# INTRODUCTION: Federal Fiscal Operations

*Budget authority* usually takes the form of appropriations that allow
*obligations* to be incurred and payments to be made. Reappropriations
are Congressional actions that extend the availability of unobligated
amounts that have expired or would otherwise expire. These are counted
as new budget authority in the fiscal year of the legislation in which
the reappropriation act is included, regardless of when the amounts were
originally appropriated or when they would otherwise lapse.

Obligations generally are liquidated by the issuance of checks or the
disbursement of cash---*outlays*. Obligations may also be liquidated
(and outlays recorded) by the accrual of interest on public issues of
Treasury debt securities (including an increase in redemption value of
bonds outstanding); or by the issuance of bonds, debentures, notes,
monetary credits, or electronic payments.

Refunds of collections generally are treated as reductions of
collections, whereas payments for earned-income tax credits in excess of
tax liabilities are treated as outlays. Outlays during a fiscal year may
be for payment of obligations incurred in prior years or in the same
year. Outlays, therefore, flow in part from unexpended balances of prior
year budget authority and from budget authority provided for the year in
which the money is spent. Total outlays include both budget and
off-budget outlays and are stated net of offsetting collections.

*Receipts* are reported in the tables as either budget receipts or
offsetting collections. They are collections from the public, excluding
receipts offset against outlays. These, also called governmental
receipts, consist mainly of tax receipts (including social insurance
taxes), receipts from court fines, certain licenses, and deposits of
earnings by the Federal Reserve system. Refunds of receipts are treated
as deductions from gross receipts. Total Government receipts are
compared with total outlays in calculating the budget surplus or
deficit.

Offsetting collections from other Government accounts or the public are
of a business-type or market-oriented nature. They are classified as
either collections credited to appropriations or fund accounts, or
offsetting receipts (i.e., amounts deposited in receipt accounts). The
former normally can be used without an appropriation act by Congress.
These occur in two instances: (1) when authorized by law, amounts
collected for materials or services are treated as reimbursements to
appropriations. For accounting purposes, earned reimbursements are also
known as revenues. These offsetting collections are netted against gross
outlays in determining net outlays from such appropriations; and (2) in
the three types of revolving funds (public enterprise,
intragovernmental, and trust); offsetting collections are netted against
spending, and outlays are reported as the net amount.

Offsetting receipts in receipt accounts cannot be used without
appropriation. They are subdivided into three categories: (1)
proprietary receipts, or collections from the public, offset against
outlays by agency and by function; (2) intragovernmental transactions,
or payments into receipt accounts from governmental appropriation or
fund accounts. They finance operations within and between Government
agencies and are credited with collections from other Government
accounts; and (3) offsetting governmental receipts that include foreign
cash contributions.

*Intrabudgetary transactions* are subdivided into three categories: (1)
interfund transactions---payments are from one fund group (either
Federal funds or trust funds) to a receipt account in the other fund
group; (2) Federal intrafund transactions---payments and receipts both
occur within the Federal fund group; and (3) trust intrafund
transactions---payments and receipts both occur within the trust fund
group.

Offsetting receipts are generally deducted from budget authority and
outlays by function, subfunction, or agency. There are four types of
receipts, however, that are deducted from budget totals as undistributed
offsetting receipts. They are: (1) agencies' payments (including
payments by *off-budget Federal entities*) as employers into employees'
retirement funds; (2) interest received by trust funds; (3) rents and
royalties on the Outer Continental Shelf lands; and (4) other interest
(i.e., that collected on Outer Continental Shelf money in deposit funds
when such money is transferred into the budget).

The Government has used the unified budget concept set forth in the
"Report of the President's Commission on Budget Concepts" as a
foundation for its budgetary analysis and presentation since 1969. The
concept calls for the budget to include all of the Government's fiscal
transactions with the public. Since 1971, however, various laws have
been enacted removing several Federal entities from (or creating them
outside of) the budget. Other laws have moved certain off-budget Federal
entities onto the budget. Under current law, the off-budget Federal
entities consist of the two Social Security trust funds, Federal Old-Age
and Survivors Insurance and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund,
and the Postal Service.

