Garnishment and tax levy enrollment tasks

Applies To: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2

This topic describes how to enroll workers in garnishments, tax levies, and any associated administrative fees. In Microsoft Dynamics AX, garnishments and tax levies are managed by using the benefit framework. This framework helps make sure that the payroll impact of garnishments and tax levies is handled correctly.

If you have questions about garnishments and tax levies that are not answered in this topic or in Garnishment and tax levy setup tasks or Garnishments, tax levies, and administrative fees, contact your legal advisors.

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Review the prerequisites

Enroll a worker in a garnishment or tax levy

Optional: Enroll workers in administrative fees

Additional setup requirements when a worker is enrolled in multiple garnishments or tax levies and the garnishment enhancement hotfix is not installed

Technical information for system administrators

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Garnishments, tax levies, and administrative fees

Review the prerequisites

The following table shows the prerequisites that must be in place before you start.

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Enroll a worker in a garnishment or tax levy

When the payroll department receives notice of a court-ordered garnishment or tax levy, the federal government requires that deductions begin within a specific number of days. As with other garnishment rules, some states might use the federal rules, or they might set their own requirements. For example, a state might require that deductions begin with the first payroll payment at least three days after the order is received, which could be the current pay period. Therefore, make sure that you get workers correctly enrolled as quickly as possible.

When you enroll a worker, you will set up payroll information together with garnishment or tax levy details. The steps to enter the garnishment or tax levy details vary, depending on whether the garnishment enhancement hotfix is installed. Make sure that you use the correct steps.

To enroll a worker in a garnishment or tax levy, follow these steps:

1. Click Payroll > Common > Workers > Workers.

2. Select a worker, click Personal information, and then click Benefits.

3. Click Add.

4. In the Benefit field, select Eligibility bypassed.

5. Select the benefit for the garnishment or tax levy.

   Dependent and beneficiary information isn’t required for a garnishment. You don’t have to do anything on the Dependents or Beneficiaries FastTabs.

6. On the Payroll details FastTab, enter this information.

   Field	Value to enter
   Paid by	The legal entity that the worker is employed by and that pays for the worker position. By default, the current legal entity is displayed. For more information, see Postes (écran).
   Position	This field isn’t available if the garnishment enhancement hotfix has been installed. If the garnishment enhancement hotfix hasn’t been installed, leave this field blank. If you select a position, the deduction for the garnishment is based only on the earnings from the position. It is unlikely that a garnishment is based on earnings from a specific position. If you don’t select a position, the deductions for the garnishment are based on all the worker’s earnings.
   Vendor	The vendor that the garnishment is paid to. This is usually a state agency. The agency is listed on the garnishment order. If you don’t already have a vendor record for the agency, you must create one. For more information, see Création d'un compte fournisseur.
   Calculation priority	The order that deductions for the garnishment are calculated in, relative to other benefits. The deductions and contributions for the benefit that have the lowest calculation priority number are calculated first, starting with 0 (zero). When multiple benefits have the same number, the calculations for those benefits are completed in alphabetical order. The calculation order is important when the result of the calculation for one benefit is used in the calculation for another benefit. For example, in some states, the deductions for union dues and health plans reduce disposable income. To make sure that the garnishment is calculated correctly, you must make sure that union dues and health plans have a lower calculation priority number than the garnishment does. For tax levies, voluntary benefit enrollments that were in place before the tax levy typically have a higher priority than the tax levy. Those benefits must therefore have a lower calculation priority number than the tax levy. > [!Important] > Your legal advisors should help you determine the correct calculation priority for all benefits.
   Deduction priority	The order that deductions for the garnishment are made in, relative to other deductions. The deduction for the benefit that has the lowest deduction priority number is made first, starting with 0 (zero). When multiple benefits have the same number, the deductions for those benefits are made in alphabetical order. Garnishments often must be deducted from pay before other voluntary benefits, although some states require specific deductions to take precedence, such as union dues or term life deductions. The default value for this field is set in the Benefit elements form. For more information about this field, see Éléments d'avantage (écran). > [!Important] > Your legal advisors should help you determine the correct deduction priority for all benefits.
   Rate source	This field is automatically set to Custom. Because you must manually maintain the amount of a garnishment, you can’t change this value. For more information, see “Set up payroll information for benefits” in Worker and position payroll tasks. This field isn’t available for tax levies. This control is not available in versions of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 prior to cumulative update 7 for AX 2012 R2.
   Basis Deduction	The court order indicates whether the deduction should be a fixed amount (for example, 350.00 per pay period) or a percentage of earnings (for example, 15 percent of earnings). Select the basis and enter the deduction amount that is specified on the court order. These fields aren’t available for tax levies. The tax levy deduction is calculated based on the information on the Tax levy details FastTab.
   Notes	Enter detailed information about the garnishment order, such as the date received, date entered, and communication with the worker.

