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FAQs

Central Accounting and Vendor Operations

Q: Where can I get a copy of my 1099 for my work with the State of Colorado?
A: If you have not received or have lost your 1099 tax statement related to work performed for a State of Colorado agency, please email state_centralapproval@state.co.us. Please include your legal/business name and the last four digits of your Taxpayer ID Number (TIN). Your TIN is either your individual SSN or the EIN of your business entity.

Written requests can be sent to:

Central Accounting and Vendor Operations
1525 Sherman St 5th Floor
Denver, CO 80203

Q: My vendor is on hold and I am unable to process any documents for my vendor.
A: Open the vendor record through VCUST and scroll down to the Disbursement Options area. The Hold Reason field explains why the record is on hold. Please go to the Central Accounting and Vendor Operations page page or email state_centralapproval@state.co.us if you have additional questions.

Q: My vendor is on hold because their Legal Name and Taxpayer ID Number (TIN) does not match per the IRS. How can I activate the vendor?
A: Ask the vendor for a new W-9, and tell them that the Legal Name on Line 1 and/or the TIN provided does not match the IRS. If they say the W-9 is correct then please have the vendor provide documentation from the IRS (typically an SS-4 or 147C) for EINs or a copy of their Social Security Card for SSNs. Please forward this documentation to state_centralapproval@state.co.us.

 

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Central Payroll Services

Q: Where do I serve a garnishment for a state employee (not higher education)
A: Office of the State Controller - Central Payroll 1525 Sherman Street, Denver, CO 80202. Garnishments can be received by the reception desk on the 5th floor. More: Central Payroll Services.\

Q: Is there information about the commuter or uniform allowance changes in payroll tax withholding?
A: Please see Changes to State's Employment Tax Withholding.

 

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Employment Verification

Effective September 1, 2023, The Work Number (TWN) is the primary vendor for the
States Verification of Employment (VOE) program.

Q: Why did the State of Colorado change vendors?
A: The State of CO requested a VOE program as part of a bid for an Unemployment
Insurance (UI) Third-Party Administrator. To offer both UI Administration and VOE by
the same vendor was cost efficient.

Q: How do I get proof of employment/income?
A: To set up an account visit The Work Number Resource Page for employment
verifications.

Q: Do I get charged for my verification report?
A: Employees can obtain their Employee Data Report as many times as they would like
on the employee portal.  There is no limit.
 
Q: What should I do if there is incorrect information on the report?
A: First contact The Work Number service center at 866-222-5880, so they can put a
temporary HOLD on your data. They will work with your Department to correct the
information.
A:  Second you can contact your Department’s payroll office to request corrections to
your employee information.

Q: What is the State of Colorado's employer code?
A: The Work Number employer code is 35892.

 

 

 

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Direct Deposits

Employees, if you have a Direct Deposit question contact your agency payroll department for assistance.

Q: How do I get a bank added to CPPS?
A: To get a bank added to CPPS, contact your agency payroll department for assistance.

Q: How do I add an additional direct deposit?
A: Employees: Contact your agency payroll for assistance.

A: Agency: To set up additional direct deposits:

Employees may have up to 5 additional direct deposits.

To set up the additional direct deposits go into system 01, screen023-Direct Deposit Screen

Under Additional Direct Deposit Data the required fields are:

GTN ELMT- this field requires a GTN to be entered so that the additional direct deposit will be deducted from the employee's pay. The valid GTN's for additional direct deposit are: 181 through 185.

DESC CODE- this identifies what will print on the pay advice, i.e. checking, savings, credit union... The valid fields are:

C-Checking

X-Christmas Club

S-Savings

I-IRA

U-Credit Union

L-Loan

F-Foundation

TRANSIT NUMBER- this is the transit routing number for the receiving financial institution that the employee has selected. If an employee gives you a deposit slip that has a routing number starting with a "5", this is the internal routing number for the bank and cannot be used. Please refer to the bank table for the correct routing number.

ACCOUNT NUMBER- this is the account number that coincides with the routing number to designate the correct account to which pay is being deposited.

ACCT TYPE- this tells what type of account the direct deposit is going to. The valid choices are:

C-for checking

S-for savings accounts

L-for loan accounts-the "L" designation cannot be used for Credit Union of Colorado, it will mess up their internal processes.

