Payroll Deductions

Involuntary deductions are those which neither the employer nor the employee has control.  These are required by law, such as taxes, garnishments, child support, and state mandated retirement programs.

Voluntary deductions are the cost of benefits coverage that the employee elects, such as health, dental, vision, supplemental retirement programs, and charitable contributions.  Voluntary deductions are available depending upon your employment status.

Employees may also elect to have other approved voluntary deductions withheld from their paycheck. Although payroll acts as the withholding agent, various voluntary deductions are administered through other campus departments (i.e., Parking Services, Faculty/Staff Meal Plan, Campus Recreation Center, University Fund Campaign) as well as off-campus affiliated programs (i.e., SEANC). As such, the Payroll Shared Services Center may have to defer you to those various departments and agencies for all new elections, changes, or cancellations.

Some of these deductions are “tax deferred,” which means they are exempt from Federal and State withholding taxes. Some deductions are “pre-tax,” which means they are exempt from FICA/Medicare tax as well as Federal and State withholding taxes.

Wage garnishment is a legal order in which an employee’s wages are required to be withheld by an employer for the payment of a debt incurred by the employee. Garnishments can be for federal, state, and county tax levies, bankruptcy, court ordered creditor summons, as well as child support and student loans.

The University will comply with state and federal laws relating to the garnishment of an employee’s compensation, to include the enforcement of court ordered child-support orders.

Title III protects employees from being discharged by their employers because their wages have been garnished for any one debt and limits the amount of employees' wages that may be garnished.

You are encouraged to carefully examine your pay notice before contacting the Payroll Shared Services Center. Compare it to your prior pay notice and consider any changes you are aware of that would impact the current month’s payroll, such as health benefits or NC Flex deductions, employee amending tax withholding forms, or signing up for a campus voluntary payroll deduction benefit. Your questions related to health or NC flex benefits should be addressed with the Benefits Office in the Division of Human Resources.

If you are not able to determine or agree with the change reflected in your pay notice, please contact payrollssc@northcarolina.edu for further review and consultation.

You must contact the agency or campus department that manages the voluntary deduction to request a cancellation of the benefit. The agency or campus department will send the termination request directly to the Payroll Shared Services Center. If you are seeking a refund, you will need to inquire with the agency or campus department at the time you request cancellation.

Please contact the Payroll Shared Services Center via email at payrollssc@northcarolina.edu. If they are unable to answer your questions regarding the garnishment order, you will be advised to contact the agency that submitted the order.

You should have received a notification from the court or agency who issued the garnishment order. If you did not receive it, you can request a copy from the Payroll Shared Services Center via email at payrollssc@northcarolina.edu. A copy of the garnishment order will be mailed to the current mailing address listed in Banner. Due to privacy restrictions, we cannot email the paperwork to you. 

Yes.  Each pay will be garnished until we receive a Release Notice from the court or agency.

The amount deducted can vary depending on the type of garnishment and/or amount listed on the order. You may contact the Payroll Shared Services Center via email at payrollssc@northcarolina.edu to confirm the anticipated amount to be withheld.

The amount is set by the court or agency governing the garnishment order. The Payroll Shared Services Center does not have the authority or autonomy to reduce the withholding amount of the garnishment order. You would need to contact the court or agency to discuss arrangements to reduce your payment amount.

Please reach out to the Payroll Shared Services Center via email at payrollssc@northcarolina.edu.

Do not send your personal and confidential records by email.

The garnishment order for child support remains active until a Release Notice to terminate the withholdings is received from the agency.  You must contact your case worker to inquire about the date your child support garnishment will end.

Your garnishment remains active until the Payroll Shared Services Center receives a Release Notice from the court/agency that issued the garnishment.