Although an off-budget Federal entity's receipts, outlays, and surplus
or deficit ordinarily are not subject to targets set by the
Congressional resolution, the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985 \[commonly known as the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act as
amended by the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 (2 United States Code
900-922)\] included off-budget surplus or deficit in calculating deficit
targets under that act and in calculating excess deficit. Partly for
this reason, attention has focused on both on- and off-budget receipts,
outlays and deficit of the Government.

Tables **FFO-1, FFO-2, and FFO-3** are published quarterly and cover 5
years of data, estimates for 2 years, detail for 13 months, and fiscal
year-to-date data. They provide a summary of data relating to Federal
fiscal operations reported by Federal entities and disbursing officers,
and daily reports from the FRBs. They also detail accounting
transactions affecting receipts and outlays of the Government and
off-budget Federal entities and their related effect on assets and
liabilities of the Government. Data are derived from the "Monthly
Treasury Statement of Receipts and Outlays of the United States
Government."

-   Table **FFO-1** summarizes the amount of total receipts, outlays,
    and surplus or deficit, as well as transactions in Federal
    securities, monetary assets, and balances in Treasury operating
    cash.

-   Table **FFO-2** includes on- and off-budget receipts by source.
    Amounts represent income taxes, social insurance taxes, net
    contributions for other insurance and retirement, excise taxes,
    estate and gift taxes, customs duties, and net miscellaneous
    receipts.

-   Table **FFO-3** details on- and off-budget outlays by agency.

-   Table **FFO-4** summarizes on- and off-budget receipts by source and
    outlays by function as reported to each major fund group
    classification for the current fiscal year to date and prior fiscal
    year to date.

-   Table **FFO-5** summarizes internal revenue receipts by states and
    by type of tax. Amounts reported are collections made in a fiscal
    year. They span several tax liability years because they consist of
    prepayments (estimated tax payments and taxes withheld by employers
    for individual income and Social Security taxes), payments made with
    tax returns and subsequent payments made after tax returns are due
    or are filed (that is, payments with delinquent returns or on
    delinquent accounts).

Amounts are reported based on the primary filing address provided by
each taxpayer or reporting entity. For multistate corporations, the
address may reflect only the district where such a corporation reported
its taxes from a principal office rather than other districts where
income was earned or where individual income and Social Security taxes
were withheld. In addition, an individual may reside in one district and
work in another.

-   Table **FFO-6** includes customs collection of duties, taxes, and
    fees by districts and ports.

# Budget Results and Financing of the U.S. Government and Fourth-Quarter Receipts by Source

\[Source: Office of Tax Analysis, Office of Tax Policy\]

**Fourth-Quarter Receipts**

**The following capsule analysis of budget receipts, by source, for the
fourth quarter of fiscal year 2008 supplements fiscal data reported in
the September issue of the "Treasury Bulletin." At the time of that
issue's release, not enough data were available to analyze adequately
collections for the quarter.**

**Individual income taxes---**Individual income tax receipts, net of
refunds, were \$268.0 billion for the fourth quarter of fiscal year
2008. This is a decrease of \$10.4 billion over the comparable prior
year quarter. Withheld receipts increased by \$7.2 billion and
non-withheld receipts decreased by \$1.2 billion during this period.
Refunds increased by \$16.4 billion over the comparable fiscal year 2007
quarter, primarily related to payments issued in accordance with
provisions of the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008. There was an increase
of \$1.5 billion in accounting adjustments between individual income tax
receipts and the Social Security and Medicare trust funds over the
comparable quarter in fiscal year 2007.

**Corporate income taxes---**Net corporate income tax receipts were
\$67.8 billion for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2008. This is a
decrease of \$22.9 billion compared to the prior year fourth quarter.
The \$22.9 billion change is comprised of a decrease of \$18.6 billion
in estimated and final payments, and an increase of \$4.3 billion in
corporate refunds.