AMOUNT OR PERCENT- this indicates how much is being direct deposited. Input a number for either a flat dollar amount or percentage. If it is a percentage, tab once after the number and input a "Y" in this field. If left blank, the flat dollar amount will be taken.

START DATE- this indicates the start date for when the pay will be direct deposited into the account chosen. Normally, this should be left blank so the ACH (Automated Clearing House) system can use the pre-notification period required (14 days). This will create a "prenote" slip after payroll has run that you should send to the employee to verify for accuracy.

When entering a bank transit number and the system highlights the transit number, first make sure it is not the internal routing number. If it is not, it is possible that the bank is not set up in CPPS. If this is the case, please contact the direct deposit desk (303-866-5805) at Central Payroll so that the bank can be set up. Often a fax (303-866-4138) with the voided check or deposit slip is all that is needed so that we can set-up the bank in CPPS.

Q: How long do I have to submit a Direct Deposit Delete form to Central Payroll?
A: You can submit a DD Delete form up to two business days before payday.

Q: How long does it take to cancel a direct deposit in CPPS after the bank has deleted the deposit?
A: Cancels for monthly employees will be cancelled on the next available monthly schedule, unless the 9xx payroll has not yet been processed, then it will be processed on the 9xx payroll. Biweekly employees will be processed on the next available biweekly schedule.

Q: How many direct deposit accounts can an employee have deposits go into?
A: One main account and five additional accounts.

Q: Will I receive a confirmation that the direct deposit delete has been processed?
A: Once the bank confirms that the direct deposit has been deleted, Central Payroll will email a confirmation that this has been processed and on what payroll the cancel will be processed on.

Q: Do I have to a request a CHOP check if the employee's bank account has been closed?
A: You do not have to request a CHOP if the employee's bank account was closed. Once you check that box as an option on the form, it will trigger Central Payroll to recognize that a hand drawn check will have to be printed and sent to the agency via black bag.

 

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Garnishments / Wage Attachments

Vendors

Q: Where should wage attachments/garnishments for State of Colorado employees be sent?
A: Wage attachments for all State of Colorado Employees, regardless of the location of the State agency or facility where the employee works, should be mailed to:

Office of the State Controller - Central Payroll

1525 Sherman Street, 5th Floor

Denver, CO 80203

 

Q: How can I find out if a plaintiff/debtor on a garnishment is an employee for the State of Colorado?
A: The State of Colorado currently uses The Work Number for this information.

 

Agency Payroll Offices

Q: What should I tell an employee who has questions about their wage attachment?
A: Please have the employee contact Central Payroll by phone (303-866-5804) or email (state_centralpayroll@state.co.us).

Q: What should I do if a wage attachment is served to our agency's payroll office?
A: Sign for the document and immediately send it to Central Payroll.

Q: Should copies of wage attachment documents be kept in the agency's payroll files for the employee?
A: Under no circumstances should copies be kept at the agency's payroll office. All documentation is kept in Central Payroll under strict retention guidelines.

Q: Who should deliver the employee copy of the wage attachment to the employee?
A: Only the agency payroll office may deliver the employee copy of the wage attachment to the employee to maintain confidentiality.

Q: How do I determine if my employee has an active wage attachment?
A: If an employee has a wage attachment, it is located on the Wage Attachment screen, 22 in Personnel Inquiry. The first thing to look at is the Start and Stop dates on the screen. If the start date is within the pay period being paid, then it is active. Often, an employee will have more than one wage attachment. Look at the stop date for each wage attachment. If the stop date is 99/99/9999 (no stop date) or within the pay period, then it is active.

To determine the type of wage attachment, look at the Type. There are several different types of wage attachments. They include:

CS - child support

SP - child support with court ordered health insurance

GN - garnishment

SL - defaulted student loan OR Colorado Dept. of Revenue tax levy

BK - bankruptcy repayment plan

PP - payment plan

FM, FS, FH, or FJ - IRS levy

The Vendor will give you the name and often the phone number of the vendor who is attaching the employee's wages. Place the cursor to the left of the title, Vendor, and push the PF8 key (Table Inquiry on the web) and the vendor will be displayed.

