FMO Newsletter-December 2023

This issue of the Financial Management Office Newsletter includes information about the following:

The Financial Management Office Newsletter is distributed monthly.  Should you have any questions about this newsletter, contact Amy Kunz via email: amykunz@hawaii.edu.

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Postdoctoral Disbursement Vouchers

Target Audience: Fiscal Administrators

With the implementation effective date of January 1, 2024 for AP 8.565, all postdoctoral DVs not approved by the Disbursing Office by December 28, 2023 will be disapproved and a new DV will need to be submitted on January 2, 2024.  All DVs submitted after January 1, 2024 must comply with AP 8.565. 

If there are any questions, please contact J.R. Kashiwamura at jkashiwa@hawaii.edu.

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Annual Nonresident Alien (NRA) Assessment for 2024

Target Audience: Administrative Officers, Fiscal Administrators, Business Office Staff

To determine if an individual working at the University of Hawai’i on an F-1 or J-1 type visa has been in the USA long enough to qualify as a Resident Alien, the Disbursing Office will be conducting its annual (January) NRA assessment of all foreign individuals. 

The individual benefits from this assessment whereby if they pass the IRS Substantial Presence Test (SPT), the University is no longer required to withhold 1042 taxes from their payments.  In addition, providing an updated WH-1 during the annual assessment will facilitate payments and tax forms going to the correct mailing address. 

All departmental business offices are required to have their NRA personnel fill out the updated 2024 version of the UH WH-1 form and attach copies of all supporting documentation as required and listed at the top of the first page of the WH-1. 

Please scan the supporting documentation and submit an EDIT vendor request on KFS.  The vendor request should list in the DESCRIPTION field the following:  FO Code #, NRA Update, LAST NAME.  Please remember to review your scanned images before attaching to ensure scanned documents are readable, passport ID or visa numbers and dates are clear to avoid your vendor request being disapproved.

NRA assessments must be completed before a payment can be made each calendar year.

If there are any questions regarding this process, please contact Donnie Feng, Disbursing Office at donnie@hawaii.edu.

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Updated UH WH-1 Form Available for 2024

Target Audience: Administrative Officers, Fiscal Administrators, Business Office Staff

The UH WH-1 has been revised and posted to the FMO website.  You can find the form at this site page:  Payment/Reimbursement -> Forms-Disbursing -> Miscellaneous Forms

All previous versions of this form should be discarded.  Please update your forms accordingly.  If there are any questions regarding this process, please contact Donnie Feng, Disbursing Office at donnie@hawaii.edu.

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Same Day Travel Completions Received After the WIK Deadline

Target Audience: Administrative Officers, Fiscal Administrators, Business Office Staff

The Wages-in-Kind (WIK) processing deadline for Tax Year 2023 was November 30, 2023.  Same Day Travel completions with a $20 allowance will be denied by the Disbursing Office and the department will need to resubmit in January 2024.

If the same day travel includes out-of-pocket expenses (e.g., airfare, car rental, etc.), the Disbursing Office will process the completion provided it does not include the $20 allowance.   The $20 allowance can be processed separately in January as a revision.

If there are any questions regarding this process, please email the Disbursing Office at etravel-help@lists.hawaii.edu.

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Reporting of Prize Distribution and Third-Party Payments for Tax Year 2023

Target Audience: Administrative Officers, Fiscal Administrators, Business Office Staff

Payments totaling $600 or more during the Tax Year 2023 will have a 1099 MISC or a 1099 NEC issued. Third-Party Payments are reportable income (e.g. travel agency paid for airfare for a student will be reportable income for that student).  Please FileDrop to Jan Murakami the supporting  documents no later than Friday, January 5, 2024.

Supporting documents for a prize may include a Form 136, event flyer, receipts, edoc# or report key#, WH1, prize acknowledgement form.  If the vendor code is not set up, confirmation that they are a US citizen or resident alien.  Non-resident aliens are not allowed to receive gift cards or item prizes.

Supporting documents for a third party payment may include a tax assessment, vendor code# and any additional information not already included in the DV/PREQ such as a conference flyer related to travel. 

If there are any questions regarding this process, please contact Jan Murakami, Disbursing Office at jmura@hawaii.edu.

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Quarterly Interest Rate for Late Vendor Payments

Target Audience: Administrative Officers, Fiscal Administrators, Business Office Staff

Pursuant to Section 103-10 of the Hawai`i Revised Statutes, the interest rate for obligations related to goods delivered or services performed remaining unpaid after 30 days is equal to the prime rate for each calendar quarter plus two percent. The interest rate is adjusted quarterly using the prime rate as posted in the Wall Street Journal on the first business day of the month preceding the calendar quarter. Please refer here for the 1st quarter interest rate and calculation.

Should there be any questions regarding this change, please call the Disbursing Office at (808) 956-5535.

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