1 

Revised 6/2/2021 

Attachment B 

Accounting Scenarios for the Emergency Federal Employee Leave Fund 

Background 

Section 4001 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2), enacted on March 11, 2021, established a new category of paid leave for 

selected Federal employees. Eligibility for the leave is based on certain COVID-19-related qualifying circumstances. This emergency paid leave (EPL) 

will be funded by a $570 million Emergency Federal Employee Leave Fund (Fund) and administered by the Director of the Office of Personnel 

Management (OPM). Amounts in the Fund shall be available for reimbursement to an agency for the use of paid leave under this section by any 

covered employee of the agency who is unable to work because of certain COVID-19-related qualifying circumstances. 

Each agency with covered employees using emergency paid leave must submit to OPM a request for reimbursement from the Fund. Agencies must 

inform employees that the granting of EPL to employees who meet the eligibility conditions is tentative and conditional upon monies being 

available in the Fund. When submitting a reimbursement claim to OPM, an authorized agency official must attest that, to the official’s knowledge, 

the agency’s established policies and procedures for implementing emergency paid leave are in compliance with section 4001 and OPM’s 

supporting guidance. 

Office of Management and Budget (OMB)/Treasury has established a unique Treasury Account Fund Symbol (TAFS) under OPM agency 

identification code (024-2021/2022-0806). Agencies should reference this TAFS with the reimbursements received from this Fund. OPM has 

received a definite mandatory appropriation of $570 million. OMB has apportioned the budgetary resources into two category B projects - 

Emergency Federal Employee Leave Fund (EFELF) ($565 million) and Administration EFELF ($5 million). 

Important Note: Even though OPM has two years to reimburse agencies, reimbursements will only be made to TAFS that paid for the 

emergency leave. Agencies may not consolidate multiple reimbursement requests into one TAFS. In other words, if your annual TAFS paid 

the leave in FY 2021, then the account reimbursed by OPM would be the FY 2021 TAFS. Similarly, if leave was paid from an agency’s noyear TAFS, the account that would be reimbursed is the no-year TAFS. 
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Revised 6/2/2021 

Purpose 

To outline guidance on the accounting for the EPL reimbursement activity by OPM and the agencies seeking reimbursements from the Fund. 

Agency’s request for reimbursement should be based on disbursements to eligible employees. OPM reimbursements to requesting agencies for 

the paid EPL are considered expenditure transfers from OPM to the agencies. OPM is refunding to the agencies the wages paid to eligible 

employees for qualified EPL. The requesting agency has to record anticipated collections from federal sources and seek an apportionment of the 

budget authority from OMB. 

The two scenarios below relate to the timing of the reimbursements affecting TAFSs. Scenario 1 addresses EPL paid (i.e., disbursement) by a 

requesting agency and reimbursed by OPM (from budgetary resources in TAFS 024-2021/2022-0806) to a requesting agency in FY 2021. Scenario 2 

addresses EPL paid (i.e., disbursement) by a requesting agency in FY 2021 but reimbursed by OPM (from budgetary resources in TAFS 024-

2021/2022-0806) to a requesting agency in FY 2022. All disbursements must be incurred during the allowable period specified in OPM’s supporting 

guidance. 

Scenario 1 – Current year (FY 2021) activity, including agencies’ reimbursement requests submitted, approved and paid for EPL disbursed in FY 

2021. Eligible period covered by section 4001 is March 11, 2021 – September 30, 2021. 

Note 1: OPM’s reimbursement to the requesting agency does not entail the exchange of services or goods. There is no need for an InterAgency 

Agreement between OPM and the requesting agency. Section 4001 of Public Law 117-2 provides OPM with budget authority to reimburse or 

refund to agencies qualified paid EPL expense subject to fund availability. 

Note 2: Reimbursement from the Fund is contingent on budgetary resources being available in the Fund. As a result, when the requesting agency 

prepares and submits a request for reimbursement, there is no receivable to set up by the requesting agency and no payable to be set up by OPM. 

