What This Process Does

  • Details the setup of a child support deduction.


Best Practices

  • These guidelines are to assist in setup, but it's recommended that deductions be monitored for accuracy according to the court order.
  • Questions related to the court order should be directed to the agency that issued the order.
  • Setup will vary depending on the court order itself, and may require a different setup than described in this document.
  • When creating a new Deduction Description, use an existing deduction as a template. Important fields for a child support deduction setup are defined below. For general instructions on how to create a new Deduction Description, please go to Payroll → Documentation → Setup → "How can I create a new deduction?


Requirements

  • Prior to creating the Deduction Description, create a Vendor Master for the applicable agency. For general instructions on how to create a Vendor Master, please go to Vendor Payments → Documentation → Direct Vouchers → "How do I create a new vendor?"


Deduction Type

  • HR → Payroll → Setup → Deductions → Deduction Type
  • Deduction Type determines whether the deduction is Mandatory or Voluntary, the Computation Level and sheltering. Normally, Deduction Types do not need to be changed from the original setup.


FIELDSOpt.Rec.Req.Description
Deduction Type——♦A way to categorize deductions; multiple Deduction Descriptions can fall under one Deduction Type
Mandatory Deductions——♦Select if deduction will be set as a mandatory deduction; taxes are usually the only deduction types set to Mandatory; however, court order Deduction Types can be flagged as Mandatory deductions if they should be withheld from ALL Pay Types; this would be the case for orders that are a percentage of disposable wages versus a flat amount
Computation Level——♦Priority of withholding the deduction; the lower the number, the higher the priority; child support deductions should be set to a lower Computation Level than garnishments, so that the child support will be prioritized (i.e., be taken first)
Shelter Garnishment——♦If set to true on a CHILD SUPPORT Deduction Type, this means that the child support amount will be calculated and subtracted from the wages prior to calculating the garnishment deduction amount, if based on a percentage of disposable earnings; this allows for the child support to be withheld in full prior to the garnishment being computed
Voluntary Deduction——♦Select for deduction to be set as a voluntary deduction; normally, court order deduction types are set as Voluntary; however, they can be set to Mandatory to be withheld from ALL Pay Types; NOTE: that the Deduction Type is either Mandatory or Voluntary; it cannot be set as both
Opt. = Optional  Rec. = Recommended  Req. = Required


Deduction Description Master

Type Tab

FIELDSOpt.Rec.Req.Description
Deduction Deduction ID——♦Assign a unique ID; for example, CHILD SUPPORT - VA
Short Description——♦Enter a short description; normally (depending on GSV), this is what displays on employees' pay stubs
Deduction Type——♦As consistent with the court order, select either:
  • CHILD SUPPORT - for a flat-amount or %-of gross deduction
  • CHILD SUPPORT-D - for a %-of-disposable earnings deduction; corresponds with a Compute Type of Percentage of Adjusted Gross
Vendor ID——♦Select the applicable vendor
Address ID——♦Verify that this is the correct address for the vendor; if it is not clear the current address, and use the magnifying glass to search for the appropriate Address ID
Print on Separate Check♦——Flag this field if there are other Deduction Descriptions that have the same Vendor ID, and you would like this deduction to be on a separate Vendor Withholding check
VW Advice—♦—Flag this field if you would like to be able to generate a Withholding Advice out of the Payroll Vendor Withholding module for this Deduction Description; it would list employees and deduction amounts withheld for a specified pay date or month
Employer ID——♦Select the applicable Employer ID for this deduction
W-2 Deduction Type——♦Select NON-W2
Opt. = Optional  Rec. = Recommended  Req. = Required


Compute Tab

FIELDSOpt.Rec.Req.Description
Compute Type——♦As consistent with the court order; select either:
  • Flat Amount - to compute a flat $ amount
  • Percentage of Gross - to compute a % of gross pay
  • Percentage of Adjusted Gross - to compute a % of disposable earnings; corresponds with a Deduction Type of CHILD SUPPORT-D
$ field——♦Leave this field at $0.00; if a Compute Type of Flat Amount was chosen, the amount should be maintained at the employee level
 % field——♦If any of the Percentage options was chosen as the Compute Type, enter the % in this field
Opt. = Optional  Rec. = Recommended  Req. = Required


Flags Tab

FIELDSOpt.Rec.Req.Description
Active——♦Flag/mark as true to activate the deduction, and enable it to compute
Expensed——♦Flag/mark as true, so this deduction can be expensed
Use Limits♦——Flag/mark as true; if the child support order has a limit (typically they do not have a limit); each employee's deduction limit can be entered in his/her deduction master, which will cause the system to stop computing the deduction once the limit has been met
Liability——♦Flag/mark as true, so this deduction will be treated as a liability
Reduce Net——♦Flag/mark as true to designate this as an employee-paid deduction (i.e., that which should reduce an employee's net pay)
Pay Withholding——♦Flag/mark as true, so this deduction will be included in the Add V/W Vouchers process
Electronic Transfer♦—–Optional; flag/mark as true if this deduction will be paid by a means other than a check (i.e., paid online, over phone, by EFT)
Opt. = Optional  Rec. = Recommended  Req. = Required


Employee Deduction Master

  • After selecting the employee that this deduction applies to, populate the fields as described below.
FIELDSOpt.Rec.Req.Description
Deduction Description ID——♦Select the Child Support deduction from the Browse Deductions list
Active Deduction for this Employee——♦Flag/mark as true to activate the employee's deduction, and allow it to compute
Adjustment/Additional Amount——♦Enter the per-payroll deduction amount, as provided on the court order if a flat amount deduction; leave blank for percentage deductions or deductions based off a table lookup
Deduction Limit♦——Optional; it is not typical for a deduction limit or end date to be provided for child support deductions; NOTE: the Use Limits boolean on the Flags tab of the Deduction Description ID must be flagged/marked as true in order for this field to be available
Case/Account Number—♦—Enter the case/account number referenced on the court order; this will appear on the Vendor Withholding Advice
Opt. = Optional  Rec. = Recommended  Req. = Required

Additional Setup


  • Add a Deduction Account with Cash and Liability Codes.