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  • Per diem lookup
Buy through us
Explore buy through us
Category management
Government property for sale or lease
Personal property (tangible goods)
Real property (real estate and buildings) for public use
Real property sales
Vehicle sales
Products and services
Human capital
Industrial products and services
Office management
Professional services
Security and protection
Transportation and logistics services
Purchasing programs
Assisted acquisition
Commercial platforms
Federal strategic sourcing initiative
Fleet management
HCaTS and HCaTS SB
OASIS and OASIS SB
Requisition programs
State and local programs
Emergency acquisition basic ordering agreements
Shared services
Payroll services
Support services for CABs
Sell to government
Explore sell to government
Step 1: Learn about government contracting
Ways you can sell to government
How to access contract opportunities
Conduct market research
Step 2: Compete for a contract
Register your business
Certify as a small business
Become a schedule holder
Market your business
Research active solicitations
Respond to a solicitation
What to expect during the award process
Step 3: Manage your contract
Comply with contractual requirements
Handle contract modifications
Monitor past performance evaluations
Real estate
Explore real estate
Design and construction
3D-4D building information modeling
Computer-aided design standards
Engineering
Project management information system
Prospectus thresholds
Facilities management
Security
Tenant services
Water quality management
Our properties
Owned and leased properties
Regional buildings
Renting property
Real estate services
Leasing
Real property disposal
Reimbursable services (RWA)
For businesses seeking opportunities
For workers in federal buildings
Voice of the customer
Workplace optimization
Commercial coworking
Federal coworking
Policy and regulations
Explore policy and regulations
Acquisition management policy
Aviation management policy
Information technology policy
Real property management policy
Relocation management policy
Travel management policy
Vehicle management policy
Regulations
Federal acquisition regulations
Federal management regulations
Federal travel regulations
Small business
Explore small business
Small business goals
Register your business
Explore business models
Research the federal market
Subcontracting and other partnerships
Forecast of contracting opportunities
Small business resources
Small business contacts
Small business events
Videos
Travel
Explore travel
Plan a trip
Per diem rates
Transportation (airfare rates, POV rates, etc.)
Lodging
Travel charge card
Travel and lodging services
E-gov travel service (ETS)
Rideshare
Travel category schedule
Federal travel regulation
Technology
Explore technology
Build websites and digital services
Purchasing programs
Cloud computing services
Cybersecurity products and services
Governmentwide acquisition contracts
MAS information technology
USAccess
Government initiatives
Artificial Intelligence
Cybersecurity
Emerging citizen technology
FedRAMP
Federal identity, credentials, and access management
Robotic process automation community
Technology modernization fund
Training
About us
Explore about us
Background and history
Overview
Mission and strategic goals
Role in presidential transitions
Careers
Get an internship
Launch your career
Elevate your professional career
Discover special hiring paths
Resources and related links
Events and training
Events, training, and request a speaker
Our training programs
Newsroom
Agency blog
Congressional testimony
GSA does that podcast
News releases
Speeches
Videos
Organization
Leadership directory
Federal Acquisition Service
Public Buildings Service
Staff offices
Regions
Region 1 | New England
Region 2 | Northeast and Caribbean
Region 3 | Mid-Atlantic
Region 4 | Southeast Sunbelt
Region 5 | Great Lakes
Region 6 | Heartland
Region 7 | Greater Southwest
Region 8 | Rocky Mountain
Region 9 | Pacific Rim
Region 10 | Northwest/Arctic
Region 11 | National Capital Region
Contact us
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  5. Payroll shared services
  6. Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Related content links are provided below to various FAQ’s for payroll.

  • General Payroll Questions
  • W-2 Questions
  • Leave Questions
  • Human Resources-Related Questions

General Payroll FAQs

You can change your federal and state tax withholdings in one of four ways:

  • By accessing your Employee Express account at www.employeeexpress.gov. You can make changes to state tax in Employee Express as long as you’re making the change for the same state shown on your payroll record. If your address has changed and you want to change your withholding for a different state, then please use one of the other methods listed below to update your payroll data.
  • By scanning and sending your W-4 via a secure email to KC-Payroll.Finance@gsa.gov
  • By faxing your W-4 to 816-823-5435
  • By mailing your W-4 for either federal or state taxes, or both, to:

    General Services Administration
    Payroll Services Branch (BGC), 2NW
    2300 Main Street
    Kansas City, MO 64108

    All submissions must include your name and social security number.

