Powercash Payroll Card
The University has transitioned to a paperless pay disbursement process. Paper paychecks are being phased out.
Employees have the choice of either enrolling in direct deposit with the financial institution of their choice of opting for the new Powercash Payroll Card.
The Powercash Payroll Card is a Visa branded, reloadable debit card and can be used everywhere Visa cards are accepted. (more payroll card information)
Employees who do not sign up for direct deposit must enroll and receive a Powercash Payroll Card. For questions, contact USI.Payroll@usi.edu.
Pay Schedule
Payroll is issued on the last working day of each month for faculty, adjunct and administrative staff members. Support and student worker personnel are paid bi-weekly on alternate Fridays. When a payday falls on a holiday or weekend, pay will ordinarily be distributed the last working day before the holiday or weekend, except for December’s monthly payroll, which is issued on the last banking business day in December.
Faculty salaries may be paid in 10 or 12 equal monthly payments. If no election is made prior to the beginning of the first academic year, the default pay method will be 10-month. Forms are provided through the Human Resources Department for faculty members to indicate the desired number of monthly payments. Because of IRS regulations, this election should be dated and signed prior to the first working day of the academic year. The elected pay method will continue each academic year unless a change is made. Changes in the payment plan can be processed at the beginning of each academic year if the request is received by the Human Resources Department before the beginning of any fall academic semester.
Updated Withholding Calculator Released
The Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") has released the updated Withholding Calculator for use by taxpayers in estimating the appropriate withholding for federal income taxes in 2018. Following the December tax reforms under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and the subsequent update to employer withholding tables, available here, it is particularly important that taxpayers reevaluate the amount withheld from their paychecks in order to avoid both significant overwithholding and significant underwithholding. The Withholding Calculator helps taxpayers estimate advisable adjustments for their Forms W-4 to address the recent changes to the tax code and withholding tables. It reflects, among other things, changes to tax brackets, itemized deductions, child tax credits, and dependent credits, along with the repeal of dependent exemptions.
Although it is advisable for all taxpayers to reexamine the amounts withheld from their paychecks in 2018, the IRS has identified the following individuals in particular as potentially benefiting from such review:
The Withholding Calculator asks a taxpayer to estimate his or her income for 2018 and various tax credits and deductions to which the taxpayer might be entitled for the year. It returns the estimated federal income tax for the taxpayer for 2018 and provides specific recommendations on how to revise the Form W-4 in order to have an appropriate amount withheld from the taxpayer's paychecks.
The Withholding Calculator and instructions from the IRS for using the Withholding Calculator are available here. The updated, 2018 Form W-4 can be found here.
Special Note for 2019: If you follow the recommendations from the IRS Calculator and change your withholding for 2018, the IRS reminds you to be sure to recheck your withholding at the start of 2019. This is especially important if you reduce your withholding sometime during 2018. A mid-year withholding change in 2018 may have a different full-year impact in 2019. So if you do not file a new Form W-4 for 2019, your withholding might be higher or lower than you intend. To help protect against having too little withheld in 2019, we encourage checking your withholding again early in 2019.
If you have additional questions about your withholding, consult your tax advisor.