This is restricted access content. Please don’t forget to logout if you are using public computer.
Payroll Overpayments
Audience: All
When a student worker or employee has been overpaid by Tufts University, Tufts Support Services (TSS) will initiate recovery efforts on all payroll overpayments. Departments should not initiate any collection efforts, but should notify the employee of the overpayment. TSS will send the employee an email or letter with a detailed breakdown of the overpayment, the repayment amount, and repayment options.
If needed, the Payroll Office can establish a repayment plan to avoid any undue financial hardship for the employee.
When notifying TSS of an overpayment, please provide the following:
- Name and EMPL ID of the employee or former employee (if the employee is terminated notify TSS of the employee's personal email or address if applicable).
- When the overpayment occurred (pay period(s) if possible)
- How the overpayment occurred, for example, pay rate change, wrong bonus payment, incorrect supplement amount, late termination, incorrect vacation payout, etc.
- Amount of Overpayment, if known.
- Indicate if the overpayment was on a grant
- Notify TSS what department should be credited once the overpayment is collected.
Please inform the employee (or former employee) of the overpayment and the reason for the overpayment. Please also inform them that they will receive a message from TSS with the repayment amount and repayment options. You may also share this link: https://access.tufts.edu/overpayment-recovery
Frequently Asked Questions
How does an overpayment occur?
There are a variety of reasons an overpayment may have occurred: Incorrect hours were entered into Time Entry; an unpaid leave was approved belatedly; a separation was not received/processed on time; a supplement was issued twice; someone was returned from leave too soon, etc.
Do I have to pay back the taxes that were deducted from my overpayment?
If your overpayment was made in the same calendar year, generally, only the net amount of the overpayment must be repaid to the university.
Can I repay my overpayment in installments?
Absolutely!
While we try to keep salary reductions to 4 or less payments, we will work with you to accommodate your needs. Credit card or check payments can be tracked and you will be updated of your new balance upon receipt of each payment until you have paid in full.
Will my W-2 be correct at the end of the year?
Yes!
Upon receipt of your repayment, our payroll team will run a process during a regular payroll run, wherein the overpaid wages are removed from your pay history for that tax year and the taxes and any associated deductions are also reversed. As long as the repayment is received and processed in the same calendar year as the overpayment, the overpaid earnings and all associated taxes would be withheld from any tax documents issued for the current tax year.
I was overpaid in a previous year - Why am I responsible for paying back more than the net amount I received?
Unfortunately, this is the case for anyone who was overpaid in a previous tax year.
Because the state & federal governments were paid taxes on your behalf by the university, in order to make your department whole (recovery of the gross amount), we must collect the state and federal tax amounts as well as the Net and 403b contributions.
The university cannot collect the federal or state taxes back from the federal/state governments so a correction cannot be made for the income taxes withheld. You, however, can claim a deduction on your personal tax return for the taxes you repaid, You will be provided with a letter confirming your payment from a previous tax year that can be used when filing your taxes for the year the payment was made.
When is my repayment due?
Ideally, as soon as possible. The fiscal year ends on June 30th, and this is an internal deadline for departments.
To ensure you don't have to pay back the taxes on an overpayment that occurred during this calendar year, payment must be received by mid-December in order to allow payroll processing to complete in time for your tax documents to be updated to reflect the corrected pay history.