Changes or updates to your direct deposit information can be accomplished in one of four ways:

  • By accessing your Employee Express account at www.employeeexpress.gov
  • By scanning and sending your direct deposit form by secure email to KC-Payroll.Finance@gsa.gov
  • By faxing your direct deposit form to 816-823-5435
  • By mailing a Direct Deposit Sign-Up Form (SF 1199A) to:

    General Services Administration
    Payroll Services Branch (BGC), 2NW
    2300 Main Street
    Kansas City, MO 64108

You can change an existing allotment by providing the Payroll Services Branch with your social security number, the number of the allotment (from your Earnings and Leave Statement), and the change to the allotment amount. This may be submitted:

  • Online, by accessing your Employee Express account at www.employeeexpress.gov
  • By sending a secure email to KC-Payroll.Finance@gsa.gov;
  • By faxing your request to 816-823-5435; or
  • By mailing a Direct Deposit Sign-Up Form (SF 1199A):

    General Services Administration
    Payroll Services Branch (BGC), 2NW
    2300 Main Street
    Kansas City, MO 64108

    Example: Change my allotment #2 from $60.00 to $75.00.

You can set up a new allotment by providing the Payroll Services Branch with your social security number, the name of your financial institution, your financial institution’s 9-digit routing number (this is obtained from your financial institution), your account number (indicate if the account is a checking or savings account), and the amount of the allotment. This may be submitted:

  • Online, by accessing your Employee Express account at www.employeeexpress.gov
  • By sending a secure email to KC-Payroll.Finance@gsa.gov
  • By faxing your request to 816-823-5435
  • By mailing a Direct Deposit Sign-Up Form (SF 1199A) or Form BC-2 to:

    General Services Administration
    Payroll Services Branch (BGC), 2NW
    2300 Main Street
    Kansas City, MO 64108

Payroll only handles direct deposit for your salary payment. Your travel direct deposit is handled by the USDA Accounts Payable Branch in Kansas City. Please send a secure request for travel reimbursement direct deposits to either of the following: kc-vendor.help@gsa.gov or KC-Vendor.Number.Requests@gsa.gov. (Either one will work.) If you send your travel information to the GSA Payroll Services Branch, we will forward it to the USDA Accounts Payable Branch.

You can submit a request for a replacement in one of the following three ways:

  • By fax to 816-823-5435
  • By sending a secure email to KC-Payroll.Finance@gsa.gov
  • By mailing a request to:

    General Services Administration
    Payroll Services Branch (BGC), 2NW
    2300 Main Street
    Kansas City, MO 64108

Provide us with your name, your social security number, the pay period of the lost check, and the address where we should send the replacement check, or your direct deposit information.

Your pay is sent to the Treasury by electronic funds transfer (EFT) on the Thursday after each pay period ends. The Treasury then forwards it to your financial institution overnight for deposit to your account on Friday morning (no later than 24 hours from receipt).

Please contact your financial institution’s Automated Clearing House department for their posting schedule of EFT transmissions because different financial institutions have different deposit rules.

If you’re a General Schedule employee, you cannot exceed the salary of a GS-15, step 10 for your locality during a pay period because of the biweekly premium pay cap. If overtime, or any other type of premium pay, causes your salary to exceed this amount, your pay is automatically cut back by the payroll system.

Please work with your direct supervisor and your servicing human resources office to request a waiver to the biweekly premium pay cap. This waiver will need to be approved by the Chief Human Capital Officer.

Yes, as long as night shift differential status is a part of your normal tour of duty, paid leave is coded in addition to regular hours and night shift differential.

The only time you are entitled to Sunday Premium Pay is when it is part of your regular tour of duty.

When your Official Personnel Folder is transferred from your former agency to your new agency, the human resources office of your former agency will send your Record of Leave Data (SF 1150) to the GSA’s Payroll Services Branch. The SF 1150 reflects your leave balances as of the last pay period with your previous agency. Once the Payroll Services Branch receives your SF 1150, they will update your leave balances. It could take up to 6 months to receive the SF 1150 from your old agency.

To expedite this process, you can submit a secure copy of your last Earnings and Leave Statement from your former agency as a substitute for your SF 1150 to the Payroll Services Branch at KC-Payroll.Finance@gsa.gov.

You will need to contact your servicing human resources office to obtain this information.

Human resources must change the employee’s tour of duty, or the payroll system will not accept anything less than 80 hours worked. For the time and attendance record to process, the employee or timekeeper will have to record the missing hours with leave without pay. Leave without pay hours also affect the within-grade increase date and, possibly, the employee’s service computation date. 

The switch to a part-time schedule from full-time also affects how leave is accrued. Part-time employees earn annual and sick leave based on the number of hours in their established tour of duty, which is less than what they would earn on a full-time schedule. Depending on an employee’s leave category, he or she may accrue one hour of annual leave for each 20-hour, 13-hour, or 10-hour increment of hours worked. Any employees who have less than an 80-hour tour of duty per pay period are affected by 13-hour or 10-hour increments of hours worked. (For example, an employee in a 4-hour leave category accrues one hour of annual leave after working at least 20 but less than 40 hours.) In the same way, an employee (regardless of leave category) accrues one hour of sick leave for each 20-hour increment of hours worked.