7. In most cases, garnishment orders don’t have limit amounts or periods; the garnishment continues until the court sends a notification to stop.

   If a limit is indicated on the support order, on the Payroll limits FastTab, enter a value in the Limit amount field. Then set the limit period and enter the initial amount of the order in the Remaining field.

8. If the garnishment enhancement hotfix is installed, skip this step.

   If the garnishment enhancement hotfix isn’t installed, on the Garnishment details FastTab or the Tax levy details FastTab, enter the following information. If you need more information about these fields, see Tenir les avantages à jour (écran) or contact your legal advisors.

   Field	Value to enter
   Garnishment type  or  Tax levy type	The garnishment or tax levy type.
   Case number	The case number or reference number that is assigned by the court.
   Limit method	In most cases, select Calculate disposable income. Select Use alternative limit if your legal advisors direct you to do this. When your legal advisors direct you to select this option, they should provide the amount to enter in the Alternative limit field.
   Disposable income definition Maximum withholding percent	If the state that issued the garnishment requires any changes to the federal rules for defining the worker’s disposable income, select the disposable income definition for this garnishment, and then enter the maximum withholding percentage that is provided in the court order. Otherwise, leave these fields blank. These fields are available only for garnishments and only when the limit method is Calculate disposable income.
   Income exempt from levy	Enter the amount of wages that are exempt from the tax levy. For a federal tax levy, use publication 1494, which is updated and issued each year. For state and local tax levies, see the state’s tax levy withholding rules and apply the formulas to determine the amount of the exemption. This field is available only for tax levies and only when the limit method is Calculate disposable income.
   Alternative limit	The maximum amount that can be deducted from a single pay statement for the garnishment. This amount should be provided by your legal advisors. This field is available only when the limit method is Use alternative limit.
   Administrative fee	The amount to reduce the deduction for the garnishment by when the deduction for the garnishment plus the deduction for the administrative fee exceeds the worker’s disposable income limit. This field does not cause the administrative fee to be deducted; it just sets the amount by which to reduce the garnishment deduction. To deduct the administrative fee, you must create a benefit for the administrative fee, and assign that benefit to the worker. > [!Caution note] > The amount in this field must be the same as the amount in the Amount or rate field for the administrative fee benefit that you assign to the worker.
   Multiple garnishment method	Select the option to use if the amount of the deduction has to be split among multiple garnishments of the same type: None – The garnishment should not be included in a group of garnishments. Pro rata – The deduction is divided so that each garnishment receives a proportionate amount. Equal – The deduction is divided so that each garnishment receives an equal amount. First in – The garnishments are satisfied in the order that the worker enrolled in them. This option is typically used for tax levies. > [!Important] > If the court order does not specify which method to use, check with your legal advisors for clarification. Typically, if the orders have the same type but are from different states, the laws in the state where the worker works apply. For example, a worker who is located in Washington has three support orders — two from California and one from Idaho. The rules for Washington apply to all three orders. If the worker in Washington had two support orders from California and a creditor garnishment from Idaho, the support orders would use the California rules and the creditor garnishment would use the Idaho rules. If it isn’t clear which method to use, see Tenir les avantages à jour (écran) or check with your legal advisors for clarification.