After OPM approves the request, and processes an Intra-Governmental Payment and Collection (IPAC) transaction to reimburse the requesting 

agency, transaction 4 shows the recording of OPM’s disbursement, and the requesting agency’s receipt of the reimbursement.

Note 3: Reimbursements to agencies are conditional upon budgetary resources being available in the Fund. Accounting entries for situations 

where the Fund is depleted are not presented in this document. Agencies should refer to OPM’s supporting guidance. 
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Revised 6/2/2021 

1. To record the enactment of FY 2021 appropriation and warrant received for EFELF (024-2021/2022-0806.)

OPM (TAFS 24-2021/2022- 

0806) 

DR CR TP RC TC Requesting Agency (TAFS 

XXX-XXXX/XXXX-XXXX)

DR CR TP RC TC 

Budgetary Entry 

411900 Other 

Appropriations 

Realized 

445000 Unapportioned 

Authority 

Proprietary Entry 

101000 Fund Balance 

With Treasury 

310100 Unexpended 

Appropriations - 

Appropriations 

Received 

570

570 

570

570 

024 A104 Budgetary Entry 

N/A

Proprietary Entry 

N/A
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Revised 6/2/2021 

2. To record the payroll payment (Paid Leave) by the requesting agency against its own budgetary resources before any reimbursement by

OPM. If agency used appropriated funding, it would include Transaction Code B134 or B234 to record appropriations used as

appropriate.

OPM (TAFS 24-2021/2022- 

0806) 

DR CR TP RC TC Requesting Agency (TAFS 

XXX-XXXX/XXXX-XXXX)

DR CR TP RC TC 

Budgetary Entry 

N/A

Proprietary Entry 

N/A

024 Budgetary Entry 

461000 Allotments –

Realized Resources 

 490200 Delivered 

Orders 

- Obligations, Paid

Proprietary Entry 

610000 Operating 

Expenses/Pro

gram Costs 

 101000 Fund Balance 

 With Treasury 

50

50

50

50

XXX B102 
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Revised 6/2/2021 

3. To record anticipated collections including refunds from prior-year amounts that were obligated and outlayed in unexpired TAS after

agency’s request for an apportionment from OMB. Because apportionment rules vary widely depending on the TAFS in question, the

requesting agency’s budget office works with its OMB examiner to ensure all SF-132 rules related to EFELF are followed.

OPM (TAFS 24-2021/2022- 

0806) 

DR CR TP RC TC Requesting Agency (TAFS 

XXX-XXXX/XXXX-XXXX)

DR CR TP RC TC 

Budgetary Entry 

N/A

Proprietary Entry 

N/A

024 Budgetary Entry 

407000 Anticipated 

Collections From Federal 

Sources 

 445000 Unapportioned 

Authority 

445000 Unapportioned 

Authority 

 459000 Apportionments 

- Anticipated Resources -

Programs Subject to

Apportionment

Proprietary Entry 

N/A

50

50

50

50

XXX A140

A118 
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Revised 6/2/2021 

4. To record a disbursement out of the Fund to reimburse agency XXX, as directed by section 4001. OPM reimburses the agency via IPAC.

The requesting agency must have submitted a request for reimbursement to OPM and then records the receipt of previously anticipated

collections with apportionment. If a requesting agency did not have an apportionment yet and received a reimbursement, they would

still post the collection without TC A122, and it must remain unapportioned until the apportionment is received.

OPM (TAFS 24-2021/2022- 

0806) 

DR CR TP RC TC Requesting Agency (TAFS 

XXX-XXXX/XXXX-XXXX)

DR CR TP RC TC 

Budgetary Entry 

461000 Allotments – 

Realized Resources 

490200 Delivered 

Orders 

- Obligations, Paid

50 

50 

024 A514 

50 

Budgetary Entry 

427700 Other Actual 

Collections - Federal/NonFederal Exception Sources 

 407000 Anticipated 

Collections From Federal 

Sources 

459000 Apportionments -

Anticipated Resources - 

Programs Subject to 

Apportionment 

 461000 Allotments – 

Realized Resources 

50

50

50

XXX C109 

A122 

Proprietary Entry 

576000 Expenditure 

Financing Sources - 

Transfers-Out 

101000 Fund Balance 

With 

Treasury 

50 

50 

Proprietary Entry 

101000 Fund Balance 

With Treasury 

575000 

Expenditure 

Financing Sources - 

Transfers-In 

50

50
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Revised 6/2/2021 

5. To record appropriations used this fiscal year.

OPM (TAFS 24-2021/2022- 

0806) 

