NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 122

Note 17. Other Liabilities

Other Liabilities as of September 30, 2020, and 2019

(In billions of dollars) 2020 2019

Other deferred revenue ............................................................................. 106.1 63.7

Other liabilities without related budgetary obligations................................... 97.5 64.0

Liability for advances and prepayments ...................................................... 68.1 111.3

Other liabilities with related budgetary obligations........................................ 67.3 40.0

Allocation of special drawing rights............................................................. 49.7 48.1

Contingent liabilities .................................................................................. 46.5 50.9

Actuarial liabilities for Treasury-managed benefits program.......................... 45.8 35.1

Accrued funded payroll and leave............................................................... 24.5 20.3

Other miscellaneous liabilities .................................................................... 62.7 76.9

Total other liabilities ................................................................................ 568.2 510.3

Other liabilities are the amounts owed to the public and are not reported elsewhere in the balance sheet. Unfunded leave 

was previously reported as part of Other Liabilities, but for FY 2020 it is reported as part of Note 13—Federal Employee and 

Veteran Benefits Payable.

• Other deferred revenue are the amounts of revenue or income received but not yet earned not otherwise classified as 

advances or prepayments. Some examples include deferred project revenue funded in advance, funds received in 

advance under the terms of a settlement agreement, prepaid postage, and unearned fees, assessments, and 

surcharges. DOE and SAA are the largest contributors.

• Other liabilities without related budgetary obligations represent those unfunded liabilities for which Congressional 

action is needed before budgetary resources can be provided. The largest contributor to this category is DOE’s 

contractor-sponsored pension plans and other post-retirement benefits. Also included are PBGC’s payables due for 

purchase of securities and amounts payable upon return of securities loaned and DOJ’s September 11th Victim 

Compensation Fund.

• Liability for advances and prepayments are the amounts of payments received in advance of performance of 

activities for which revenue has not been earned. Most of these amounts are attributable to SAA.

• Other liabilities with related budgetary obligations are amounts of liabilities for which there is a related budgetary 

obligation. Grant accruals, subsidies, and unpaid obligations related to assistance programs are all part of this 

category. The largest contributors are DHS, DOT, USDA, and HHS.

• Allocation of SDRs are the amounts of corresponding liability representing the value of the reserve assets allocated 

by the IMF to meet global needs to supplement existing reserve assets. SDRs derive their quality as reserve assets 

from the undertakings of the members to accept them in exchange for “freely useable” currencies (the U.S. dollar, 

European euro, Japanese yen, and British pound sterling). Treasury is the sole contributor.

• Contingent liabilities are amounts that are recognized as a result of a past event where a future outflow or sacrifice 

of resource is probable and measurable. These consist of a wide variety of administrative proceedings, legal actions, 

and tort claims which may ultimately result in settlements or decisions adverse to the federal government. DOE and 

HHS are the top contributors.

• Actuarial liabilities for Treasury-managed benefit programs are the amounts recorded by Treasury for actuarial 

liabilities of future benefit payments to be paid from programs such as the D.C. Federal Pension Fund and the D.C. 

Judicial Retirement Fund. The only contributors are DOL and Treasury.

• Accrued funded payroll and leave are the estimated amounts of liabilities for salaries, wages and funded annual 

leave and sick leave that have been earned but are unpaid. The most substantial contribution is from DOD.
 123 NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

• Other miscellaneous liabilities are the liabilities not otherwise classified above. Many entities reported relatively 

small amounts.

Significant increases to Other deferred revenue and Other liabilities without related budgetary obligations, along with a 

decrease to Liability for advances and prepayments, were all the result of a change in SAA’s reporting process. Historically, 

data was provided through data calls, but in FY 2020 a process migration effort took place to begin utilizing accounting 

system feeder files.

The largest contributors to each category are listed above. However, the entities below are listed in order of significance 

and comprise 95.3 percent of the government’s reported Other Liabilities of $568.2 billion as of September 30, 2020. Please 

refer to the entities’ financial statements for additional information.

• SAA • DOT • VA 

• DOE • USPS • EPA 

• Treasury • USDA • FCC

• DOL • DOJ • DOI

• HHS • PBGC • State

• DOD • TVA • SEC

• DHS