Out-of-State Tax Processing in HRMS

Procedure Updated: 
Wednesday, September 11, 2024

In addition to federal and Washington state taxes, HRMS is configured to systematically process Oregon and Idaho state and local taxes. The following infotypes are used to set the tax areas and tax authorities for employees:

  • Residence Tax Area (0207)
  • Work Tax Area (0208)
  • Unemployment State (0209)

Refer to the HRMS Data Definitions Resource Guide and the Additional Steps for Out-of-State Employees user procedures for important information on which taxes are configured, how tax area, tax authority, and tax types work together, and how to maintain employees’ tax records in HRMS.

For processing any other state’s taxes, agencies will need to manually calculate withholding amounts. Follow the Recurring Payments/Deductions or Additional Payments user procedures using one of the established out of state withholding tax wage types. See the HRMS Other State Tax Wage Types spreadsheet for a current list of available wage types.

Employer ID Numbers Configured Into HRMS

Each agency must work directly with any state or local tax entity in which they collect or pay taxes to obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN). This number is assigned by the state or local tax entity when you register as an employer and is unique to your agency. The ID number must be provided to OFM to be configured into HRMS. This process must be completed to reflect another state’s taxes on an employee’s W‐2. Refer to each state’s or local tax entity’s W-2 reporting requirements.

The deadline for providing the EIN to OFM is communicated annually through GovDelivery during year‐end processing. Within these communications, Excel files are provided listing agencies with Employer ID numbers already configured within HRMS. Agencies should review all employees that have withholding taxes from another state and compare the states to the spreadsheet each year. 

You may request to add new ID numbers to HRMS by emailing the completed Employer's State ID Form to HeretoHelp@ofm.wa.gov. It is not necessary to wait until year-end to take this action when you have a newly established ID number.

Manual Adjustments to Account for Other State Taxes

Once your agency’s EIN has been configured within HRMS, a manual year‐to‐date adjustment is required for other state taxes to appear on the employee’s W-2. In addition to communications from OFM, the process and subsequent deadlines can be found by checking the Year End Activities page each year as year end approaches.

If a deadline is missed:

If your agency has the EIN configured into HRMS: 

If your agency does not have the EIN configured into HRMS:

  • Complete a print copy of the employee’s W-2.
  • Manually type or write the information into Box 15-20.

Electronic Payments to Other States

The focus for electronic payments to other states is limited to the states we have automated in HRMS, Oregon and Idaho. ACH payment will include Oregon taxes paid to the Oregon Department of Revenue (Oregon Withholding tax, Statewide Transit tax, Workers Benefit Fund assessment, Tri-Met Transit tax, and Lane Transit District tax). For Idaho state taxes and the remaining Oregon local transit taxes (not included in the Oregon Combined payment), agencies will need to send payment via warrant. All other vendor records related to the out-of-state wage types will be set up to produce a warrant. Agencies are responsible for mailing the warrant with required state documentation, such as a payment coupon or payment voucher.