Understanding Tables for Wage Attachments
This chapter provides an overview of tables for wage attachments, and discusses how to:
Set up garnishment tables
Set up exemption tables
Understanding Tables for Wage Attachments
You set up tables for wage attachments to follow government guidelines for calculating deduction amounts for garnishments and levies. Garnishment tables contain the federal or state wage ranges and calculation methods for garnishments. The exemption tables contain the annual exemption amounts, established by the federal and state governments, that you use to determine the wages that are exempt from a levy. You can also set up tables that specify additional amounts of exempt wages for employees who claim disabilities. You should set up these tables before you create the (deductions, benefits, and accruals) DBAs for garnishments and levies.
The court that imposes the garnishment determines the method that you use to calculate a garnishment for an employee. To help the courts determine reasonable methods for calculating garnishments, the federal government (as well as some states) issues guidelines for calculating garnishments. You can set up tables that reflect these guidelines.
For employees who owe tax levies, government agencies might set standard annual exemption amounts. An employee's exemption amount is the amount of disposable wages that the employee is allowed to keep after the tax levy payment is deducted. Employees might be allowed a personal exemption and an exemption based on their marital status. Disabled employees might also be allowed an additional exemption amount. You can set up tables that define the government exemption amounts for levies.
Setting Up Garnishment Tables
This section provides an overview of garnishment tables and discusses how to set up garnishment tables.
Understanding Garnishment Tables
The court that imposes the garnishment determines the method that you use to calculate a garnishment for an employee. Garnishments for different employees can use different calculation methods. Typical calculation methods include a monetary amount or a percentage of the employee's disposable wages.
Using the government guidelines, you set up calculation tables that specify:
The range of wage amounts that are subject to garnishments.
The methods that the system uses to calculate the garnishment for each wage range.
For federal guidelines, you must set up a garnishment table for each pay frequency that you pay employees. You must also set up garnishment tables for any state taxing authorities (tax areas) that have guidelines that supersede the federal guidelines.
Because the system enables you to associate only one calculation table with a DBA, you must enter the same attachment table number for all garnishment tables. When the system calculates a garnishment for an individual employee, it uses the employee's pay frequency and tax area to determine the applicable garnishment table.
Note. You cannot set up garnishment table information on the standard calculation tables that are used for other DBA calculations (P059021). To ensure that government-initiated garnishments are calculated correctly, you must use the Wage Attachment Garnishment Table program (P07931).
Forms Used to Set Up Garnishment Tables
Setting Up Garnishment Tables
Access the Garnishment Table Revisions form.
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Wage Attachment Table |
Assigns a number to the garnishment calculation table. When you set up the corresponding wage attachment deduction, enter this number in the Table Code field for the deduction. If you need to set up multiple calculation tables for a wage attachment DBA, use the same attachment table number for each of these calculation tables. |
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Table Description |
Describes the table. |
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Date - Ending Effective |
Enter the last date in a range of effective dates. |
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Amount or Rate |
Enter a monetary amount or an hourly rate. Values are: 1: For a deduction, benefit, or accrual, the meaning of this value depends on the method of calculation. The method determines whether the deduction is a flat monetary amount, a percentage, or a multiplication rate. Table method DBAs, depending on which table method they use, can either use this amount in the calculation or ignore it. If exceptions to the table calculation exist, you can override the table code in the detail area, set up a flat monetary DBA amount, or override the amount with a one-time override for a timecard. 2: For a pay type, amounts that are entered in this field override the hourly rate. |
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Method |
Enter a value that specifies the method that the system uses to calculate a garnishment withholding amount for a disposable wage range. Values are: $: Flat dollar amount. *: Net calculation amount. If the disposable net wage is between the upper and lower range, the amount equals the difference between the disposable net wage and the lower amount. %: Percent. P: Percent with progressive table. To use this calculation method, a progressive table needs to be set up. For example, using a progressive table, the system could take 5 percent of the first 100.00 USD, 10 percent of the second 100.00 USD, and 20 percent of the remaining balance. You can use this method only with garnishments. |
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Pay Frequency |
Enter the user-defined code (UDC) (07/PF) that indicates how often an employee is paid. Values are: B: Biweekly. W: Weekly. S: Semimonthly. M: Monthly. A: Annually. C: European Annualized. The system uses the value in the Description-2 field on UDCs to calculate the amount per pay period for a salaried employee. |
Setting Up Exemption Tables
This section provides an overview of exemption tables and discusses how to:
Set up standard annual exemption amounts.
Set up additional exemption amounts for disabilities.
Set up exemption calculation tables for exemption rules.
Understanding Exemption Tables
Before you can process wage attachments for employees, you must determine whether any portion of their earnings are exempt from being included in wage attachment calculations. You use exemption tables to calculate standard exemption amounts along with the additional exemption amounts that are given the employees with disabilities.
