Wage & Contribution Reporting System Online Manual

Manual last updated 2/19/2025

Welcome to the Online Manual for the TRS Wage & Contribution Reporting System!

This is a system guide only. For TRS policy, forms, and other employer materials, visit the TRS website.

To learn more about a specific screen or function, select it from the Table of Contents at left.

NEW! Reporting a Non-contributing Substitute Teacher or Part-time Teacher's Aide/Paraprofessional

In early 2025, the system was enhanced to track hours for substitute teachers and part-time teacher's aides/paraprofessionals who elected to defer membership until at least 210 hours have been reported in a single fiscal year. Employers can run a report to view those individuals' progress toward that threshold; to learn more, see the Reporting topic in this online manual.

•Instructions for reporting "non-contributing" substitute teachers or PT aides/paras can be found on the TRS website (trs.mt.gov) under "Communication Archive" (2025).

Action Items menu button

"Action Items" feature

This feature was added to the Wage & Contribution Reporting system in October 2022.

Please review the Action Items topic within this Online Manual to learn about how they work and what they do. If you have questions about your responsibility to complete action items, call TRS at (406) 444-3134 during regular business hours.

TRS requires a contribution report every month – even if you paid no wages, such as in a summer month. If you need to create and submit a $0 Contribution report for one or more summer months, here are the quick and easy steps:

1.Choose Employer Reports from the menu, like you normally would.

•Make sure your previous month's report has been submitted to TRS.)

2.On the List Employer Reports page, click the "+" (Add) button in the upper right. When the Add Report Header page displays, you will see that:

•The Report Type field is set to Contribution

•The Pay Period is set to the next month for which no contributions have been submitted.

3.In the Report Type row, select Yes for "$0 Contribution?"

4.Click Save, then OK to confirm the action. Your newly created report is listed on the List Employer Reports page.

5.Now select that report and click the Submit button at the bottom of the Report Summary page.

•Note: There are no validation steps for $0 contribution reports, since no funds are being remitted. Easy!

TIP: You can submit another $0 Contribution report right away, if needed (such as if you have no wages to report for two summer months).

The illustration below applies to regular monthly reports with contributions:

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Contact:

Montana Teachers' Retirement System

(406) 444-3134

Toll free: 1-866-600-4045

email: TrsComms [at] mt.gov