State Payee Payment Resources

Overview

The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts (Comptroller’s office) plays the role of both bank and accountant for state government payments issued via the Comptroller’s office to pay the agencies’ bills according to state law. State agencies, including institutions of higher education, submit payment requests for their payees to a statewide accounting system maintained by the Comptroller’s office. For more information, see State Payment Requirements and Payments On Hold.

Payments are prepared and issued by the accounting system by printing warrants (paper checks) or by electronic direct deposit. The process includes these steps:

• The paying agency assists its payees in obtaining a Texas Identification Number (TIN) that the state uses to track payments.
• The payee provides goods or services to a state agency and submits an invoice to that agency for payment.
• The agency submits a payment request to the statewide accounting system that includes payment distribution instructions based on the payee’s payment option.
  • Warrant, the paying agency distributes the warrant to its payee.
  • Direct deposit, the Comptroller’s office transmits the payment to the payee’s account on behalf of the agency.

Texas Identification Number (TIN)

State payees must first be assigned a TIN via the Comptroller’s Texas Identification Number System (TINS) before a state payment can be issued. The Comptroller’s office uses the TIN to process and track all state payments.

• When you start doing business with the state or receive any other state payment for the first time, the agency you are doing business with or receiving a payment from will provide you with an application form to apply for a TIN. The completed application form must be returned to the agency that provides the form.
• If you are a sole business owner, individual recipient or individual partner of a partnership, you must provide a:
  • Social Security number (SSN) or
  • Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to individuals required to have a federal taxpayer identification number but not eligible to obtain an SSN.
  Although your SSN or ITIN is required to meet federal and state laws, the Comptroller’s office assigns a random 11-digit TIN that begins with 7 to protect the SSN and ITIN.
• You must provide an employer identification number (EIN) issued by IRS for a business. If the business is a partnership, information for two partners is required. A partner may be an individual who must provide an SSN or ITIN or a business which must provide an EIN.
• If you are a foreign entity or non-resident alien who does not have an EIN, SSN or ITIN, notify the state agency that will issue your payment. The agency will obtain a Comptroller-assigned TIN for you based on the agency’s determination to acquire one.

Mail codes

A mail code is a payment instruction that defines the deliverable address for a state warrant (paper check) and financial account information for electronic deposits of state payments. All vendors/payees have at least one mail code. You should have only one TIN; however, you can have multiple mail codes for multiple addresses.

If you want to have direct deposit payments sent to more than one account or your business has more than one mailing address to receive payments, contact the state agency that issues your payments to set up the appropriate mail codes and direct deposit information. If you have multiple mail codes, be sure to include the correct mail code with your TIN on each invoice, as needed, so the agency knows how to distribute your payments.

Payment Options

Payees can choose to receive their state payments electronically by direct deposit or as a state warrant (paper check).

State Payment Requirements

The Comptroller’s office may not:

• Make a payment without a payment request from an agency via the statewide accounting system or
• Create or alter another agency’s payment request in any way.

For assistance with payments, payees should call the paying agency listed on the Paying Agency Contact List.

When the State Can Pay

Texas has a payment scheduling law, Government Code, Chapter 2155.382, that requires state agencies to schedule payments so the state receives the most benefit. This means that state agencies are not allowed to pay vendors before the payments are due unless:

• The invoice is less than $5,000 or
• The state has a business reason for paying early.

For example, agencies can make early payments to vendors if:

• The vendor gives a substantial discount for paying early or
• There is a contract stipulating the payment timelines.

To maximize the time that funds are held by the state, agencies are required to schedule their payments in the statewide accounting system. Payments will automatically be made just before the payment becomes late unless the agency justifies a request to make the payment earlier.

When Payments Are Due

Texas also has a prompt payment law, Government Code, Chapter 2251, that defines when certain payment types are due. A state agency’s payment is due on the 30th day after the latest of:

• The date the agency receives the goods under a contract,
• The date the vendor completes performing its services for the agency or
• The date the agency receives an invoice for the goods or services.

Here is an example:

A state agency ordered and received 50 chairs that cost $125 each. The chairs are received on Jan 3. The state agency receives a correct invoice for all 50 chairs on Jan. 10. The payment is legally due on Feb. 9, which is 30 days after the date the agency received the invoice. Since the invoice is over $5,000 ($6,250) and no discount for early payment is offered, the agency may not pay for the chairs until Feb. 9.