Exemption Tables for Tax Levies
Government agencies set standard annual exemption amounts for employees who owe tax levies. Some states set exemption amounts that supersede the federal amounts. An employee's exemption amount is the amount of disposable wages that the employee is allowed to keep after the tax levy payment is deducted. Employees are allowed a personal exemption and an exemption based on their marital status. Disabled employees are also allowed an additional exemption amount. You can set up tables that define the government exemption amounts for levies.
To simplify setting up levy deductions for employees, you can set up tables that define these exemption amounts. For each employee who owes a levy, the system uses these tables to calculate the amount of disposable wages that is exempt from the tax levy.
Example: Setting Up Exemption Levies
These amounts are derived from the table for a single employee with one personal exemption:
2,500.00 USD single.
2,300.00 USD one personal exemption.
4,800.00 USD total annual exemption.
The total annual exemption is divided by the number of pay periods per year. If the employee is paid semimonthly, 24 pay periods per year, the amount that is exempt from the levy is 200.00 USD per pay period.
Standard Annual Exemption Amounts
You set up exemption tables based on the amounts that are provided by the federal and state governments.
Note. (USA) Currently, the categories for exemptions are the same as those that are used for United States federal income-tax exemptions. You can review the IRS Publication 1494 for the current year's Table for Figuring Amounts Exempt from Levy on Wages, Salary and Other Income to determine the correct amounts. This publication is available from the Internal Revenue Service.
Additional Exemption Amounts for Disabilities
When an employee or an employee's spouse meets certain conditions such as age or disability, the employee might have additional exemptions for tax levies. The federal and state governments provide the information that you need to complete these tables.
Exemption Calculation Tables for Exemption Rules
The government might have specified either a percentage of the employee's wages or a minimum amount that cannot be garnished. You can create different types of exemption calculation tables to calculate the exemption amount, including:
A single range table in which an exemption amount is calculated by determining the range within which the employee's wages fall.
The exception amount is a flat dollar amount.
A single range table in which an exemption amount is calculated by determining the range within which the employee's wages fall.
The exception amount is a percentage.
A progressive exemption table in which an exemption amount is calculated for each row in which the employee's wages are greater than the upper limit or the employee's wages fall within the upper and lower limit.
Use the Table Method field to specify the type of exemption calculation table that you want to use. The table type is E, for exemption table.
Note. (CAN) Legislation exists within Canada requiring either a specific amount or a percentage of wages to be exempt from maintenance orders (child support) and garnishments.
See Canadian Wage Attachments.
Forms Used to Set Up Exemption Tables
Setting Up Standard Annual Exemption Amounts
Access the Wage Attachment Exemption Revisions form.
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Personal Exemption |
Enter the standard personal exemption amount for the calculation of tax levy exempt dollars for an individual. Currently this exemption amount is the same as the exemption amount for the calculation of Federal Income Tax. |
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Standard Ded. Single (standard deduction single), Standard Ded. Head Household (standard deduction head of household), Standard Ded. Married Joint (standard deduction married joint), Standard Ded. Married Separate (standard deduction married separate), and Standard Ded. Survive Spouse (standard deduction surviving spouse) |
Enter the standard annual wage amount that is exempt from levies if the employee's filing status is Single, Head of Household, Married Filing Jointly, Married Filing Separately, or Surviving Spouse. |
Setting Up Additional Exemption Amounts for Disabilities
Access the Wage Attachment Disability Exemption Revisions form.
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Disability Flag |
Enter the code that is recognized by the federal government that indicates whether the employee has a disability that may cause the calculation of a tax levy to change. |
Setting Up Exemption Calculation Tables for Exemption Rules
Access the Calculation Table form.
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Table Code |
Enter a code that designates the table to be accessed in the Table file (F069026). Note. This field must be numeric. |
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Table Type |
Enter E to identify this table as a wage attachment exemption calculation table. |
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Table Method |
Enter a value that specifies the method in which the exemption is calculated. For wage attachment exemptions, values are: E1: Single exemption range - dollar. The system retrieves a single exemption value based on the range within which the employee’s wages fall and returns that value as a flat dollar exemption. E2: Single exemption range - percentage. The system retrieves a single exemption value based on the range within which the employee’s wages fall and returns that value as a percentage. E3: Progressive exemption range - percentage. The system retrieves a progressive exemption amount, where an exemption amount is calculated for each row in which the employee’s wages are greater than the upper limit or where the employee’s wages fall within the upper and lower limit. If the employee's wages are greater than the upper limit, the exemption amount for that row is calculated as the upper limit minus the lower limit multiplied by the rate from the table. If the wages fall within the upper and lower limit, the exemption for that row is calculated as the wages minus the lower limit multiplied by the rate from the table. The total exemption will be the sum of each row's exemption amount. |
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Lower Limit |
Enter the lower or minimum amount to be compared. |
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Upper Limit |
Enter the upper or maximum amount to be compared. |
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Amt/Rate (amount/rate) |
Enter the amount or rate to be used in the calculation. |