DR CR TP RC TC Requesting Agency (TAFS 

XXX-XXXX/XXXX-XXXX)

DR CR TP RC TC 

Budgetary Entry 

N/A

Proprietary Entry 

310710 Unexpended 

Appropriations –

Used-Disbursed 

570010 Expended 

AppropriationsDisbursed 

50

50 

024

39

38

B234 Budgetary Entry 

N/A

Proprietary Entry 

N/A

Scenario 2 – Subsequent year (FY 2022) activity, including agencies’ reimbursement requests submitted and/or approved in FY 2021 or FY

2022 but paid to the requesting agency for emergency paid leave disbursed in FY 2022. Eligible period covered by the Statute is March 11, 

2021 – September 30, 2021. For example, an employee may use conditionally granted emergency paid leave through September 30, 2021, 

in the biweekly pay period covering September 18, 2021, through October 1, 2021, and the employee’s paycheck for that period (including 

leave disbursements) would be issued in October 2021. Also, an agency may be retroactively applying conditional emergency paid leave to 

an earlier biweekly pay period in FY 2021 as a retroactive correction processed (disbursed) in FY 2022. The requesting agency must record 

anticipated collections including refunds from prior-year amounts that were obligated and outlayed in unexpired TAS after agency’s request 

for an apportionment from OMB. If a requesting agency has single year authority that has expired in year two, the agency would not post 

an anticipated collections entry and any collections made would be unavailable for the agency to obligate. In this scenario, the agency 

should hit 465000 - Allotments - Expired Authority instead of 407000 below as shown below under Transaction #3. 
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Revised 6/2/2021 

1. To record a disbursement out of the Fund in FY 2022 to reimburse agency XXX, as directed by section 4001. OPM reimburses the agency

via IPAC. The requesting agency must have incurred the disbursements during the allowable period and submitted a request for

reimbursement to OPM. The requesting agency records the receipt of previously anticipated collections.

OPM (TAFS 24-2021/2022- 

0806) 

DR CR TP RC TC Requesting Agency (TAFS 

XXX-XXXX/XXXX-XXXX)

DR CR TP RC TC 

Budgetary Entry 

461000 Allotments – 

Realized Resources 

490200 Delivered 

Orders 

- Obligations, Paid

50 

50 

024 A514 Budgetary Entry 

427700 Other Actual 

Collections - Federal/NonFederal Exception Sources 

 407000 Anticipated 

Collections From Federal 

Sources 

459000 Apportionments - 

Anticipated Resources - 

Programs Subject to 

Apportionment 

 461000 Allotments – 

Realized Resources 

50 

50 

50

50 

XXX C109 

A122

Proprietary Entry 

576000 Expenditure 

Financing Sources - 

Transfers-Out 

101000 Fund Balance 

With 

Treasury 

50 

50 

Proprietary Entry 

101000 Fund Balance 

With Treasury 

 575000 Expenditure 

Financing Sources - 

Transfers-In 

50 

50 
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Revised 6/2/2021 

2. To record appropriations used this fiscal year.

OPM (TAFS 24-2021/2022- 

0806) 

DR CR TP RC TC Requesting Agency (TAFS 

XXX-XXXX/XXXX-XXXX)

DR CR TP RC TC 

Budgetary Entry 

N/A

Proprietary Entry 

310710 Unexpended 

Appropriations –

Used-Disbursed 

570010 Expended 

AppropriationsDisbursed 

50

50

024

39

38

B234 Budgetary Entry 

N/A

Proprietary Entry 

N/A
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Revised 6/2/2021 

3. To record the IPAC collections in year two, if a requesting agency has single year authority that has expired in year two. The agency

would not post an anticipated collections entry and any collections made would be available for the agency for upward adjustments of

obligations only. The accounting entries for the requesting agency presented below is a modification of TC C109. The use of transaction

code C109 with 465000 – Allotments – Expired Authority in place of 407000 is a modification of the original C109 – TC C109M.