**Employment taxes and contributions---**Employment taxes and
contributions receipts for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2008 were
\$202.0 billion, an increase of \$4.3 billion over the comparable prior
year quarter. Receipts to the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance,
Federal Disability Insurance, and Federal Hospital Insurance trust funds
changed by \$2.7 billion, \$0.5 billion, and \$1.2 billion respectively.
There was a -\$2.6 billion accounting adjustment for prior years'
employment tax liabilities made in the fourth quarter of fiscal year
2008, while there was a -\$1.1 billion adjustment in the fourth quarter
of fiscal year 2007.

**Unemployment insurance**---Unemployment insurance receipts, net of
refunds, for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2008 were \$7.5 billion,
a decrease of \$0.5 billion over the comparable quarter of fiscal year
2007. Net State taxes deposited in the U.S. Treasury decreased by \$0.5
billion to \$6.4 billion. Net Federal Unemployment Tax Act taxes
decreased by \$0.1 billion to \$1.1 billion.

### Budget Results and Financing of the U.S. Government and Fourth-Quarter Receipts by Source, con.

**Contributions for other insurance and retirement---**Contributions for
other retirement were \$1.0 billion for the fourth quarter of fiscal
year 2008. This was a negligible change from the comparable quarter of
fiscal year 2007.

**Excise taxes---**Net excise tax receipts for the fourth quarter of
fiscal year 2008 were \$19.0 billion, a decrease of \$0.4 billion over
the comparable prior year quarter. Total excise tax refunds for the
quarter were \$0.8 billion, a decrease of \$0.3 billion over the
comparable prior year quarter.

**Estate and gift taxes---**Net estate and gift tax receipts were \$6.4
billion for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2008. These receipts
represent an increase of \$0.1 billion over the same quarter in fiscal
year 2007.

**Customs duties---**Customs duties net of refunds were \$7.4 billion
for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2008. This is an increase of \$0.1
billion over the comparable prior year quarter.

**Miscellaneous receipts---**Net miscellaneous receipts for the fourth
quarter of fiscal year 2008 were \$10.8 billion, a decrease of \$2.7
billion over the comparable prior year quarter. This change is due in
part to deposits of earnings by Federal Reserve banks decreasing by
\$3.2 billion.

