Payroll

Earnings, Tax, Leave, and Benefit Statements

All employees have access to their earnings, tax, leave, and benefits statements through the MyUW portal. Earnings statements are available on the pay date and will remain on the portal for 24 months. For help with accessing your earnings statements in the MyUW Portal review Earnings Statement Help web page.

Pay Schedules

All UW System employees are paid every other Thursday for the prior two week period.

The pay schedules can be accessed at the links below.

• 2022 Pay Schedule
• 2023 Pay Schedule

The UW System deducts the required federal and state taxes from an employee’s earnings:

• Social Security Tax
• Medicare Tax
• Federal Income Tax
• State Income Tax

All employees must complete a W-4 tax withholding election.

For tax resources and information on how to request a duplicate tax statement, review the Tax Statement web page.

Employees Exempt from Taxes:

• Advanced Opportunity Fellows, Fellows, Grad Interns/Trainees, Post-Doc Fellows, and Scholars/Trainees are exempt from Social Security and Medicare taxes. These employees are not exempt from federal and state income tax but the University will not withhold federal or state income tax from their earnings. Employees may be responsible for paying taxes on income when they file their tax return if they work in one of these positions. See IRS Publications 505 and IRS Publication 970 for more information.
• UW System student employees are exempt from Social Security and Medicare taxes if enrolled and attending classes as a graduate or undergraduate student at the University of Wisconsin on at least a half-time basis. Half-time status is defined by each institution and is determined at the end of the add/drop period each semester. See UW System Administrative Policy 206 (formerly G18A), Student FICA Exemptions for specific rules.

Employees are eligible to have certain benefits deducted on a pre-tax basis. Having benefits deducted on a pre-tax basis reduces taxable income so less is paid in taxes. The chart below describes how each benefit is deducted.

University Staff-Temporary employees may not have State Group Health Insurance, Uniform Dental, Supplement Dental Insurance, Vision Insurance or State Group Life Insurance deductions taken on a pre-tax basis.

Employees may elect to have pre-tax deductions deducted on an a post-tax basis. Complete Section 125 Cafeteria Plan Automatic Premium Conversion Waiver/Revocation of Waiver Form (ET-2340) and submit to serviceoperations@support.wisconsin.edu.

Biweekly Payroll Benefit Deduction Schedule

Most benefit deductions are divided evenly over the first two pay periods of each month (twenty four paychecks a calendar year).

• Health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, and most life insurances are deducted from the first two biweekly paychecks of the month. Coverage is for the upcoming month.
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and Health Savings Account (HSA) contributions are deducted from the first two biweekly paychecks of the month.
• The following benefit plan contributions are deducted from every paycheck:
  • Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) contributions
  • UW 403(b) Supplemental Retirement Program (SRP) contributions
  • Wisconsin Deferred Compensation (WDC) 457 Program contributions

For more information review the 2022 Pay Schedule or 2023 Pay Schedule.

Essential Forms

Below are common payroll forms. Complete these forms through the MyUW portal or via paper. If completed via paper submit them to your human resources office at your institution.

• Direct Deposit
  • MyUW portal:
    • Set up Direct Deposit Tip Sheet
    • Edit or Delete Direct Deposit Tip Sheet
  • Paper:
    • Authorization for Direct Deposit of Payroll
• Employee Self-Identification and W-4 Withholding Forms
  • New Employees (paper forms):
    • Employee Self-Identification and W-4 Withholding Forms
  • Current employees (use the MyUW portal):
    • Update Federal and/or State W-4 Tip Sheet