Overview of Tax Modeling
If you look at your paycheck stub or direct deposit advice slip, you will notice that your take-home pay (Net Income) is only a fraction of your total earned income (Gross Income). Your Net Income is the result after taxes and reductions/deductions have been subtracted from your pay.
The amount of taxes taken from your pay may include Federal and/or State taxes as calculated from your tax status (marital status, withholding allowances, etc.) which you indicated on the Federal Tax Form W-4, State Tax Form DE-4, or international tax treaties forms you filed upon your employment with the University.
Reductions (amounts subtracted prior to taxes being taken) and deductions (amounts subtracted after taxes have been taken) are the fees, contributions and amounts you have agreed to pay for participation in the various benefits plans in which you enrolled (e.g., health plans, retirement plans, insurance, etc.).
WebEmTaxModeling is a process which allows you to experiment making adjustments to your tax status and benefits plans to see how they would affect your pay.
| Note: | Any changes you make on this tax modeling process only provides you with a model of possible
results. No changes are made to your actual tax status and/or benefits options. To make real
adjustments, contact your Home Department Coordinator or
University Payroll Services for tax status changes,
and contact the Benefits Office for benefits information. Also, although you may experiment with different tax models here, certain options actually may not be available to you as governed by Federal and State, and/or International tax treaty laws. For more information regarding tax laws, visit University Payroll Services. University Payroll Services cannot provide tax advice. Please consult the Internal Revenue Service, Franchise Tax Board, a Certified Public Accountant or a tax specialist for advice on payroll taxes. |
Tax Modeling Selection Page
- Check to see if your displayed Employee information is correct. Contact your Home Department Coordinator for corrections.
- You may choose to work with your current earnings and deduction data, or start with a blank tax model.
First-time users may want to select "Yes" for existing earnings information and existing voluntary deduction information to begin the tax modeling experience. This choice will provide you the opportunity to see your existing gross pay and your reductions/deductions and then to change existing data, add new data or delete existing pay lines and voluntary deductions/reductions.
Do you want to use existing earnings information? Select "Yes" to start the tax model with your current earnings. If you select "Yes," you may change or edit the current earnings data when it loads onto the Tax Modeling page.
Select "No" to start the tax model with no earning data.Do you want to use existing voluntary deductions information? Select "Yes" to start the tax model with your current voluntary benefits deductions. If you select "Yes," you may change, delete or add to the existing current voluntary deductions.
Select "No" to start the tax model with no voluntary benefits deductions data. You cannot alter non-voluntary benefits plans. - After selecting your starting tax model data, click the "Submit" button to continue.
You may exit this process at any time by clicking on the "Exit" button located near the bottom of each web page.
Tax Modeling Summary Entry Page
This Entry page is where you make adjustments and experiment with different criteria to see how they affect your taxation and deductions/reductions. To see the results of your changes, click on the "Compute..." button located near the bottom of the Entry page. Remember that any changes you make in this Tax Modeling process does not affect your data in the system.
- Make as many adjustments as you'd like in the various areas on the Summary Entry page.
- After making your changes, click on the "Compute..." button located near the bottom of the page to see the resulting calculations.
The Summary Entry page contains the following sections in which you may make any adjustments.
Miscellaneous Information Section
| Tax Frequency |
The Tax Frequency is the time frame used in calculating the tax model.
