We anticipate mailing W-2s to employees by the third week in January.
Address Corrections or Updates
Please review your earnings statement to make certain your address is correct. Students and staff may update their mailing address on DuckWeb or by sending an email to Nancy Miller at nancy@uoregon.edu. The very last day for the Payroll Office to update addresses for the W-2 is January 4th.
To update your address in the benefits system, go on-line to http://pebb.das.state.or.us/ or send an email to Lynn Petersen at lynnp@uoregon.edu or to Cindi Peterson at cindip@uoregon.edu.
2008 W-4 Form
In any month that you wish to make a change to your federal and state withholdings, submit your W-4 Form to the Payroll Office during the first two weeks of the month.
W-4 Exempt Status
If you claimed exempt status on your W-4 in 2007, you must re-file to retain this status. The deadline for 2008 is February 15th. International employees may not claim exempt on the W-4. However, they may claim exemption from federal and state taxes if they qualify under a tax treaty.
W-5 Filing for Earned Income Credit
Form W-5 is only valid for a calendar year. The deadline for re-filing in 2008 is January 16th.
Tax Changes
The Social Security Wage Base rises to $102,000, an increase of $4,500 from the 2007 wage base of $97,500. As in prior years there is no limit to the wages subject to the Medicare tax; therefore, all covered wages are subject to a 1.45% tax.
Tax Deferred Investments
In 2008, employees may tax defer up to $15,500 in the Tax Deferred Investment (TDI) program and up to $15,500 in the Oregon Saving Growth Plan (OSGP). Employees, age 50 or older, may increase this amount by an additional $5,000 for a total of $20,500 in each program.
Minimum Wage Increases
Oregon’s minimum wage will increase by 15 cents from $7.80 per hour to $7.95 per hour. This adjustment will take effect January 1, 2008.
International Employees
The 1042-S Forms (Foreign Person's U.S. Source Income Subject to Withholding) will be mailed no later than the first week in February.
A new CO-NRA form for 2008 must be submitted to the Payroll Office by January 7th. The information you provide on this form allows our staff to code your tax status correctly for the coming year. You must attach copies of your I-94 and I-20 or DS-2019 to the CO-NRA form, even if there were no changes since last year. In addition, international employees claiming treaty benefits must again re-file Form 8233 with the appropriate attachment letter.
It is not mandatory to submit a new W-4 in 2008. However, if you would like to make any changes to your withholding amounts this year, the form and instructions may be found in the Employee Section of the Business Affairs website at http://baowww.uoregon.edu/forms.htm#EmployeeForms. For questions, send email to Debra Bohannan at dbohanna@uoregon.edu
2008 Benefit Plan Selections
Your December earnings statement reflects changes you made to your benefit package during open enrollment with the exception of changes in life insurance which require approval by the Standard Insurance Company. Please examine your earning statement closely to ensure that you have the coverage and the carriers you intended.
Remember that insurance benefits are paid in advance, so January’s premiums are paid in December. However, Dependent Care and Healthcare Flexible (FSA) deductions are based on the calendar year, with the first deduction for the plan year taken in January and the last deduction taken December. If you discover an error, contact the campus benefits office at 346-3085 prior to January 31, 2008.
Enroll/Update Direct Deposit Information On-Line
Enjoy the convenience of direct deposit and have your paycheck or travel reimbursements deposited directly into your checking or savings account. You may now enroll or make changes in DuckWeb directly or download the Direct Deposit Form from the Employee Section of the Business Affairs website at http://baowww.uoregon.edu/forms/dda.pdf.
Paperless Earnings Statements
Join the increasing number of university employees enrolled in direct deposit who now review their earning statement each month on DuckWeb. These employees are helping us to go paperless and greatly reduce costs. Direct depositors will need to check the box in the Earnings Statement window, which is found in the Employee Information Section of DuckWeb.
All employees, direct depositors and those still receiving a paper check, may both view and print-out current and previous earnings statements from prior years at any time. There are special web browser constraints when printing from a Macintosh computer: the DuckWeb print option does not work from Firefox, but does from Safari.
Business Affairs Website
While you are on-line, take some time to familiarize yourself with some of the other helpful information available in the Employee Section of our website.