Payroll Advances

If you are unsure of the appropriate e-mail address to use, please e-mail the General Information account. Maryland’s comptrollers have been lawyers, doctors, bankers, miners, newspapermen, teachers and farmers and all of them have been men. Created in 1945, the Board of Revenue Estimates is concerned with revenues that will fund State government (Chapter 991, Acts of 1945). Formerly directly under the Comptroller, the Board was transferred to Operations in August 2019. To facilitate the implementation of these guidelines, three electronic forms are accessible via the Central Payroll Website. The bureau is currently complimented by three units including Operations, Accounting and Reporting and Information Technology.

If you close your account and a direct deposit is attempted, it will delay the receipt of your wages. I keep remembering what a former director would often say “It takes a village to raise a child” and I couldn’t agree more. Every decision requires constant review of the many governing federal and state guidelines to ensure our compliance with the law. I’m very proud of our CPB staff members and their dedication to always strive for that Olympic score of “10” each and every day.

TAXPAYER SERVICES DIVISION

Since the office was created by the Maryland Constitution of 1851, it has grown from a comptroller and one clerk to an agency of 1,100 employees. Each year in March, September, and December, the Bureau submits to the Board of Revenue Estimates an itemized statement of estimated State revenues from all sources for the current fiscal year (Code State Finance and Procurement Article, sec. 6-104). In addition, the Office supports the work of the Board of Public Works, and conducts policy research. CPB strives to provide quality payroll services in the issuance of paychecks, deposit advices and W-2 wage statements for all permanent and contractual employees of all branches of state government.

Employees

The Board reviews the findings and recommendations of the Bureau of Revenue Estimates. The Board then sends to the Governor, for submission to the General Assembly, an itemized statement of estimated revenues for the current and next fiscal years. With the itemized statement, the Board submits its recommendations to the Governor. Local admissions and amusement tax revenues are collected by the Comptroller as well.

Related State Agencies

Additionally, a flow chart (attached) has been developed to outline the payroll advance I recovery process. Once an employee is in the payroll system (it can take new employees 2-3 pay periods to be “in the system”), it will take 2 more pay periods for direct deposit to begin. If the bank does not reject the pre-note, the direct deposit will begin next pay period. Building upon the agency’s commitment to stellar customer service, the agency has created a new unit dedicated to providing taxpayers with a high-level contact for tax issues that haven’t been resolved adequately. The Ombudsman’s Office, led by Dana Frank Buker, is dedicated to helping taxpayers navigate government channels and come to a swift resolution of their problems.

The Payroll Recovery Act (House Bill 1144, AK.A. Chapter 783) was passed during the 2017 General Assembly session. This Act was effective July 1, 2017 and it shall remain effective for a period of two years and, at the end of June 30, 2019, with no further action required by the General Assembly, this Act shall be abrogated and of no further force and effect. In November 2008, registration and tax-processing functions formerly overseen by the Motor Fuel, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Regulatory Division were assigned to the Revenue Administration Division. Now, the Division administers laws and regulations concerned with the manufacture, storage, transportaton, sale, and distribution of alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and motor fuel. Formed in 1953, the Central Payroll Bureau was authorized several years earlier by the Board of Public Works. The Bureau was created to begin a standardized system of paying wages to State government employees.

It also tests motor fuel to ensure the quality of the product for the consumer. The public’s right to information about government activities lies at the heart of a democratic government. Maryland’s Public Information Act (PIA) grants the people of this State a broad right of access to public records while protecting legitimate governmental interests and the privacy rights of individual citizens. PIA requests made for information owned by the Comptroller of Maryland will be reviewed and processed per all applicable laws. The Maryland Office of the Attorney General (OAG) ensures that state agencies fairly, expeditiously, and correctly implement the Act when requests are made, while also protecting rights of privacy and other public policy goals.