Moving allowances can be both taxable and non-taxable. The taxable portion is considered income. Only the federal taxes are paid by the agency as part of the moving allowance calculation; Medicare and OASDI are not part of this calculation. Medicare is a required deduction on all income. Social Security (OASDI) is also a required deduction on all income when your retirement plan is either Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS, FERS-RAE, or FERS-FRAE) or post-1983 Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS Offset).

For income tax planning and assistance, please consult your tax or financial advisor. The Payroll Services Branch will increase or decrease your withholdings per your request but will not provide tax advice. The IRS provides a withholding calculator that can be found on their website.

Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) deductions coincide with the leave year. Your election for CFC is effective the first full pay period of the calendar year. For example, the CFC deduction for the pay period ending 1/4/20 includes the final CFC deduction for 2019. This payment will be in the Year-to-Date area of the Earnings and Leave Statement for the entire new year.

The annual salary for federal employees is set by the Office of Personnel Management. The base hourly rate per pay period is calculated by dividing your annual salary by 2,087 hours. Also, your W-2 base pay may exclude your Thrift Savings Plan contributions, health benefit premium conversion, or nontaxable qualified fringe benefits like transit benefits.

After the Payroll Services Branch receives your resignation or retirement package, the value of your accrued annual leave will usually be paid in a lump sum in the following pay period. You will not be paid for your sick leave balance. However, the Office of Personnel Management Retirement Office will add it to your annuity calculation if you are retiring.

If you transfer to another federal agency, your sick leave and annual leave will be transferred.

When you take leave without pay, a health benefits insurance debt is automatically established. The Payroll Services Branch will notify you by letter of your health insurance options during periods of leave without pay. For information on repaying this debt, contact the Payroll Services Branch at the contact information on the letter you received.

OASDI is Social Security.

Our mailing address is:

General Services Administration
Payroll Services Branch (BGC), 2NW
2300 Main Street
Kansas City, MO 64108-2416

We calculate your aggregate disposable earnings (ADE) by subtracting taxes (federal, state, and local), retirement, OASDI/Medicare, your health benefit insurance premium, your basic life insurance premium, your Thrift Savings Plan contribution, and any IRS levy, if applicable, from your gross pay.

Twenty five percent of your aggregate disposable earnings is the maximum garnishment deduction amount for each pay period. (Child support is not considered in this calculation.) IRS levies and child support are subtracted from the 25% ADE to determine the amount of deductions for garnishments.

The amount of a wage garnishment might change since garnishments are a percentage of your biweekly pay. If a pay action affects any component of the aggregate disposable earnings calculation (explained in the previous question), the amount of a garnishment would change. Examples of pay actions that might affect your aggregate disposable earnings include annual pay raises, within-grade increases, or promotions.

A garnishment might also be adjusted because of interest charges by the garnisher on unpaid garnishment balance.

We calculate your involuntary debt repayment amount by first calculating your net disposable pay. Net disposable pay is your gross pay minus: current year taxes (federal, state, and local), retirement, OASDI/Medicare, your health benefit insurance premium, your basic life insurance premium, your Thrift Savings Plan contribution, IRS levy, and child support, if applicable. Fifteen percent of your net disposable pay is your involuntary debt repayment amount for each biweekly pay period.

If you’re an active employee, you can pay the entire amount of an agency debt by personal check, cashiers’ check, or money order. Include the claim number in the memo line and mail to:

General Services Administration
Payroll Services Branch (BGC), 2NW
2300 Main Street
Kansas City, MO 64108-2416

For you to claim exempt from federal income tax you must file an IRS form W-4 claiming that you won’t owe any federal income taxes for the current year. Follow the instructions to complete the W-4 form.

You must resubmit a W-4 form annually in order to continue to claim exempt from withholding federal income tax. The deadline for submission of a W-4 claiming exempt is February 15 for each tax year.

Follow your agency IT rules of behavior for handling personally identifiable information (PII). If you have any questions about data encryption, please contact your supervisor or IT help desk.

W-2 Questions

Your W-2 is required to be mailed or made available via an electronic form of transmission by no later than January 31 of each tax year.

If your agency has elected to participate in the electronic email notification process, you will receive notice by email from Employee Express when your W-2 statement is available online. This notice will also include instructions on how to access and print your W-2.

For a copy of your W-2, you may access Employee Express at www.employeeexpress.gov to print a duplicate W-2. Employee Express stores the last 4 years of your W-2s and you can download or print them from the website.

  1. Go to www.employeeexpress.gov.
  2. Enter your login ID and password and click “Log In,” or log in with your smart card.
  3. Click on “W-2” under the Miscellaneous section to view your W-2.
  4. Select the “Print” button at the bottom of the page to print your W-2.
  5. To print multiple copies of your W-2, select the “View PDF” button at the bottom of the page.

