Purpose

This bulletin replaces Bulletin P55/A441. It updates calendar year-end procedures relating to taxable travel reimbursements in order for the State to comply with IRS reporting requirements. Taxable travel reimbursements include Excess Personal Car Mileage (PCM) Reimbursements, Excess Per Diem Payments, Non-overnight Meal Allowances and payments to employees taxable under the IRS One-Year Rule.

Excess PCM and Per Diem Amounts-IRS rules relating to employee business expense reimbursements require withholding and W-2 reporting on any excess amounts paid. The "excess amount" is the portion greater than the applicable Federal rate and not substantiated by receipts. The 1999 maximum rate allowed by IRS for PCM is 32.5 cents per mile from January 1st through March 31st and 31 cents per mile from April 1st through December 31st. Current maximum Federal per diems for the continental US can be found on the Comptroller's Internet Home Page: http:/www.osc.state.ny.us/agencies/us.

Non-Overnight Meal Allowances-The IRS requires employers to report and withhold income and employment taxes from meal allowances for non-overnight travel (day trips).

One-Year Rule-The IRS requires employers to report travel reimbursements and withhold income and employment taxes if employment away from home at a single location is realistically expected to last for more than one year.

Explanations of rules for excess PCM, Per Diem Amounts, Non- overnight Meal Allowances and One-Year Rule can be found in the Accounting Controls and Special Procedures Manual, Volume XI, Section 8.

Year End Process

Agencies should have taxable travel reimbursements paid by the Central Accounting System on or before December 10, 1999. Otherwise, Agencies will be required to prepare corrected W-2 statements for 1999, and initiate Social Security/Medicare deficiency deductions through PaySR in 2000.

NOTE: For the CAS to process payments by December 10:

Batches containing taxable travel vouchers to be entered by OSC must be processed in accordance with CAS bulletin #A460/P55. Vouchers entered by Agencies must be accordance with CAS bulletin #A460/P55.

Batches of Quick Pay Travel vouchers to be paid by 12/10/99 must be certified for payment by 12/09/99.

Payment dates on vouchers must be 12/10/99 or earlier.

Payments December 1-10

Taxable travel reimbursement data is transferred from the CAS to the Payroll System at month end, January through November. This year, a special transfer from the CAS to PaySR will be run on December 10, 1999. This transfer will include vouchers with taxable reimbursements paid from December 1 through December 10. These reimbursements will appear at "Taxable Expense" on Administration payroll checks dated 12/22/99 and Institution payroll checks dated 12/30/99. Appropriate amounts will be withheld for these payments.

Payments after December 10

Agencies should avoid payment of taxable travel reimbursements by the CAS from 12/11 through 12/29 (CAS is down 12/30 and 12/31). If taxable travel reimbursements are paid by the CAS during this period, they will not be included as income nor taxed appropriately on the employee's W-2 issued by PaySR. As a result, Agencies will be required to prepare corrected W-2 statements for 1999, and initiate Social Security/Medicare deficiency deductions through PaySR in 2000.

A year-end Payroll bulletin will be issued instructing agencies in the preparation of corrected W-2's for 1999 and the method of initiating Social Security/Medicare deductions through PaySR in 2000.

CAS Reports

Agencies will receive a special VOU943, Listing of Taxable Employee Travel Payments by Agency, for the December 10, 1999 transfer. This report will print at agency printers. Agencies without printers will receive this report through the mail.

Agencies will receive the monthly VOU943 for December, but it will contain only the taxable expense transactions paid after December 10.

The VOU943 reports should be used to confirm taxable amounts paid during December, and to identify any payments requiring W-2 corrections and Social Security/Medicare deficiency deductions.

PCM Corrections

All corrections to excess amount payments on the PCM file must be made by 12/29/99, so that the amounts on the PCM010 can be reconciled with the excess amounts reported on the employee's 1999 W-2. Other corrections that the Agencies choose to make to the PCM file must be made by 1/07/2000 to be reflected on adjusted year-end reports.

Questions

Please direct payroll questions regarding this bulletin to the Payroll Deductions mailbox. Direct other questions to the Accounting Information Center at (518) 473-1170 or [email protected]