OPM (TAFS 24-2021/2022- 

0806) 

DR CR TP RC TC Requesting Agency (TAFS 

XXX-XXXX/XXXX-XXXX)

DR CR TP RC TC 

Budgetary Entry 

461000 Allotments – 

Realized Resources 

490200 Delivered 

Orders - Obligations, 

Paid 

50 

50 

024 A514 Budgetary Entry 

427700 Other Actual 

Collections - Federal/NonFederal Exception Sources 

 465000 Allotment – 

Expired Authority 

50 

50 

XXX C109M 

Proprietary Entry 

576000 Expenditure 

Financing Sources - 

Transfers-Out 

101000 Fund Balance 

With 

Treasury 

310710 Unexpended 

Appropriations – 

Used-Disbursed 

570010 Expended 

AppropriationsDisbursed 

50 

50 

50 

50 

B234 

Proprietary Entry 

101000 Fund Balance 

With Treasury 

 575000 Expenditure 

Financing Sources - 

Transfers-In 

50 

50 
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Revised 6/2/2021 

Notes from OMB 

1. For offsetting collections from Federal sources in an agency TAFS that is anticipating to be reimbursed by OPM’s Emergency Paid Leave Fund, the agency

should classify any spending authority from offsetting collections, the offsetting collections from which they are derived, and the associated

obligations/outlays as mandatory or discretionary based on the activities for which the offsetting collections are spent (i.e., obligated/outlayed) in the

receiving account. Refer to section 81.2 of OMB Circular No. A-11.

Additionally, the receiving TAFS identified should have an apportionment footnote (A footnote on line 6190 in the OMB action column):

“Reimbursements received from OPM’s Emergency Federal Employee Leave Fund (sec. 4001 of P.L. 117-2) are hereby automatically apportioned without

further action by OMB. If such reimbursements are received to this TAFS in the expired phase, such funds are automatically apportioned but pursuant to

31 U.S.C. 1553 are only available for upward adjustments of obligations that were incurred in this TAFS prior to expiration.”

The footnote above is a generic footnote that will apply to all agency TAFSs seeking reimbursement from OPM’s Emergency Paid Leave Fund. Please

work with your OMB program examiner via your agency budget office to ensure it is included on the appropriate apportionment.

2. Disaster Emergency Fund Code for EPL

The transfer between OPM and the other agencies is an expenditure transfer. In this case, OPM will record the DEFC value V while the other agencies

will record the offsetting collections with a DEFC value Q. Below is an example that should help everyone’s understanding.

For example, if your agency (USDA) initially obligated FY 2021 budget authority that was coded with a DEFC value O (PL 117-2), then the offsetting

collections will be coded with a DEFC value Q. Why?

Offsetting Collection Derived from OPM’s Emergency Federal Employee Leave Fund (as covered in the attachment)

• When the emergency paid leave was initially recorded against the budget authority provided in PL 117-2, the obligation/outlay was also

recorded with DEFC value O.

• When your agency is anticipating the offsetting collections from OPM, the anticipated budgetary resource and anticipated status of budgetary

resource USSGL accounts would be coded with a DEFC value Q.

• When your agency receives the offsetting collections from OPM, your agency will code the offsetting collections with a DEFC value Q and also

classify them as direct.

Reclassification of Obligation/Outlay for Emergency Paid Leave 

• Your agency will reclassify the obligation/outlay recorded for the emergency paid leave from the original budgetary resource (coded with a DEFC

value O) to the offsetting collections (coded with a DEFC value Q).

• Once the reclassification has occurred, your agency may incur new obligations and/or upward adjustments depending on the period of

availability of your Treasury Appropriation Fund Symbol and whether it has been apportioned, if applicable.