Solution 1: Flat-Rate Garnishment

1. Select Maintain, Default Information, and then select Employees
2. Select Employee Fields tab
3. Scroll down until you find an empty field and enter a Field Name; this will appear on paycheck stubs
4. Select a G/L Account
5. Click OK
6. Click Maintain, Employees/Sales Reps
7. Select the applicable Employee ID
8. Select Employee Fields tab
9. On the line with the field name that was created on Step 3, clear Use Defaults box
10. In the Amount field, enter the deduction amount as a negative number
11. Click Save

Solution 2: Calculated Garnishment

Step 1: Set up the garnishment formula

Note: This formula allows the rate to be set for each employee, making it possible to have multiple garnishment rates for different employees with a single formula.

1. Select File, Payroll Formulas, and then select User-Maintained
2. For Formula ID enter GARNISH
3. For Tax Name enter GARNISH [2-digit Current Year]
4. Set How do you classify this formula? to Deduction
5. Set Filing Status to All
6. For Formula, enter ANSWER=-(ADJUSTED_GROSS+Fed_Income+Soc_Sec+Medicare+St_Income)*.30

Note: The .30 can be replaced with what ever percent you would like the garnishment to deduct, however using this formula, requires not assigning the formula in the defaults as indicated in Section III, as otherwise the rate would apply to all employees. Also payroll fields may not be the same in your company. Please check by selecting Maintain, Employees, and Employee Fields tab to verify the payroll field names. Another Formula you can use is below:

ANSWER=-((ADJUSTED_GROSS+Fed_Income+Soc_Sec+Medicare+St_Income) * EMP_SPECIAL1_NUMBER/100)

7. Click Save and close User-Maintained Formulas

Note:

• Some state's income tax calculations require the use of the Special 1 field; if this is the case for your state, substitute EMP_SPECIAL2_NUMBER.
• If the formula is being set up for company that resides in a state not subjected to state taxes, remove the St_Income field from the Formula Description above.
• Add or substitute the field names in the formula for the taxes that should be taken out before the computation of the garnishment. Consult your accountant if unsure.

Step 2: Set up the garnishment employee payroll field

• Option I: Using a formula with EMP_SPECIAL1_Number Assignment

Note: If your formula does not use EMP_SPECIAL1_NUMBER or EMP_SPECIAL2_NUMBER to assign a percentage, use Option II.

1. Select Maintain, Default Information, and then Employees
2. Select Employee Fields tab
3. Enter a Field Name for the garnishment; this name will appear on payroll stubs
4. Select a G/L Account
5. Select Garnish from the Formula drop-down list
6. Click Adjust button
7. In the Employee Field Names section, select Gross box
8. Click OK on the Adjusted Gross window, and then again on the Employee Defaults window

• Option II: Using a formula with a fixed percentage defined

1. Select Maintain, Default Information, and then select Employees
2. Select Employee Fields tab
3. Enter a Field Name for the garnishment; this name will appear on payroll stubs
4. Select a G/L Account
5. Click OK to close the defaults
6. Select Maintain, and then select Employees/Sales Reps
7. Select the applicable Employee ID
8. Select Employee Fields tab
9. Locate the field for the garnishment setup and clear Use Defaults box
10. Select Calc box, and select Garnish formula from the list
11. Click Adjust button on the line for the garnishment
12. Select Gross box, and click OK
13. Click Save to commit the changes to the employee's record and close the window

Step 3: Set applicable employees to calculate the garnishment

Note: If you do not set a rate on the Withholding Info tab, the garnishment will automatically calculate at $0; there is no need to clear Use Defaults on employees not being garnished.

1. Select Maintain, Employees/Sales Reps
2. Select the applicable Employee ID
3. Select Withholding Info tab
4. On the Special 1 line, enter the garnishment percentage into the Addl Withholding field, without the percent sign (for example, 25% should be entered as 25.00)
5. Click Save, then close Maintain Employees/Sales Reps

Solution 3: Troubleshooting if the garnishment is not calculating when creating payroll

1. Verify the garnishment field has been set to calculate on the employee's record
2. Verify the date of the check correlates with the current year selected for the Garnishment formula; this will be the case if the Error: "The following formula listed on the Employee record does not exist in payroll formula's...Garnish [Year]" exists when processing payroll after creating formula and setting up employee
3. Verify Gross has been selected Use in the garnishment line's Adjustments on the employee record
4. Verify there is a pay amount on the check
5. Verify the taxes and any other deductions that were selected Use do not reduce the net pay to $0