If you’ve forgotten your login ID or password, click the “Forgot Login ID” or “Forgot Password” link on the Employee Express login page and follow the on-screen directions.

Depending on the option you choose, you will either be sent a security code by email or postal mail. Use the link and the security code provided in the email, or letter if received by mail, to create a new password and set up security questions.

Leave Questions

Home leave is only available for employees located outside the United States.

When you sustain a disabling on-the-job injury, you are entitled to a continuation of pay (COP), without charge to leave, for a period no longer than 45 calendar days. If you are on COP at the end of the day on Friday and the beginning of the day on Monday, the weekend days will count toward the 45 calendar days.

If the holiday is surrounded by leave without pay days, you would not get paid for the holiday. To be paid for the holiday, you must work at the end of the day preceding the holiday OR at the beginning of the day following the holiday — one or the other day but not both.

You must submit a request to your immediate supervisor and meet certain requirements to have forfeited annual leave restored. There are three conditions under which forfeited annual leave may be restored: administrative error, exigency of public business (i.e., an urgent need for you to be at work), or sickness.

Approval procedures are contained in the Time and Leave Administration Handbook (OAD P 6010.1). You should check with your management for the proper approval procedures.

After you have obtained the proper approvals, your request for restored leave, along with your supporting documents, must be forwarded to GSA Payroll Services Branch by either email, fax, or mail.

Family Friendly Leave Act (FFL) codes for sick leave are:

  • Sick Leave/FFL - family: Used to provide care for a family member because of physical or mental illness; injury; pregnancy; childbirth; or medical, dental, or optical examination or treatment.
  • Sick Leave/FFL - funeral: Used to make arrangements necessitated by the death of a family member or attend the funeral of a family member.
  • Sick Leave/FFL - adoption: Used for purposes related to the adoption of a child.
  • Sick Leave/FFL - serious health of family member: Used to care for a family member with a serious health condition/ The definition includes such conditions as cancer, heart attacks, strokes, severe injuries, Alzheimer’s disease, pregnancy, and childbirth. The term “serious health condition” is not intended to cover short-term conditions for which treatment and recovery are very brief.

These codes allow you to use up to 104 hours of sick leave each leave year for general medical care of a family member, adoption, or bereavement.

If you’re a part-time employee or an employee with an uncommon tour of duty, the number of hours available to you would be the number of hours of sick leave you normally accrue during a leave year.

Family and medical leave, also known as Family and Medical Leave Act leave, can be used in combination with the following types of absence for either family leave (for your family members), or medical leave (for you):

  • Annual leave
  • Award leave
  • Compensatory time off used
  • Credit hours used
  • Donated leave
  • Leave without pay
  • Restored leave
  • Sick leave
  • Travel compensatory time off used

Family and medical leave is based on a calendar year and begins on the first day it’s used. You’re entitled to up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave or leave without pay during any 12-month period of family leave (for the birth or adoption/foster care of a child or for the care of a spouse, son, daughter, or parent with a serious medical condition) or medical leave (a serious health condition that affects you directly). You can substitute earned leave (i.e., annual leave, restored annual leave, sick leave, compensatory time, leave from a leave transfer program, or advanced leave for any part of the 12-week leave without pay entitlement).

Your immediate supervisor can approve advanced annual leave up to the number of hours in your biweekly tour of duty. If you’re a full-time employee, you can be granted advanced leave up to the amount you can earn in the remainder of the leave year.

When considering whether to advance annual leave, your supervisor must have reasonable assurance that you are likely to return to duty long enough to pay back the advance of annual leave with subsequent earned annual leave.

Your request for restored leave must go through a series of approvals after you submit it. The parties who review it are:

  1. Your supervisor.
  2. An approving official — your Regional Administrator or Head of Services and Staff Offices, or their designee.
  3. The Chief Human Capital Officer, or their designee.

If it’s approved by the Chief Human Capital Officer, the package is submitted to the Payroll Services Branch where we will input the restored leave and it will be reflected on your next Earnings and Leave Statement.

Administrative leave is not earned. It is a catch-all category used to record the various excused absences and administrative dismissals that are specifically permitted under agency-wide policy. The Time and Leave Administration Handbook, OAD P 6010.1, provides several excused absences that must fit the particular intent of the policy. Your individual situation should be reviewed with your supervisor to ensure you qualify for this type of leave.

Prior to contacting the Payroll Services Branch, you and your supervisor should perform an independent audit of your leave record for the entire year. If you still have a discrepancy, please contact the customer service representatives at KC-Payroll.Finance@gsa.gov.