Agencies must ensure each payment complies with the prompt payment law.

Interest Due on Late Payments

The prompt payment law also states that interest is due to a vendor for goods and services when payments are late. Interest starts accruing the first day the payment is late. The interest rate the state pays is calculated on an annual basis. The interest calculation is one percentage point higher than the prime rate published in the Wall Street Journal on the first business day of July.

The statewide accounting system automatically computes and adds interest to a late payment. Any interest included in a payment will be noted in the direct deposit payment information or on the last line of the warrant stub. In the rare case that interest is legally due but not included in your payment, you may submit a claim for interest due as follows:

• Pursue the claim not later than the sixth month after the date that the late payment is received.
• Contact the paying agency; procedures for filing claims for interest vary from agency to agency.
• Be prepared to show banking information with the direct deposit transaction date or the postmark date on the envelope for the warrant.
• Submit the claim to the paying agency.

Calculators

Prompt Payment Due Date and Interest Rate Calculator

Calculates the due date of a payment and the interest rate that would apply if the payment were late.

Prompt Payment Interest Calculator

Calculates the amount of interest due on a late payment.

Payments on Hold

Government Code, Section 403.055 is the law that prohibits the state from making payments if the payee owes a debt to the state or is delinquent on state taxes, child support or other state debts. This law requires agencies to report to the Comptroller’s office each outstanding state debt. Reporting these debts enables the Comptroller’s office to hold state payments as required by law.

When a payee is reported as having a state debt, the Comptroller’s office will prepare and print a warrant, referred to as a held warrant. The warrant will be retained until the payee pays what is owed or authorization to release the warrant is provided by the agency that reported the debt. Under certain circumstances, the law also authorizes the Comptroller to apply state payments against what is owed, referred to as an offset.

When a held warrant is issued to a state debtor, the Comptroller’s office mails the payee a Notice of State Payment(s) Held (notice). This notice advises the payee to contact the agency that reported the state debt to make payment arrangements.

The notice also states that the payment will be applied to the liability owed 30 days after the issue date on the notice if the debt is not paid or the agency that reported the debt does not request the payment be released.

A Voluntary Offset form is provided on the back of the notice. Payees who wish to voluntarily apply their held payment to their state debt before the 30 days must sign the completed form and submit it to the Comptroller’s office as instructed on the form.

Payment Information

Search State Payments Issued

The Search State Payments Issued (SSPI) web application provides vendors and other payees with access to their detailed payment information. After your login is authenticated, you can access information on both warrants and direct deposit payments. The application excludes payment information for state employee payroll or state retirement payments.

The application gives one or multiple authorized users in a business organization access to information on payments issued by all state agencies via the Comptroller’s office. Each authorized user must create an individual login account. The application also provides two formats to download and print a payment report.

SSPI step-by-step instructions can be accessed by clicking on each of these links:

• Set Up SSPI TINs
• Perform an SSPI Payment Search
• Download Search Results
• Logout

Advance Payment Notification

Payees such as vendors, state employees (for travel payments) and individual recipients can choose to receive an Advanced Payment Notification (APN) email alert from the SSPI application when:

• A direct deposit payment has been sent to their financial institution and/or
• A warrant has been issued and is available for distribution to the paying agency.

All payees including state employees should verify the availability of direct deposit funds with their financial institution before expending funds.

To opt-in for APN, payees must first set up an account on the Comptroller’s eSystems web application. Payees manage their own APN options. When an APN email is received, the payee should access the SSPI application to view its payment information. See Set Up APN for step-by-step instructions.

Where the Money Goes

Texas has an online state expenditure database called Where the Money Goes to track state spending. The database offers six check register search tools, including Payments to Vendors.

The Data Center is also part of the Comptroller's transparency initiative. It is designed to provide direct access to platform-independent data, including all state expenditures by fiscal year. Vendor payments for the year by agency are part of the state expenditure datasets.

Two types of information are excluded from being posted on Where the Money Goes — payee addresses and any transactions that are designated as confidential by the paying agency. Under state and federal law, some payees must be kept confidential. In addition, state agencies may determine and mark other transactions as confidential. If you are concerned about a payment being displayed as public information, contact the paying agency to discuss any confidentiality concerns.

The database is a snapshot of the state’s payment register as of the time the payment was made. Subsequent corrections that do not result in an additional payment or payment cancellations do not appear.