The total tax withheld in the tax frequency you specify correlates to the total gross amount you would earn in that
same tax frequency. For example, if you specified a "Monthly" tax frequency, the system
will show you the result totals for one month; or if you want to see the totals for an entire calendar year, you
would select an "Annual" tax frequency. NOTE: You do not have the option of changing your tax frequency in actual payroll. The frequency for taxation must be the same as the frequency of your pay (i.e., either monthly or biweekly). The options offered in Tax Modeling are for your information only. | |
| Tax Country | The tax country is which country's tax laws in which you are subjected. Unless you are a international resident filing under a foreign nation's tax treaty, the tax country is U.S. You cannot adjust this item. |
Federal Tax Information Section
| Tax Exempt | Select whether or not (Yes or No) you would be exempt from Federal tax withholdings. To be exempt from Federal tax withholding means Federal taxes would not be withheld when you are paid. | |
| Marital Status | Select whether you are claiming Single or Married status. | |
| # of Allowances | Select the number of allowances you are claiming. The higher the number of allowances, the less amount of taxes will be withheld from your paycheck. For this Web Tax Modeling process, you cannot have more than 9 allowances. | |
| Extra Withholding | Enter a numerical dollar value for the amount of extra Federal taxes you want withheld from your paycheck for the Tax Frequency you selected in the above Miscellaneous Section. (e.g., if you selected a Monthly Tax Frequency and entered $100.00 in this entry, an additional $100.00 would be withheld from your pay every month.) | |
| Take FICA | FICA is Federal Social Security & disability taxes. Select "Yes" or "No" to include or not include FICA taxes into your tax model calculations. | |
| W5 Spouse Filing | If you have filed a W5 Form for Advanced Earned Income Tax Credit, information regarding its status will be indicated here. You cannot adjust this item. | |
| W5 Expiration Date | If you have filed a W5 Form, this field will display its expiration date. You cannot adjust this item. |
State Tax Information Section
| Tax Exempt | Select whether or not (Yes or No) you would be exempt from State tax withholdings. To be exempt from State tax withholding means State taxes would not be withheld when you are paid. | |
| Marital Status | Select whether you are claiming Single, Married, or Head of Household status. | |
| # of Allowances | Select the number of allowances you are claiming. The higher the number of allowances, the less amount of taxes will be withheld from your paycheck. For this Web Tax Modeling process, you cannot have more than 9 allowances. | |
| Additional Allowances | Any additional allowances you have are listed here. You cannot adjust this item. | |
| Extra Withholding | Enter a numerical dollar value for the amount of extra State taxes you want withheld from your paycheck for the Tax Frequency you selected in the above Miscellaneous Section. (e.g., if you selected a Monthly Tax Frequency and entered $100.00 in this entry, an additional $100.00 would be withheld from your pay every month.) | |
| Take Disability | Indicate whether or not ("Yes" or "No") you want to be taxed for State Disability Insurance. | |
| Disability Plan | Select a disability insurance plan. If you are a Staff of Faculty member, disability coverage is required. The University offers a choice between the State Plan or the University Plan. |
Earnings Section
If, on the Tax Modeling Selection Page, you selected "Yes" to start the Tax Model with your current earnings information, the Earnings Section will display your current earnings data.
If you selected to start the Tax Model with "No" earnings information, the Earnings Section will display all the different types of earnings available and the dollar amount you may receive for the
tax frequency specified in the Miscellaneous Information section.
To alter the dollar amount for an earning type or delete an earning type, click on the corresponding "Edit..." button for that line to go to the Earnings Entry Page.
Voluntary Deductions Section
If, on the Tax Modeling Selection Page, you selected "Yes" to start the Tax Model with your current voluntary deductions, the Voluntary Deductions Section will display deduction and coverage amounts for all voluntary plans in which you are enrolled.
If you selected to start the Tax Model with "No" voluntary deductions data, the Voluntary Deductions Section will display generic deduction types which you may edit to insert the amount of the employee cost of the coverage you want for this tax modeling. (Refer to the Benefits web site or the annual publication "Your Benefits" for detailed benefit Employee cost and coverage.
The Deduction amount shown in this section is the dollar amount subtracted from your pay for the benefit. And the Coverage amount is the dollar amount the benefit provides.
To change or delete a deduction, click on the corresponding "Edit..." button for that line to go to the Deductions Entry Page.
If you need to add another deduction line, click on the "Add a New Item" button located at the bottom of the Deduction section.
For more information regarding employment benefits and their deductions, contact the Benefits Office.