Employees in the donated leave program earn leave in two accounts; regular and set aside. The hours earned in your regular leave account are based on your work hours and the use of your own leave hours. Regular leave is accrued according to your leave category (i.e., 4-hour leave category earns 1 hour for every 20 hours worked, 6-hour leave category earns 1 hour for every 13 hours worked, and 8-hour leave category earns 1 hour for every 10 hours worked).

The hours in your set-aside account are based on the number of hours earned, according to your leave category. The maximum annual and sick leave you can have in your set-aside account is 40 hours.

  • If your duty station is within the United States, you are allowed to carry 240 hours, or 30 days, of earned annual leave from one leave year to the next. If you are stationed outside the United States or its territories or possessions including the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, you can carry over 360 hours, or 45 days.
  • At the beginning of the leave year, add what you earn during a year (104 hours for leave category 4, 160 hours for leave category 6, and 208 hours for leave category 8) to your carryover balance. Anything over your ceiling (either 240 or 360 hours) is your “use or lose” figure.
  • If you’re in the Senior Executive Service (SES), you are subject to a 720-hour annual leave ceiling as of the date you enter the SES and for as long as you remain in the SES. If you enter the SES with an annual leave balance of more than 720 hours, the higher balance will remain your ceiling unless it drops below that number at the end of the leave year.
    Example: If you entered the SES with 900 hours of annual leave, this becomes your ceiling. If your annual leave balance is less than 900 hours, but greater than 720 hours at the end of the leave year, then the ending balance becomes your new ceiling.
    When you leave the SES, your earned annual leave balance, if more than 240 hours, becomes your new annual leave ceiling, otherwise a ceiling of 240 hours is established.

“Cutback” under annual leave is the excess portion over your leave ceiling that is forfeited at the beginning of the leave year. For most employees, the amount greater than 240 hours at the end of the leave year will be cut back. For more information about restoring leave, talk with your supervisor and see the question above.

In certain instances, permanent full-time employees may be granted advanced sick leave in addition to their accrued sick leave. The rules and regulations governing the approval of advanced sick leave can be found in the Time and Leave Administration Handbook (OAD P 6010.1).

Human Resources-Related Questions

Many personnel-related questions are asked of the Payroll Services Branch that should be directed to the Office of Human Resources Management. The following items are examples of issues which should be referred to your servicing Office of Human Resources.

  • When is my next within-grade increase?
  • Have you received the paperwork for my promotion and is it in the system?
  • When will my new pay raise be effective?
  • What is the new locality rate for my duty station or full-time telework location?

  • I changed my health benefits due to getting married, but my premium hasn’t changed. When will the change take effect?
  • My son and/or daughter just became of age, and they are no longer covered, what do I do?
  • I’m a new employee and my health benefits premium is not being deducted. What should I do?
  • I’ve changed health plans, when will the change be effective?

  • I want to change my distribution of funds. What do I need to send to you?
  • When will a change I made to my TSP take place?
  • I changed the distribution of funds for TSP, and it has not taken place. Why?

  • Do I need to submit a termination notice when there is no longer a medical emergency?
  • How is regular leave earned and what is the purpose of the set aside account?
  • Where should leave donation forms be sent?

  • I sent in a personnel action request or SF 52 to change from a full-time to a part-time schedule (or vice versa). Why hasn’t this change taken effect and when will it be effective?
  • My service computation date is wrong, how do I get it corrected?
  • Why is my annual salary divided by 2087 and not 2080?

CONTACTS

If you can’t access Employee Express

If you are unable to access your last three earnings and leave statements or last three W-2 and 1095-C forms, because you participated in the Deferred Resignation Program or were part of a reduction in force, contact us and allow up to four business days for us to process your request.

Open 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Eastern
kc-payroll.finance@gsa.gov
844-303-6515

GSA Payroll Services Branch
Suite 2NW
2300 Main St.
Kansas City, MO 64108

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Rates for Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories and possessions are set by the Department of Defense.

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Rates are available between 10/1/2022 and 09/30/2025.

The End Date of your trip can not occur before the Start Date.

 
 
Additional terms and conditions

Traveler reimbursement is based on the location of the work activities and not the accommodations, unless lodging is not available at the work activity, then the agency may authorize the rate where lodging is obtained.

Unless otherwise specified, the per diem locality is defined as "all locations within, or entirely surrounded by, the corporate limits of the key city, including independent entities located within those boundaries."

Per diem localities with county definitions shall include"all locations within, or entirely surrounded by, the corporate limits of the key city as well as the boundaries of the listed counties, including independent entities located within the boundaries of the key city and the listed counties (unless otherwise listed separately)."

When a military installation or Government - related facility(whether or not specifically named) is located partially within more than one city or county boundary, the applicable per diem rate for the entire installation or facility is the higher of the rates which apply to the cities and / or counties, even though part(s) of such activities may be located outside the defined per diem locality.