   If the worker is enrolled in more than one garnishment or tax levy, you must complete the steps in “Additional setup requirements when a worker is enrolled in multiple garnishments or tax levies and the garnishment enhancement hotfix is not installed” later in this topic.

   When you complete this step, if your organization charges an administrative fee for handling garnishments, see “Optional: Enroll workers in administrative fees” later in this topic.

9. If the garnishment enhancement hotfix is installed, on the Garnishment and tax levy details FastTab, enter the following information. If you need more information about these fields, see Tenir les avantages à jour (écran) or contact your legal advisors.

   Field	Value to enter
   Type	The garnishment or tax levy type. Don’t select the Combined garnishments type. If a worker is enrolled in garnishments and tax levies of more than one type, you set up rules for the Combined garnishments type in the Garnishment and tax levy rules form.
   Case number	The case number or reference number that is assigned by the court.
   State	The state that the tax levy is from. This field is available only for state and local tax levies. It isn’t available for other garnishment types.
   Administrative fee	When the garnishment type is Support order, if the deduction for the garnishment plus the deduction for the administrative fee exceeds the worker’s disposable income limit, the deduction for the garnishment is reduced by this amount. This guarantees that the total deduction does not exceed the worker’s disposable income limit for support orders. For all other garnishment and tax levy types, this field is for your information only. This field does not cause the administrative fee to be deducted. To deduct the administrative fee, you must create a benefit for the administrative fee, and assign that benefit to the worker. > [!Caution note] > The sum of all administrative fees that should be charged to the worker should equal the sum of the deductions for all administrative fee benefits that the worker is enrolled in. If the amounts differ, the amount that is deducted from the worker’s pay for administrative fees might be incorrect.

10. If the garnishment enhancement hotfix is installed, note which garnishment and tax levy types the worker is enrolled in, and then click Garnishment and tax levy rules.

    You set up each garnishment type only one time for each worker. When a worker has more than one garnishment of the same type, all the garnishments that have the same type use the rules that are set up for that type. State and local tax levies are an exception; you set up one state tax levy type and one local tax levy type for each state.

11. When the Garnishment and tax levy rules form opens, click Add, and then enter the following information for each garnishment type that the worker is enrolled in.

    If you need more information about these fields, see Garnishment and tax levy rules (form) or contact your legal advisors.