Tax Model Calculations
There are 3 buttons near the bottom of the Summary Entry Page:
| Compute... | After making all the changes you want on your tax model, click on this button to calculate the data. The results will display on the Results Page. | |
| Select Another... | To cancel any changes and start over, click on this button to return to the Tax Model Selection Page to select a new Tax Model. | |
| Exit Process | Click on this button to quit the Tax Modeling process and return to the Employee Services Menu. |
Tax Modeling Earnings Entry Page
You may adjust the dollar amount for earnings on this page to see how it would affect your tax model.
| Description | This is just a description of the type of earning you receive. Adjusting this item has no effect on the tax model calculations, so just leave this item alone. | |
| Dollar Amount | This is the dollar amount of earning you would receive for the the tax frequency you specified in the Miscellaneous Information section on the Summary Page. You may change the amount to see how it would affect your tax model calculations. | |
| Earning Type | This is a cryptic system code used to identify specific earnings types. Adjusting this item has no effect on the tax model calculations, so just leave this item alone. |
There are 3 buttons on this page:
| Save... | Click on this button to submit your earnings changes, and you will return to the Summary Entry Page. | |
| Exit... | To cancel any changes, click on this button to return to the Summary Entry Page. | |
| Delete... | Click on this button to remove the earning line from the Summary Entry Page. |
Tax Modeling Voluntary Deductions Entry Page
You may adjust the dollar amount for earnings on this page to see how it would affect your tax model.
| Description | This is just a description of the type of the benefits plan.
Adjusting this item has no effect on the tax model calculations, so just leave this item alone. However, if you are creating a new Deduction line, you may enter a short description for this Deduction line. | |
| Dollar Amount | This is the dollar amount of that would be subtracted from your pay for the tax frequency you specified in the Miscellaneous Information section on the Summary Page. You may change the amount to see how it would affect your tax model calculations. However, understand that most benefits plans have predetermined rates and fees that cannot actually be altered without changing your benefits plan. Contact the Benefits Office for more information regarding benefits plans and their rates. | |
| Coverage Amount | If a benefits plan (i.e., insurance) provides you with a coverage, that dollar amount is listed here. You may change the coverage amount here. | |
| Plan ID | This is a cryptic system code used to identify specific benefits plans.
Adjusting this item has no effect on the tax model calculations, so just leave this item alone. However, if you are creating a new Deduction line, and you do not know the specific Plan ID code, enter "TAXMODDOTHER" in this field. |
There are 3 buttons on this page:
| Save... | Click on this button to submit the deduction changes, and you will return to the Summary Entry Page. | |
| Exit... | To cancel any changes, click on this button to return to the Summary Entry Page. | |
| Delete... | Click on this button to remove the deduction line from the Summary Entry Page. |
Tax Modeling Results Page
The Results Page displays the tax model results calculated from the data you submitted from the Summary Entry Page.
The amounts listed here reflect those computed for the Tax Frequency you specified. For example, if you specified a "Monthly" tax frequency, amounts reflect monthly calculations; or if you specified an "Annual" tax frequency, the amounts reflect totals for a calendar year.
You may examine the results, print the page, and/or make further changes to the tax model by returning to the Summary Entry Page.
The results are grouped into 3 general sections:
Input & Tax Summary
This section displays the Federal and State tax information for your tax model results. For explanations of each item, refer to the descriptions under the Summary Entry Page Help.
Income & Deduction Summary
This section displays the details for all your earnings, taxes, deductions and reductions.
Total Income & Deduction Summary
This section displays the final totals after the system computes all the data. These
| Total Gross | The Total Gross is all your earnings for the specified tax frequency. | |
| Total Reduction | The Total Reduction is all the amounts subtracted from your total gross before taxes are taken for the specified tax frequency. | |
| Total Taxes | The Total Taxes includes all Federal and State taxes collected for the specified tax frequency. | |
| Total Deduction | The Total Reduction is all the amounts subtracted from your total gross after taxes are taken for the specified tax frequency. | |
| Total Net | The Total Net is the amount you receive after all reductions, taxes and deductions are subtracted from the Total Gross for the specified tax frequency. |
Page Navigation
There are 3 buttons near the bottom of the Results Page:
| Return to Entry Page | Click on this button to return to the Summary Entry Page to make further modifications to your tax model. | |
| Select Another... | To start over with a new tax model, click on this button and the system will return you to the Tax Model Selection Page where you may select a new Tax Model. | |
| Exit Process | Click on this button to quit the Tax Modeling process and return to the Employee Services Menu. |