Glossary

  • An SBA program that helps provide a level playing field for small businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged people or entities that meet the following eligibility requirements:

    • Be a small business
    • Not already have participated in the 8(a) program
    • Be at least 51 percent owned and controlled by U.S. citizens who are economically and socially disadvantaged
    • Be owned by someone whose personal net worth is $750,000 or less.
    • Be owned by someone whose average adjusted gross income for three years is $350,000 or less
    • Be owned by someone with $6 million or less in assets
    • Have the owner manage day-to-day operations and also make long-term decisions
    • Have all its principals demonstrate good character
    • Show potential for success and be able to perform successfully on contracts

    See Title 13 Part 124 of the Code of Federal Regulations for more information.

  • From 5 USC 5701(6), "continental United States" means the several states and the District of Columbia, but does not include Alaska or Hawaii.

  • A multiple-award IDIQ governmentwide acquisition contract offering complete and flexible IT solutions worldwide. A best-in-class GWAC and preferred governmentwide solution, Alliant 2 offers:

    • Artificial intelligence
    • Distributed ledger technology
    • Robotic process automation
    • Other types of emerging technologies

    It provides best-value IT solutions to federal agencies, while strengthening chances in federal contracting for small businesses through subcontracting.

  • An agreement established by a government buyer with a Multiple Award Schedule contractor to fill repetitive needs for supplies or services.

  • Types of funds to use on specific expenses.

    • BA51 is for new construction
    • BA53 is for rental of space
    • BA54 is for repairs and alterations below the prospectus level
    • BA55 is for repairs and alterations above the prospectus level
    • BA61 is for operations, except salaries, cleaning, utilities, etc.
  • The work done to make a structure or system ready for use or to bring a construction or development project to a completed state.

  • Negotiated firm-fixed pricing on airline seats for official government travel. The locked-in ticket prices for the fiscal year save federal agencies time and money. Federal employees enjoy flexibility to change their plans without incurring penalties or additional costs. All negotiated rates have:

    • Flexibility to book one-way, multi-leg, and round-trip tickets
    • Lenient refund policies
    • Ability to adjust or cancel flights at no additional cost
    • Unrestricted time limits on ticketing
    • No advance purchase requirements
    • No blackout periods

    Use the CPP search tool to find current fares.

  • A space where individuals work independently or co-work collaboratively in a shared office. The work environment is similar to a typical office, usually inclusive of office equipment and amenities. Typical features of co-working facilities include work spaces, wireless internet, communal printer/copier/fax, shared kitchens, restrooms and open seating areas. May also be referred to as a “shared office.”

  • A system that is bought from a commercial vendor to solve a particular problem, as opposed to one that a vendor custom builds.

  • An employee who negotiates and awards contracts with vendors and who has the sole authority to change, alter or modify a contract.

  • An employee whose duties are to develop proper requirements and ensure contractors meet the commitments during contract administration, including the timeliness and delivery of quality goods and services as required by the contract.

  • A request of GSA where a federal agency retains and manages all aspects of the procurement process and is able to work with the selected vendor after award.

  • An SBA program that gives preferential consideration for certain government contracts to businesses that meet the following eligibility requirements:

    • Meet all the requirements of the WOSB Federal Contract program
    • Be owned and controlled by one or more women, each with a personal net worth less than $850,000
    • Be owned and controlled by one or more women, each with $450,000 or less in adjusted gross income averaged over the previous three years
    • Be owned and controlled by one or more women, each $6.5 million or less in personal assets

    See Title 13 Part 127 Subpart B of the Code of Federal Regulations for more information.

  • The primary regulation for federal agencies to use when buying supplies and services with funds from Congress.

    Use acquisition.gov to browse FAR parts or subparts or download the full FAR in various formats.

  • The travel and relocation policy for all federal civilian employees and others authorized to travel at government expense.

  • A program that promotes the adoption of secure cloud services across the federal government by providing a standardized approach to security and risk assessment.

  • A GSA business line that provides safe, reliable, low-cost vehicle solutions for federal agency customers and eligible entities. Offerings include:

    • Vehicle purchasing, leasing and short-term rentals
    • Vehicle disposal
    • Maintenance control and accident management
    • Loss prevention and fuel services
    • A fleet management system with detailed, accurate data
  • A charge card for U.S. government personnel to use when paying for fuel and maintenance of GSA Fleet vehicles. Find out where the Fleet card is accepted, how to use it and more.

  • A Department of Homeland Security program that allows members to use expedited lanes at U.S. airports and when crossing international borders by air, land and sea.

  • A charge card for certain U.S. Government employees to use when buying mission-related supplies or services using simplified acquisition procedures, when applicable, and when the total cost does not exceed micro-purchase thresholds.

