Payroll Information & Codes

Solving the Mystery of Payroll Coding

Have you ever looked at your pay stub and wondered what foreign language payroll code it is written in? It doesn’t need to be a mystery to you any longer! In addition to the annual savings to the District by providing pay stubs online, you can rest assured that your pay, deductions and District contributions are accurate by better understanding your individual pay stub.

Although every effort is made to be certain your pay and benefits are correct, with thousands of employees and literally hundreds of combinations of pay and benefits, errors occasionally happen. By checking your pay stub monthly, you can help avoid and correct any inconsistencies or problems which may occur. Listed below are some of the most common pay and benefit codes to help you as you review your pay stub. Hopefully this clears up some of the mystery surrounding payroll. If you don’t see your questions answered in this brief summary, please feel free to contact Liz Boardman in Payroll at (801) 374-4846, lizb@provo.edu for a more detailed explanation of your individual pay stub. You may also contact Rebecca Rogers in the Benefits office at (801) 374-4847, rebeccavo@provo.edu.

Earnings (Pay)

Base Contract – Monthly amount of your contracted base pay
Prof Dev – Total of professional development days paid monthly
Legislative – Legislative addition paid monthly (certified only)
Extra Days – Additional contracted days beyond the base contract
Extra Period – Additional monthly pay for purchase of prep period (secondary certified only)
Special – Teacher specialist position (certified only)
Teacher Leader – Teacher leader position (certified only)
GLL – Grade Level Leader (elementary certified only)
Base Hourly – Regular hourly pay
Other Hourly – Other hourly pay
Misc Hourly – Other hourly pay
Noon Hourly – Lunch/Playground supervision
Summer Hourly – Summer school
ADJ – Adjustments to pay from a prior month
OT – Overtime (where applicable)
Fieldtrip – Field trip
Supervis – Activity supervision
Other codes may appear on your check representing pay or reimbursements done through payroll. Please contact the Payroll office for further clarification.

Deductions (You Pay) After Tax

NEA/UEA Dues – Association Dues (certified)
ESP Dues – Association Dues (classified)
Provo School Foundation – Donation to PSD Foundation
United Way – Charitable contribution
Supplemental Life – Additional life insurance (may be for you, spouse or dependents)
Flex Admin Fee – Monthly administrative cost if you participate in Flex Spending

Deductions (You Pay) Pre-Tax

Select Med Plus – Your portion of the monthly premium for medical insurance
Flex Spending Voluntary – Monthly deduction for Flex Spending
401k Tier 1 or 401k Tier 2 – Your voluntary contribution into your 401k (not matched)
Various dental and 403b annuity plans will also show in this pre tax category. There are too many to list, if you need clarification, contact the Benefits or Payroll office.

Taxes

Federal Tax – Federal income tax
Utah State Tax – Utah tax
Employee Social Security – 6.2% of your taxable gross income
Employee Medicare – 1.45% of your taxable gross income

Employer (District) Paid Contributions

URS Tier 1 and URS Tier 2 – Employer contributions to Utah Retirement System
URS 401k – Employer contribution into 401k
Employer Social Security – 6.2% of your taxable gross income
Employer Medicare – 1.45% of your taxable gross income
Select Med Plus – Employer monthly premium payment
Life Insurance – Premium payment for contract employees with life insurance
Workers Compensation – Monthly premium
Long Term Disability – Monthly premium

These are the most common codes you may see on your pay stub, but they are by no means the only ones used. If you are still concerned about your personal pay and/or benefits, please don’t hesitate to contact the appropriate person listed above.

Some Things To Keep In Mind

Pay and benefits are shown as “Current” and “Year to Date” on your stub. Year to date is always a calendar (tax) year where payroll is involved. As you try to make your current contract pay match your pay stub information, keep in mind the information may reflect 2 contracts within one calendar (tax) year.

The pay period ending date is expressed as the end of the month in which the check is issued. If you receive hourly pay, it is for hours worked in the preceding month.

Your benefits should be withheld on the same checks as your contracted or regular pay. Taxes, social security and medicare are applicable on all checks. If your benefits don’t seem to match up with the months you receive your contracted pay, please contact Benefits or Payroll as soon as possible to determine if there is a problem. Failure to properly pay your premiums can result in a loss of coverage.

Direct deposit information is shown on the bottom of your pay stub, but without the entire account number for security purposes. The amount shown as the deposited amount is your net pay (all deductions have been subtracted).

Hopefully this clears up some of the mystery of payroll for you. If it’s still not clear, please give Liz or Rebecca a call and solve the puzzle!