    Grid heading	Value to enter
    Type	The garnishment type. > [!Important] > When a worker is enrolled in more than one type of garnishment, you must add the Combined garnishments type in addition to the types that the worker is enrolled in. The Combined garnishments type is used to make sure that the garnishment amounts are adjusted correctly, based on the selected disposable income definition and any rules that might apply across garnishment types. The disposable income definition and maximum withholding percentage are the only fields that are used by the Combined garnishments type. All other fields are for your information only.
    State	The state that a tax levy is from. This field is available only for state and local tax levies. It isn’t available for other garnishment types.
    Limit method	Select Calculate disposable income to calculate the worker’s disposable income for garnishments of this type. Select Use alternative limit only if you are directed to do this by your legal advisors. If your legal advisors direct you to use this method, they should provide the amount to enter in the Alternative limit field.
    Disposable income definition	Select the disposable income definition to use for garnishments of this type. If you leave this field blank, the federal rules for defining the worker’s disposable income are used. This field is available only when the limit method is Calculate disposable income. For more information, see Garnishment and tax levy setup tasks.
    Maximum withholding percent	Enter the maximum percentage of disposable income that can be withheld for garnishments of this type. For the Combined garnishments type, enter the maximum percentage of disposable income that can be deducted for the combined total of all garnishments except support orders and tax levies. If you leave this field set to 0.0000, no deduction is made. This field is available only when the limit method is Calculate disposable income.
    Alternative limit	Enter the maximum amount that can be deducted from a single pay statement for garnishments of this type. The amount should be provided by your legal advisors. This field is available only when the limit method is Use alternative limit.
    Multiple garnishment method	Select the option to use if the amount of the deduction has to be split among multiple garnishments of the same type: None – The deduction isn’t split among garnishments of this type. Pro rata – The deduction is divided so that each garnishment receives a proportionate amount. Equal – The deduction is divided so that each garnishment receives an equal amount. First in – The garnishments are satisfied in the order that the worker enrolled in them. This option is typically used for tax levies. > [!Important] > If the court order does not specify which method to use, check with your legal advisors for clarification. Typically, if the orders have the same type but are from different states, the laws in the state where the worker works apply. For example, a worker who is located in Washington has three support orders — two from California and one from Idaho. The rules for Washington apply to all three orders. If the worker in Washington had two support orders from California and a creditor garnishment from Idaho, the support orders would use the California rules and the creditor garnishment would use the Idaho rules. If it is not clear which method to use, see Garnishment and tax levy rules (form) or check with your legal advisors for clarification.
    Exempt disposable income	Enter the amount that should be used to further reduce the allowable deduction after the worker’s disposable income is calculated. The amount should be provided by your legal advisors. It is based on IRS publication 1494 and applicable state requirements.
    Exempt earnings	Enter the amount that the worker’s earnings should be reduced by before the disposable income is calculated. The amount should be provided by your legal advisors.
    Minimum wage Minimum wage multiplier	The weekly minimum wage and minimum wage multiplier to use to calculate the garnishment amount. The minimum wage can be the Federal minimum wage or a state minimum wage. For more information, see the state rules for the garnishment type or contact your legal advisors.
    Allow reduction	Select this check box if deduction amounts for this garnishment type can be reduced to stay within the mandated limit for all garnishment types. This check box is usually selected for student loan garnishments and cleared for support orders. If you aren’t sure whether to select this check box, contact your legal advisors.

12. If the garnishment enhancement hotfix is installed, on the Comments FastTab, click Add to enter information about the garnishment or tax levy types you entered or changed.

If your organization charges an administrative fee for handling garnishments, continue with “Optional: Enroll workers in administrative fees” in this topic.

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Optional: Enroll workers in administrative fees

Administrative fees, such as garnishments and tax levies, are processed as benefits in AX 2012. Administrative fees aren’t permitted in every state. Where they are permitted, they are never mandatory. It is up to your organization to decide whether to charge them.

The steps to enroll a worker in an administrative fee vary, depending on whether the garnishment enhancement hotfix is installed.

• If the garnishment enhancement hotfix isn’t installed, enroll the worker in one administrative fee benefit for each administrative fee that the worker is charged. For each administrative fee benefit, the amount in the Amount or rate field on the Payroll details FastTab of the Benefit form must match the amount in the Administrative fee field on the Garnishment details FastTab or the Tax levy details FastTab of the Maintain benefits form.

• If the garnishment enhancement hotfix is installed, enroll the worker in one administrative fee benefit. The amount in the Amount or rate field on the Payroll details FastTab of the Benefit form for the benefit should equal the sum of all the administrative fees that the worker is charged.

Enroll a worker in an administrative fee if the garnishment enhancement hotfix is not installed

1. Click Payroll > Common > Workers > Workers.

2. Select a worker, click Personal information, and then click Benefits.

3. Click Add.

4. In the Benefit field, select Eligibility bypassed.

5. Select the benefit for an administrative fee.

   Dependent and beneficiary information isn’t required for an administrative fee. You don’t have to do anything on the Dependents or Beneficiaries FastTabs.