  • A charge card for U.S. government personnel to use when paying for reimbursable expenses while on official travel. Visit smartpay.gsa.gov for more.

  • A vehicle used to perform an agency’s mission(s), as authorized by the agency.

  • A pre-competed, multiple-award, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract that agencies can use to buy total IT solutions more efficiently and economically.

  • A ceremony marking the official start of a new construction project, typically involving driving shovels into ground at the site.

  • An online shopping and ordering system at gsaadvantage.gov that provides access for federal government employees and in some cases, state and local entities, to purchase from thousands of contractors offering millions of supplies and services.

  • An online auction site at gsaauctions.gov that allows the general public to bid on and buy excess federal personal property assets such as:

    • Office equipment
    • Furniture
    • Scientific equipment
    • Heavy machinery
    • Airplanes
    • Vessels
    • Vehicles
  • Real property for which GSA is responsible. It can be either federally owned or leased from a public or private property owner.

  • An SBA program that gives preferential consideration for certain government contracts to business that meet the following eligibility requirements:

    • Be a small business
    • Be at least 51 percent owned and controlled by U.S. citizens, a Community Development Corporation, an agricultural cooperative, a Native Hawaiian organization, or an Indian tribe
    • Have its principal office located in a HUBZone
    • Have at least 35 percent of its employees live in a HUBZone

    See Title 13 Part 126 Subpart B of the Code of Federal Regulations for more information.

  • A type of contract when the quantity of supplies or services, above a specified minimum, the government will require is not known. IDIQs help streamline the contract process and speed service delivery.

  • A fee paid by businesses who are awarded contracts under Multiple Award Schedule to cover GSA’s cost of operating the program. The fee is a fixed percentage of reported sales under MAS contracts that contractors pay within 30 calendar days following the completion of each quarter.

  • A law that provides $3.375 billion for us to:

    • Invest in federal buildings with materials and technologies, making them more efficient, saving taxpayer dollars and creating opportunities for small businesses.
    • Help boost the competitiveness of American manufacturers developing materials.

    This includes $2.15 billion for low embodied carbon materials in construction projects, $975 million to support emerging and sustainable technologies, and $250 million for measures to convert more buildings into High Performance Buildings.

  • An investment in our nation’s infrastructure and competitiveness. The law provides funding for LPOE modernization projects that will create new good-paying jobs, bolster safety and security, and make our economy more resilient to supply chain challenges.

  • A written agreement entered into between two federal agencies, or major organizational units within an agency, which specifies the goods to be furnished or tasks to be accomplished by one agency (the servicing agency) in support of the other (the requesting agency).

  • A facility, also known as a border station, that provides controlled entry into or departure from the United States for persons or materials. It houses the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other federal inspection agencies responsible for the enforcement of federal laws related to entering into or departing from the U.S.

  • An employee who is responsible for preparing, negotiating, awarding and monitoring compliance of lease agreements.

  • Criteria used to select the technically acceptable proposal with the lowest evaluated price. Solicitations must specify that award will be made on the basis of the lowest evaluated price of proposals meeting or exceeding the acceptability standards for non-cost factors.

  • The rate of reimbursement for driving a privately owned vehicle when your agency authorizes it. Current rates are at gsa.gov/mileage.

  • Long-term governmentwide contracts with commercial firms providing federal, state, and local government buyers access to more than 11 million commercial products and services at volume discount pricing. Also called Schedules or Federal Supply Schedules.

  • The standard federal agencies use to classify business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. business economy.

  • A family of six separate governmentwide multiple award, IDIQ contracts for management and advisory, facilities, technical and engineering, logistics, intelligence services, research and development, environmental, and enterprise solutions.

  • A formal, signed agreement between GSA’s Public Buildings Service and a federal agency for a specific space assignment.

  • Services performed under a contract with a federal agency that include:

    • Cemetery maintenance
    • Electrical systems and energy management control systems
    • Elevator inspection and maintenance
    • Energy management and audit services
    • Fire alarm and fire suppression system maintenance
    • Janitorial
    • Landscaping and snow removal
    • Marine vessel maintenance and repair services
    • Painting
    • Pest control
    • Plumbing or pipe fitting
    • Refrigeration or heating, cooling, and air conditioning
    • Smart buildings
  • The per day rates for the lower 48 continental United States, which federal employees are reimbursed for expenses incurred while on official travel. Per diem includes three allowances:

    • A rate for lodging
    • A rate for meals
    • A rate for incidental expenses
  • An identification card that allows credentialed government personal to access facilities, computers, or information systems. May also be referred to as HSPD-12 card, LincPass, Smart Card, or CAC.

  • Furniture and equipment such as appliances, wall hangings, technological devices, and the relocation expenses for such property.

  • Information that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual’s identity, either alone or when combined with other information that is linked or linkable to a specific individual. Get our agency's privacy policies and practices as they apply to our employees, contractors, and clients.

