HRM: Important 2022 pay information

2022 General Pay Increase
General Schedule employees (including Law Enforcement Officers) will receive a 2.2% basic pay raise for 2022, in addition to the locality rate increase. The pay raise will be effective the first day of pay period 1 (Jan. 2, 2022). For additional information on the GS pay raise and new locality rates, visit the Office of Personnel Management webpages: 2022 GS Pay Tables and January 2022 Pay Adjustments.
- Federal Wage Service (wage grade) are handled separately from the GS pay raise. For more information, visit OPM’s website at Federal Wage System 2022 Pay Adjustments.
- Senior Executive Service, Senior Level, and Scientific or Professional salary increases are performance based and will be managed by USDA.
W-2s for Tax Year 2021
W-2s for tax year 2021 are expected to be available on the National Finance Center’s Employee Personal Page the week of Jan. 16, 2022. NFC will also mail out most W-2s by early February 2022, except for those employees who opted out of receiving a paper copy of their W-2.
The W-2s will cover all payments made between pay periods 26, 2020, through 25, 2021. The W-2 will also include all 2021 manual payments processed through Dec. 28, 2021.
Employees should verify their address in EPP and make changes if applicable. Please note: It is not an Internal Revenue Service requirement that the address on the W-2 match the employee’s current residential address.
Employees who had an outstanding salary overpayment debt which was not paid in full by Dec. 31, 2021, will have the outstanding balance reported as income on their W-2 per IRS rules. Any debt payments received between Dec. 15-31, 2021, may result in a Form W-2-c being issued at a later date.
In addition to printing W-2s from EPP, employees will also be able to import their 2021 W-2 information into Turbo Tax. When signing into TurboTax, employees will be prompted to enter their Social Security number and gross salary as displayed on the 2021 W-2.
Form W-4
Employees do not need to complete a new IRS W-4, Employees Withholdings Certificate form, unless they would like to make changes to their tax withholdings.
Employees who are filing as exempt will need to submit a new W-4 prior to Feb. 12, 2022.
Effective Feb. 13, employees who claimed total exemption for tax year 2021 and have not filed a new w-4 for tax year 2022 will have federal taxes withheld as single taxpayers.
Important note: HRM is not able to provide tax advice to employees. Please consult a tax professional or the IRS if you have questions on how to complete a W-4 form or to inquire which tax withholding options are best for you.
Help is available
Open an HR Help case:
- Call: 1-877-372-7248, Press 2
- Email: hrm_contact_center@usda.gov
- Self-Service: ConnectHR, then click HR Help
- For detailed instructions, visit the HR Help How-to Add a Case Guide.