6. On the Payroll details FastTab, enter this information.

   Field	Value to enter
   Paid by	Select the legal entity that the worker is employed by and that pays for the worker position. By default, the current legal entity is displayed. For more information, see Postes (écran).
   Position	Leave this field blank.
   Vendor	Leave this field blank.
   Calculation priority	The calculation priority for the administrative fee, which is the same as the calculation priority for the garnishment or tax levy that the fee is charged for. > [!Important] > Your legal advisors should help you determine the correct calculation priority for all benefits.
   Deduction priority	The deduction priority for the administrative fee, which is the same as the deduction priority for the garnishment or tax levy that the fee is charged for. > [!Important] > Your legal advisors should help you determine the correct deduction priority for all benefits.
   Rate source	Select Benefit. This lets you use the automated process to update the Deduction field for each worker who is enrolled in the administrative fee benefit when you change the Amount or rate field in the Benefit form. For more information, see Worker and position payroll tasks. If you select Custom, you must manually maintain the value in the Deduction field for each worker. > [!Caution note] > After you change the amount of the deduction, regardless of whether you change it manually or automatically, you must manually change the amount of the administrative fee on the garnishment or tax levy benefit that the fee is charged for. The two amounts must be the same. This control is not available in versions of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 prior to cumulative update 7 for AX 2012 R2.
   Basis	Select Fixed amount.
   Deduction	Enter the amount of the administrative fee. > [!Note] > The amount in this field must match the amount in the Administrative fee field on the Garnishment details FastTab or the Tax levy details FastTab of the garnishment or tax levy benefit that the fee is charged for.
   Notes	Enter information about the administrative fee.

Enroll a worker in an administrative fee if the garnishment enhancement hotfix is installed

1. Click Payroll > Common > Workers > Workers.

2. Select a worker, click Personal information, and then click Benefits.

3. Click Add.

4. In the Benefit field, select Eligibility bypassed.

5. Select the benefit for an administrative fee.

   Dependent and beneficiary information isn’t required for an administrative fee. You don’t have to do anything on the Dependents or Beneficiaries FastTabs.

6. On the Payroll details FastTab, enter this information.

   Field	Value to enter
   Paid by	Select the legal entity that the worker is employed by and that pays for the worker position. By default, the current legal entity is displayed. For more information, see Postes (écran).
   Position	Leave this field blank.
   Vendor	Leave this field blank.
   Calculation priority	Your legal advisors should determine the correct calculation priority for the administrative fee benefit.
   Deduction priority	Your legal advisors should determine the correct deduction priority for the administrative fee benefit.
   Rate source	Select Custom. You must manually update the deduction amount for each worker when you change the amount you charge for an administrative fee. You must also update the deduction amount when you enroll the worker in an additional garnishment that you charge an administrative fee for. This control is not available in versions of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 prior to cumulative update 7 for AX 2012 R2.
   Basis	Select Fixed amount.
   Deduction	Enter the total amount of all administrative fees that are charged to this worker for garnishments and tax levies. > [!Note] > You might have to adjust this amount in pay periods when some of the worker’s garnishments or tax levies can’t be taken.
   Notes	Enter information about the administrative fee.

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Additional setup requirements when a worker is enrolled in multiple garnishments or tax levies and the garnishment enhancement hotfix is not installed

This section applies only if the garnishment enhancement hotfix isn’t installed.

When a worker has more than one garnishment order or tax levy, it might not be possible to deduct the full amount of every garnishment and tax levy. Federal and state laws dictate the maximum amount that can be deducted for all garnishments, tax levies, and administrative fees combined. State laws dictate how to allocate the total amount among the various garnishments and tax levies, based in part on the garnishment type and the calculation priority.

When a worker’s garnishments have the same type and calculation priority, the amounts are calculated automatically. If a worker has more than one kind of garnishment, you might have to perform some of the calculations manually. Procedures for both situations are described later in this topic.

Set up multiple garnishments of the same type

When a worker has more than one garnishment of the same type and the same calculation priority, you must specify the Multiple garnishment method to use to allocate the amount of the deduction among the garnishments, as described in “Enroll a worker in a garnishment or tax levy” earlier in this topic.

