State Agencies Bulletin No. 1522

Subject
Certification, Licensure and Exam Fee Reimbursement (CLEFR) for 2016 Administered by the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations (GOER), Public Employees Federation (PEF), and Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA)
Date Issued
November 3, 2016

Purpose

To inform agencies of the processing of the taxable fringe benefit CLEFR for 2016.

Legal Reference

Pursuant to Internal Revenue Code Section 61, certain fringe benefits such as the Certification, Licensure and Exam Fee Reimbursement are considered taxable income.

Affected Employees

Employees who participated in the PEF or CSEA Certification, Licensure and Exam Fee Reimbursement Program

Effective Date(s)

Administration paychecks dated November 30, 2016
Institution paychecks dated December 8, 2016

OSC Actions

OSC will process CLEFR transactions as submitted by GOER and CSEA.

The amount will be added through Time Entry using the earn code CFR. This amount is used for reporting and tax withholding purposes only and does not increase the employee’s compensation.

Tax Information

CFR is subject to all applicable withholding taxes.

The CLEFR amount will be reported on the employee’s Form W-2 in box 14 under code FRB.

Payroll Register and Employee’s Paycheck/Advice

The Earnings Code CFR and the amount will appear on the employee’s paycheck or direct deposit advice statement.

Communication to Affected Employees

PEF

A letter will be sent by the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations to affected PEF participants informing them of the tax implications. 

CSEA

CSEA participants are informed of the taxability upon enrollment in the program.

Questions

Questions regarding this bulletin may be e-mailed to the Tax and Compliance mailbox.