+-----------------------+----------------+---+---+-------------+---+---+---+
| ### Total             |                |   |   |             |   |   |   |
| On- and Off-Budget Re |                |   |   |             |   |   |   |
| sults and Financing o |                |   |   |             |   |   |   |
| f the U.S. Government |                |   |   |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   |   |             |   |   |   |
| \[In millions of      |                |   |   |             |   |   |   |
| dollars. Source:      |                |   |   |             |   |   |   |
| "Monthly Treasury     |                |   |   |             |   |   |   |
| Statement of Receipts |                |   |   |             |   |   |   |
| and Outlays of the    |                |   |   |             |   |   |   |
| United States         |                |   |   |             |   |   |   |
| Government"\]         |                |   |   |             |   |   |   |
+-----------------------+----------------+---+---+-------------+---+---+---+
|                       | > Fourth       |   |   | > Fiscal    |   |   |   |
|                       | > quarter\     |   |   | > year 2008 |   |   |   |
|                       | > July - Sept. |   |   |             |   |   |   |
+-----------------------+----------------+---+---+-------------+---+---+---+
|                       |                |   |   |             |   |   |   |
+-----------------------+----------------+---+---+-------------+---+---+---+
| Total on- and         |                |   |   |             |   |   |   |
| off-budget results:   |                |   |   |             |   |   |   |
+-----------------------+----------------+---+---+-------------+---+---+---+
| > Total receipts      | 589,955        |   | 2 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | , |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 5 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 2 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 3 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | , |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 8 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 5 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 9 |             |   |   |   |
+-----------------------+----------------+---+---+-------------+---+---+---+
| > On-budget receipts  | 434,860        |   | 1 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | , |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 8 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 6 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 5 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | , |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 8 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 1 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 3 |             |   |   |   |
+-----------------------+----------------+---+---+-------------+---+---+---+
| > Off-budget receipts | 155,094        |   | 6 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 5 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 8 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | , |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 0 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 4 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 5 |             |   |   |   |
+-----------------------+----------------+---+---+-------------+---+---+---+
| > Total outlays       | 758,909        |   | 2 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | , |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 9 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 7 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 8 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | , |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 6 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 6 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 4 |             |   |   |   |
+-----------------------+----------------+---+---+-------------+---+---+---+
| > On-budget outlays   | 605,626        |   | 2 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | , |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 5 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 0 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 3 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | , |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 9 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 0 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 3 |             |   |   |   |
+-----------------------+----------------+---+---+-------------+---+---+---+
| > Off-budget outlays  | 153,282        |   | 4 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 7 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 4 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | , |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 7 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 6 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 1 |             |   |   |   |
+-----------------------+----------------+---+---+-------------+---+---+---+
| > Total surplus or    | -168,955       |   | - |             |   |   |   |
| > deficit (-)         |                |   | 4 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 5 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 4 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | , |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 8 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 0 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 6 |             |   |   |   |
+-----------------------+----------------+---+---+-------------+---+---+---+
| > On-budget surplus   | -170,766       |   | - |             |   |   |   |
| > or deficit (-)      |                |   | 6 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 3 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 8 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | , |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 0 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 9 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 0 |             |   |   |   |
+-----------------------+----------------+---+---+-------------+---+---+---+
| > Off-budget surplus  | 1,812          |   | 1 |             |   |   |   |
| > or deficit (-)      |                |   | 8 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 3 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | , |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 2 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 8 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 4 |             |   |   |   |
+-----------------------+----------------+---+---+-------------+---+---+---+
| Means of financing:   |                |   |   |             |   |   |   |
+-----------------------+----------------+---+---+-------------+---+---+---+
| > Borrowing from the  | 526,490        |   | 7 |             |   |   |   |
| > public              |                |   | 6 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 7 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | , |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 7 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 2 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 2 |             |   |   |   |
+-----------------------+----------------+---+---+-------------+---+---+---+
| > Reduction of        | -318,292       |   | - |             |   |   |   |
| > operating cash      |                |   | 2 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 9 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 6 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | , |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 3 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 7 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 1 |             |   |   |   |
+-----------------------+----------------+---+---+-------------+---+---+---+
| > Other means         | -39,243        |   | - |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 1 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 6 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | , |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 5 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 4 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 5 |             |   |   |   |
+-----------------------+----------------+---+---+-------------+---+---+---+
| > Total on- and       | 168,955        |   | 4 |             |   |   |   |
| > off-budget          |                |   | 5 |             |   |   |   |
| > financing           |                |   | 4 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | , |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 8 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 0 |             |   |   |   |
|                       |                |   | 6 |             |   |   |   |
+-----------------------+----------------+---+---+-------------+---+---+---+
|                       |                |   |   |             |   |   |   |
+-----------------------+----------------+---+---+-------------+---+---+---+