These tax rates are set by local officials, and the Comptroller distributes the local revenue to each county and Baltimore City. In addition, revenues collected by the Maryland Racing Commission, along with motor vehicle revenues, are distributed to local jurisdictions by the Comptroller’s Office. The office of the Comptroller of Maryland was established by the Constitution of 1851 (Art. VI, secs. 1-4). Concerned about the potential central payroll bureau for fraud and corruption in the administration of the public treasury, delegates to the 1850 Constitutional Convention established the office as a check on the State Treasurer. A direct deposit will stop within 21 days of filing the form with the Central Payroll Bureau. Do NOT close your bank account until you have received your first regular paycheck.

Maryland at a Glance

To access, retrieve, and record tax data, the Division uses the automated tax processing and recordation system, known as SMART (State of Maryland Tax System). STATE LICENSE BUREAUThe State License Bureau administers and tracks 21 different business licenses issued by Circuit Court Clerks. These licenses are issued to construction companies and warehouses, hawkers and peddlers, restaurants, and traders, among others. For the twenty-four Registers of Wills’ offices throughout the State, the Division coordinates information technology services. Established in 1953, we handle and provide payment of salaries and wages for all state employees whose salaries are paid from funds appropriated by the General Assembly.

Maryland Counties

• Beginning in January 2023, all main offices of the Comptroller of Maryland began to report to the Comptroller through the Chief of Staff.
• With the itemized statement, the Board submits its recommendations to the Governor.
• Maryland’s Public Information Act (PIA) grants the people of this State a broad right of access to public records while protecting legitimate governmental interests and the privacy rights of individual citizens.
• When sending an email to the Comptroller of Maryland, do not include information such as your full social security number (use only the last 4 digits), bank account numbers, routing numbers, or any other sensitive information.
• The General Accounting Division was the original office of the State Comptroller, created with the establishment of the office in 1851.
• The Central Payroll Bureau processes and issues paychecks to all State employees, including those in the Department of Transportation (though not the Maryland Transit Administration) and the University System of Maryland.

Thereafter, the Bureau (beginning with a few agencies) extended a uniform payroll system throughout State government. If the search for and preparation of requested records exceeds two hours a fee may be charged. Not including the initial two hours, the fee is calculated by prorating the salaries of the staff and attorneys involved in the response by the actual time spent searching for and preparing the records for disclosure. For example, if an employee’s salary is $100.00 per hour, and the employee spends four hours searching for and preparing the requested records, the fee assessed would be $200.00 (note again that the first two hours are not included in the fee). Additionally, if paper copies of records are requested there is a $0.25 per page fee.

• By enforcing the collection of use tax, the comptroller’s goal is to provide a level playing field for local businesses in competing with out-of-state retailers who sell through catalogs and on the Internet.
• The Bureau was created to begin a standardized system of paying wages to State government employees.
• Further, it is our mandate to provide a transparent, lighted path forward in government; opening the Free State’s books and deciphering in the clearest way possible how taxpayer dollars are spent, and what Marylanders get in return for their hard work.
• The bureau is currently complimented by three units including Operations, Accounting and Reporting and Information Technology.
• Created in 1945, the Board of Revenue Estimates is concerned with revenues that will fund State government (Chapter 991, Acts of 1945).
• More than 700,000 transactions are made totaling over $200,000,000 each year.

Financial ($) Reference

The Division’s work is supported by the automated State of Maryland Integrated Tax (SMART) System. Through the System, tax return information is recorded and processed, refunds are issued for individual income taxes, and for certain other taxes, including corporate income taxes, employer witholding taxes, and sales and use taxes. The Compliance Division originated when the Income Tax Division formed in 1937. Some of its duties also stem from the Sales and Use Tax Division which organized in 1947.

With a budget of $110 million, the agency collects approximately $16 billion a year in state and local tax revenue and provides 12 branch offices throughout the state. The Bureau studies and analyzes all sources of revenue to operate State government (Const., Art. VI, sec. 2). For the Board of Revenue Estimates, the Bureau prepares an analysis of the State’s economic outlook, and the itemized statement of anticipated revenue. The Bureau also devises equitable and economical means to collect such revenue and may recommend new revenue sources. Proposals to change Maryland tax laws are analyzed by the Bureau to determine their fiscal impact. To provide accurate, timely, efficient, and customer friendly payroll services to all State of Maryland employees in a secured environment.