§ 285.7 Salary offset.

(a) Purpose and scope. (1) This section establishes Fiscal Service's procedures for the centralized offset of Federal salary payments to collect delinquent nontax debts owed to the United States. This process is known as centralized salary offset. Rules issued by the Office of Personnel Management contain the requirements Federal agencies must follow prior to conducting centralized or non-centralized salary offset and the procedures for requesting offsets directly from a paying agency, rather than through TOP. See 5 CFR 550.1101 through 550.1108.

(2) This section implements the requirement under 5 U.S.C. 5514(a)(1) that all Federal agencies, using a process known as centralized salary offset computer matching, identify Federal employees who owe delinquent nontax debt to the United States. Centralized salary offset computer matching is the computerized comparison of delinquent debt records with records of Federal employees. The purpose of centralized salary offset computer matching is to identify those debtors whose Federal salaries should be offset to collect delinquent debts owed to the Federal Government.

(3) This section specifies the delinquent debt records and Federal employee records that must be included in the salary offset matching process. For purposes of this section, delinquent debt records consist of the debt information submitted to the Bureau of the Fiscal Service for purposes of administrative offset as required under 31 U.S.C. 3716(c)(6). Agencies that submit their debt to Fiscal Service for purposes of administrative offset are not required to submit duplicate information for purposes of centralized salary offset computer matching under 5 U.S.C. 5514 and this section.

(4) This section establishes an interagency consortium to implement centralized salary offset computer matching on a government-wide basis as required under 5 U.S.C. 5514(a)(1).

(5) The receipt of collections from salary offsets does not preclude a creditor agency from pursuing other debt collection remedies, including the offset of other Federal payments to satisfy delinquent nontax debt owed to the United States. A creditor agency should pursue, when deemed appropriate by such agency, such debt collection remedies separately or in conjunction with salary offset.

(6) This section does not govern the centralized offset of final salary payments or lump-sum payments made to employees who have left an agency's employ. The centralized offset of such payments is governed by § 285.5 of this part.

(b) Definitions. For purposes of this section:

Administrative offset means withholding funds payable by the United States to, or held by the United States for, a person to satisfy a debt owed by the payee.

Agency means a department, agency or subagency, court, court administrative office, or instrumentality in the executive, judicial, or legislative branch of the Federal government, including government corporations.

Centralized salary offset computer matching means the computerized comparison of Federal employee records with delinquent debt records to identify Federal employees who owe such debts.

Creditor agency means any agency that is owed a debt.

Debt means any amount of money, funds, or property that has been determined by an appropriate official of the Federal government to be owed to the United States by a person, including debt administered by a third party acting as an agent for the Federal Government. For purposes of this section, the term “debt” does not include debts arising under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C.).