+-----------------------+------+------+---+--------+-------+----+---+---+
| ###                   |      |      |   |        |       |    |   |   |
|  Fourth-Quarter Net B |      |      |   |        |       |    |   |   |
| udget Receipts by Sou |      |      |   |        |       |    |   |   |
| rce, Fiscal Year 2008 |      |      |   |        |       |    |   |   |
|                       |      |      |   |        |       |    |   |   |
| \[In billions of      |      |      |   |        |       |    |   |   |
| dollars. Source:      |      |      |   |        |       |    |   |   |
| "Monthly Treasury     |      |      |   |        |       |    |   |   |
| Statement of Receipts |      |      |   |        |       |    |   |   |
| and Outlays of the    |      |      |   |        |       |    |   |   |
| United States         |      |      |   |        |       |    |   |   |
| Government"\]         |      |      |   |        |       |    |   |   |
+-----------------------+------+------+---+--------+-------+----+---+---+
| > Source              |      | >    |   | Aug.   |       | S  |   |   |
|                       |      | July |   |        |       | ep |   |   |
|                       |      |      |   |        |       | t. |   |   |
+-----------------------+------+------+---+--------+-------+----+---+---+
|                       |      |      |   |        |       |    |   |   |
+-----------------------+------+------+---+--------+-------+----+---+---+
| Individual income     | 66.1 |      | 7 |        | 131.6 |    |   |   |
| taxes                 |      |      | 0 |        |       |    |   |   |
|                       |      |      | . |        |       |    |   |   |
|                       |      |      | 3 |        |       |    |   |   |
+-----------------------+------+------+---+--------+-------+----+---+---+
| Corporate income      | 10.3 |      | 3 |        | 53.6  |    |   |   |
| taxes                 |      |      | . |        |       |    |   |   |
|                       |      |      | 9 |        |       |    |   |   |
+-----------------------+------+------+---+--------+-------+----+---+---+
| Employment and        | 65.3 |      | 6 |        | 71.3  |    |   |   |
| general retirement    |      |      | 5 |        |       |    |   |   |
|                       |      |      | . |        |       |    |   |   |
|                       |      |      | 4 |        |       |    |   |   |
+-----------------------+------+------+---+--------+-------+----+---+---+
| Unemployment          | 2.8  |      | 4 |        | 0.2   |    |   |   |
| insurance             |      |      | . |        |       |    |   |   |
|                       |      |      | 5 |        |       |    |   |   |
+-----------------------+------+------+---+--------+-------+----+---+---+
| Contributions for     | 0.4  |      | 0 |        | 0.3   |    |   |   |
| other insurance and   |      |      | . |        |       |    |   |   |
| retirement            |      |      | 3 |        |       |    |   |   |
+-----------------------+------+------+---+--------+-------+----+---+---+
| Excise taxes          | 5.9  |      | 5 |        | 7.7   |    |   |   |
|                       |      |      | . |        |       |    |   |   |
|                       |      |      | 4 |        |       |    |   |   |
+-----------------------+------+------+---+--------+-------+----+---+---+
| Estate and gift taxes | 2.5  |      | 1 |        | 2.0   |    |   |   |
|                       |      |      | . |        |       |    |   |   |
|                       |      |      | 9 |        |       |    |   |   |
+-----------------------+------+------+---+--------+-------+----+---+---+
| Customs duties        | 2.7  |      | 2 |        | 2.5   |    |   |   |
|                       |      |      | . |        |       |    |   |   |
|                       |      |      | 2 |        |       |    |   |   |
+-----------------------+------+------+---+--------+-------+----+---+---+
| Miscellaneous         | 4.5  |      | 3 |        | 3.2   |    |   |   |
| receipts              |      |      | . |        |       |    |   |   |
|                       |      |      | 1 |        |       |    |   |   |
+-----------------------+------+------+---+--------+-------+----+---+---+
| > Total budget        | 1    |      | 1 |        | 272.4 |    |   |   |
| > receipts            | 60.5 |      | 5 |        |       |    |   |   |
|                       |      |      | 7 |        |       |    |   |   |
|                       |      |      | . |        |       |    |   |   |
|                       |      |      | 0 |        |       |    |   |   |
+-----------------------+------+------+---+--------+-------+----+---+---+
|                       |      |      |   |        |       |    |   |   |
+-----------------------+------+------+---+--------+-------+----+---+---+
| Note.---Detail may    |      |      |   |        |       |    |   |   |
| not add to totals due |      |      |   |        |       |    |   |   |
| to independent        |      |      |   |        |       |    |   |   |
| rounding.             |      |      |   |        |       |    |   |   |
+-----------------------+------+------+---+--------+-------+----+---+---+

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