper checks for students or temporary employees are required to be picked up in person with a photo ID. You can setup direct deposit through Employee Self Service. If you do not have access to Employee Self Service, please contact HR Records, (405)271-2180 for a direct deposit form.

Earnings Statements are available to employees on the Employee Self Service website. If you are not receiving your earnings statement, contact your Departmental Payroll Coordinator. For information on how to read your earnings statement, please see My Paycheck.

Taxes are figured using tax tables provided by the federal and state governments. The calculations are based on the amount of pay, the pay period, and the allowances you claimed on your W-4. If you receive more money than usual during a particular pay period this could move you to a higher tax table causing more taxes to be withheld for the pay period. Additional wages (such as supplemental pay, retro pay, paid leave payouts, etc) are taxed at specified Supplemental Federal and State Wage Tax Rates.

See Publication 15-t for more information on Federal Withholding taxes.

https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-15-t

Depending on how much you are paid and the exemptions you claim on your W-4, your gross earnings for a pay period may not be enough to put you in the lowest tax table. When this happens, you may not pay enough or any federal taxes. If this should be the case on many of your paychecks, you may wish to visit with a Tax Accountant to discuss other options for paying additional taxes. That way you won't be surprised with an amount due when you figure your income taxes at the end of the year.

FICA includes Medicare and Social Security taxes. The IRS permits certain students to be exempt from paying FICA who work at the college they are attending pursuant to Internal Revenue Code 3121(b)(10). International students who maintain their student visa responsibilities are not subject to FICA taxes pursuant to Internal Revenue Code 3121(b)(19) until they meet substantial presence (in U.S. for more than five years). At this point they become subject to the same FICA rules that apply to U.S. students.

A W-2 is a wage and tax statement. The W-2's are prepared after the end of the calendar year and must be mailed to the employee by January 31st.

Requests for prior year duplicate W-2's are not accepted before February 15 of the current year. If you are a current employee, you are able to view this form through the Employee Self Service portal. If you are a former employee and have not received your W-2 or are wanting a duplicate copy, please contact payroll-services@ouhsc.edu for more information. You may also call Equifax directly at 1-877-325-9239 to obtain a copy.

All University employees are required to complete a Federal and State W4 when they are hired. You will also need to review your Form W-4 and make appropriate changes if you have had a major life change, such as marriage or divorce, death of a spouse, or birth/adoption of a child.

• W-4 changes should be made electronically using Employee Self Service.
• To change your W-4 settings electronically, go to the Human Capital PeopleSoft menu and enter your changes.
  • OU Job Aid - Employee Self Service Tax Withholding PDF W4
  • OU Job Aid - Employee Self Service W4 Troubleshooting​

• Nonresident Aliens have only one W-4 reporting option which is to select “single (box 3) and 1 exemption (box 5) and write “NRA to to the left of box 6 on the W-4 form. Note: Nonresident Aliens must check with Payroll Services (405-271-2055) before changing W-4 withholding allowances.

Employees without a W-4 will be taxed at the highest single tax rate. 

Typically, months with 3 pay days will not have the deductions listed as 24 deductions per year taken out of your 3rd check. This is called a 'benefits premium holiday'.

Garnishments will be taken out as dictated by your particular garnishment. In most cases, garnishments are taken every payment you receive, including paid leave payouts after you leave the university.

PTO Payouts are automatic through the TAL system. You will receive your payout according to HR Policy automatically on the pay cycle FOLLOWING your last regular paycheck. If there is a delay in processing your termination, you paid leave payout will pay on the pay cycle following the processing date of your termination. If you need to verify the exact date, please contact your Departmental Payroll Coordinator.

Employees are to let their supervisor know of the incorrect balance. Their supervisor or payroll coordinator will use the Leave Balance Adjustment Form located on the Payroll Services website.

PTO is accrued biweekly and based on hours paid for hourly employees. This means that if an employee has leave without pay (LWOP) they will accrue LESS PTO, prorated based on how much LWOP you have in a pay period. If an employee is paid for additional regular hours (i.e., hours above 40 in a work week excluding overtime/comp time), then an employee will accrue MORE PTO in a pay period. Please see the OUHSC Leave Accrual Program located here.

Salaried employees who work <.75 FTE use a duration time sheet to track hours for ACA. Instructions for this are found in section 11 of the employee manual here. If you do not have regular computer access, you can use a paper time sheet to track hours and have your supervisor or Payroll Coordinator input your duration time. An example paper time sheet is found in the paper forms section here.