When multiple garnishments must be processed together, make sure that the garnishments have the same values in these fields in the Maintain benefits form:

• Calculation priority

• Garnishment type

• Multiple garnishment method

A garnishment that has a different value in any one these fields isn’t included with the garnishments that are processed together.

To make sure that garnishments of the same type are calculated correctly, you might have to adjust the calculation priority on one or more of the garnishments so that they match. You should seek guidance from your legal advisors any time that a worker has more than one garnishment or tax levy of the same type.

Examples of multiple garnishments of the same type

A worker has the following child support orders. Because the calculation priority, garnishment type, and multiple garnishment method of all three child support orders match, the three garnishments are processed together.

Wages and other factors that influence the garnishment amount

The worker’s gross wages for the pay period are 2,000.00, and the total amount of taxes and benefits that are excluded from the worker’s disposable income is 600.00. Therefore, the worker’s calculated disposable income is 2,000.00 minus 600.00, or 1,400.00.

The maximum amount that can be withheld from the worker’s pay for these garnishments is 55 percent of 1,400.00, or 770.00.

The total amount that is required by the three garnishments is 45.000 + 225.00 + 200.00, or 875.00.

Because 875.00 is more than 770.00, which is the maximum allowed, the multiple garnishment method must be applied.

How the pro rata amount for each garnishment is determined

In this example, these are the garnishment amounts for the Pro rata method:

• Total amount from all three support orders: 875.00

• Maximum amount of withholding allowed: 770.00

• Percentage applicable to the first order: 51 percent (450.00 / 875.00)

• Percentage applicable to the second order: 26 percent (225.00 / 875.00)

• Percentage applicable to the third order: 23 percent (200.00 / 875.00)

• First garnishment amount: 392.70 (770.00 x .51)

• Second garnishment amount: 200.20 (770.00 x .26)

• Third garnishment amount: 177.10 (770.00 x .23)

How the amount is determined by using the Equal method

Based on the same wages and other factors described above, these are the garnishment amounts for the Equal method:

• Maximum amount of withholding allowed: 770.00

• Divide by 3 because there are three orders: 256.67

• Third garnishment amount: 200.00 (the lesser of 256.67 and the requested amount)

• Second garnishment amount: 225.00 (the lesser of 256.67 and the requested amount)

• First garnishment amount: 345.00 (the maximum amount of 770.00 reduced by 200.00 from Garn03 and 225.00 from Garn02)

How the amount is determined by using the First-in method

Based on the same wages and other factors described above, these are the garnishment amounts for the First in method:

• Maximum amount of withholding allowed: 770.00

• First garnishment amount: 450.00. This is satisfied in full, and then is subtracted from the maximum amount, which leaves 320.00 for the other two garnishments.

• Second garnishment amount: 225.00. This is satisfied in full, and then is subtracted from the 320.00 remaining, which leaves 95.00 for the third garnishment.

• Third garnishment amount: 95.00.

After the amount that is remaining reaches 0 (zero), no additional amounts can be deducted for any garnishment.

Set up multiple garnishments of different types

When a worker has multiple garnishments of different types, the individual limit that applies to each garnishment can be automatically determined. However, the final deductions against a single limit for the combined total of all of the garnishments can’t be determined. As a result, when there are multiple garnishments of different types, you must manually calculate the total disposable income limit and determine whether the combined amount of all of the garnishments and tax levies exceeds the maximum deduction limit.

If the combined amount exceeds the maximum deduction limit, set the following field values in the Maintain benefits form for each garnishment and tax levy that the worker is enrolled in.

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Technical information for system administrators

If you don't have access to the pages that are used to complete this task, contact your system administrator and provide the information that is shown in the following table.

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Find form help

Garnishment and tax levy rules (form)

Tenir les avantages à jour (écran)

Postes (écran)

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Garnishment and tax levy setup tasks