Certification Procedures

This section contains the procedures federal agencies must follow to certify to the IRS the amount of “federal income taxes” paid to and deposited into the U.S. Treasury. All departments and agencies of the federal government (as well as service and social organizations associated with a military or civilian federal entity) that withhold federal income taxes on amounts paid to employees and pensioners of the United States (or any agency thereof) as provided herein must certify to the IRS each calendar quarter the total amount of federal income taxes withheld that have been deposited into the U.S. Treasury. Federal agencies must submit a separate certification for federal income taxes creditable to American Samoa, the CNMI, and Guam, as applicable.

Except as provided below, these certifications should be in the form of a letter and should include:

A citation to Pub. 15 as the authority for the certification,

The name of the federal certifying agency or department,

The certifying agency’s EIN,

The calendar quarter and fiscal year covered by the certification,

The total number of individuals covered by the certification, and

The aggregate dollar amount of federal income taxes withheld on all individuals covered by the certification.

A federal government department or agency that submits a certification on behalf of another department or agency must include the name and EIN of each subordinate or designated federal department or agency included, along with the required data for each subordinate or designated department or agency. In this instance, the certifying agency must send the certification at least on an annual basis, no later than February 14.

In addition, federal government agencies certifying for compensation paid to military personnel not stationed in American Samoa, the CNMI, or Guam but who have a state of legal residence in one of these territories must provide each servicemember’s name, SSN, amount of annual salary paid, and total amount of annual federal income tax withheld.

The amounts shown in the certification must agree with the amounts of federal income tax withheld and reported on the quarterly federal tax return(s) of the agency (Form 941).

Federal agencies must submit these certifications on a quarterly basis no later than 45 days after the close of each calendar quarter as follows.

Quarter Due First quarter (ending March 31) May 15 Second quarter (ending June 30) Aug. 14 Third quarter (ending September 30) Nov. 14 Fourth quarter (ending December 31) Feb. 14

Federal agencies should mail this certification to the following address.