The Original Amount field, if completed, will show the original balance of the attachment. If it is not completed, this means it is either a child support (with no original amount owed) or a debt where interest accrues while the debt is being paid off.

The Current Balance field, if completed, will show the amount owed currently. Every time a deduction is taken for the wage attachment, this field is reduced by the amount withheld.

The Amount to Take field shows the amount being withheld in conjunction with the Frequency/% field. The Frequency/% field options are:

M - month

P - per pay period

% - percent

An employee may have several combinations of wage attachment types, but they are all based on priorities, as determined by Federal law. Child support has first priority over any other type of wage attachment. An IRS levy has second priority. Defaulted student loans, bankruptcies, and payment plans have third priority. Garnishments and Colorado Dept. of Revenue levies have fourth priority. If an employee receives an IRS levy, it will stop all other wage attachments, except child support. Only one garnishment can be paid at a time, any other garnishments will have to wait until the previous garnishment is paid off or the time expires. An employee may have more than one child support, student loan, or payment plan at a time.

Q: How does CPPS calculate wage attachments?
A: Based upon Federal Law, CPPS calculates most wage attachments as follows:

Gross Pay (including shift, OT, and LWOP)

-PERA

-Medicare

-Taxes(including local tax)

-Disposable Earnings

From Disposable Earnings, child support either takes the full amount for the Frequency or up to 65%.For child support with court ordered health insurance, Disposable Earnings excludes the amount of the employee's health insurance.

From Disposable Earnings, defaulted student loans take 10% or 15%.

For a garnishment, it is 25% of Disposable Earnings. However, if an employee has a child support or a student loan along with the garnishment, the 25% is reduced by the amount withheld for the child support or the student loan.

Colorado Dept. of Revenue levies take 25% of Disposable Earnings.

Bankruptcies and payment plans can take up to 90% of an employee's Disposable Earnings. However, these two types are generally voluntary and do not reach that percentage.

An IRS levy is a completely different calculation. An IRS levy allows the employee all of their deductions (including insurances and additional direct deposits) and then gives them a certain dollar amount of take home pay, based upon minimum wage and inflation, and then take the difference for the levy.

Employee

Q: I have a federal tax levy with the IRS and want to have the payments from my payroll checks reduced or stopped. Can this be done?
A: Please call the IRS at 1-800-829-7650. Any changes made by the IRS must be faxed immediately to Central Payroll at 303-866-4138.

Q: I have a state tax levy with the Colorado Department of Revenue and want the payments from my checks reduced or stopped. Can this be done?
A: Please call the Colorado Department of Revenue at 303-205-8291, option 0, to talk with a representative. Any changes made must be immediately faxed to Central Payroll at 303-866-4138.

Q: How much will be deducted from my payroll check for the wage attachment?
A: Payments are determined by federal and state laws:

Writs of Garnishments - up to 25% of disposable income

Support Payments - up to 65% of disposable income

Education Loans - up to 15% of disposable income

State Tax Levies - up to 25% of disposable income

IRS Tax Levies - determined by the IRS exemption chart

Q: Is disposable income the same as net income?
A: No. Disposable income is gross earnings, less only the deductions required by law (PERA, federal withholdings, state withholdings, Medicare, local tax).

Q: I have multiple wage attachments on my payroll record. The law states that garnishments are to be paid one at a time, so why are multiple payments being deducted from my payroll check?
A: Multiple wage attachments can be deducted from a single payroll check, as long as the combined amounts do not exceed the payment amounts determined by federal and state laws.

Q: I just received a wage attachment. When will the first payment be deducted from my wages?
A: In most cases, wage attachments are attached to the employee's wages during the current payroll cycle.

Q: I have a wage attachment, but cannot afford to have a payment deducted from my wages. Is there anything I can do?
A: Please contact the vendor/collection agency/attorney issuing the wage attachment. On occasion, reduced payments or payment plans can be arranged. Any changes to the wage attachment must be faxed immediately to Central Payroll at 303-866-4138.

Q: I have filed for bankruptcy. Will this stop my wage attachment payment deductions from payroll?
A: Please have your attorney fax the Notice of Bankruptcy to Central Payroll at 303-866-4138. All wage attachment payments will be stopped immediately, effective on the current payroll, with the exception of support payments.

 

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