  • You should only drive a privately owned vehicle for official travel after your agency evaluates the use of:

    • A common carrier
    • A government-furnished vehicle
    • A rental car

    When your agency has determined a POV to be the most advantageous method of transportation, you are authorized reimbursement for mileage and some additional allowances (parking, bridge, road and tunnel fees, etc.).

  • Approvals from GSA’s congressional authorizing committees, the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for proposed capital and leasing projects that require funding over an annually established threshold.

  • Region 1 (New England): Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont

    Region 2 (Northeast and Caribbean): Northern New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands

    Region 3 (Mid-Atlantic): Delaware, parts of Maryland, Southern New Jersey, Pennsylvania, parts of Virginia, West Virginia

    Region 4 (Southeast Sunbelt): Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee

    Region 5 (Great Lakes): Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin

    Region 6 (Heartland): Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska

    Region 7 (Greater Southwest): Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas

    Region 8 (Rocky Mountain): Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming

    Region 9 (Pacific Rim): Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada

    Region 10 (Northwest Arctic): Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington

    Region 11 (National Capital): Washington, D.C., area including parts of Maryland and Virginia

  • Formal agreements between GSA and a federal agency customer where GSA agrees to provide goods, services, or both, and the federal agency agrees to reimburse GSA’s direct and indirect costs. The customer portal for RWA information is called eRETA at extportal.pbs.gsa.gov.

  • A document used in negotiated procurements to communicate government requirements to prospective contractors (firms holding Multiple Award Schedule contracts) and to solicit proposals (offers) from them.

  • A document used to communicate government requirements, but which do not solicit binding offers. Quotations submitted in response are not offers. The Multiple Award Schedule order is the offer, and then the contractor can do something to show acceptance, like ordering supplies or contacting subcontractors.

  • An SBA program that gives preferential consideration for certain government contracts to businesses that meet the following eligibility requirements:

    • Be a small business
    • Be at least 51% owned and controlled by one or more service-disabled veterans
    • Have one or more service-disabled veterans manage day-to-day operations and also make long-term decisions
    • Eligible veterans must have a service-connected disability
    • Permanently and totally disabled veterans who are unable to manage the daily business operations of their business may still qualify if their spouse or appointed, permanent caregiver is assisting in that management

    See Title 13 Part 128 Subpart B of the Code of Federal Regulations for more information.

  • An SBA designation for businesses that meet size standards set for each NAICS code. Most manufacturing companies with 500 employees or fewer, and most non-manufacturing businesses with average annual receipts under $7.5 million, will qualify as a small business.

    See Title 13 Part 121.201 of the Code of Federal Regulations for more information.

  • To improve and stimulate small business utilization, we award contracts to businesses that are owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. We have contracting assistance for:

    • 8(a) Business Development contractors
    • Historically underutilized business zone
    • Service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses
    • Small businesses
    • Small disadvantaged businesses
    • Veteran-owned small businesses
    • Women-owned small businesses
  • A Small Business Administration program that gives preferential consideration for certain government contracts to business that meet the following eligibility requirements:

    • Be a small business
    • The firm must be 51% or more owned and controlled by one or more disadvantaged persons
    • The disadvantaged person or persons must be socially disadvantaged and economically disadvantaged

    See Title 13 Section 124.1001 of the Code of Federal Regulations for more information.

  • The basis for the lease negotiation process, which becomes part of the lease. SFOs include the information necessary to enable prospective offerors to prepare proposals. See SFO minimum requirements.

  • Specific supply and service subcategories within our Multiple Award Schedule. For the Information Technology Category, a SIN might be new equipment or cloud services.

  • An online system at sam.gov, which the U.S. Government uses to consolidate acquisition and award systems for use by contractors wishing to do business with the federal government. Formerly known as FBO.gov, all contracting opportunities valued over $25,000 are posted at sam.gov.

  • When you use a government purchase card, such as the "GSA SmartPay" travel card for business travel, your lodging and rental car costs may be exempt from state sales tax. Individually billed account travel cards are not tax exempt in all states. Search for exemption status, forms and important information.

  • The finishes and fixtures federal agency tenants select that take a space from a shell condition to a finished, usable condition and compliant with all applicable building codes and standards.

  • A statute that applies to all Multiple Award Schedule contracts, unless otherwise stated in the solicitation or contract, which requires contractors to sell to the U.S. Government only products that are manufactured or “substantially transformed” in the U.S. or a TAA-designated country.

  • An option for vendors to report transactional data — information generated when the government purchases goods or services from a vendor — to help us make federal government buying more effective.

    See our TDR page for which SINs are eligible and which line-item data to submit.

  • A unique number required to do business with the federal government.

  • An indicator of how efficiently a federal agency is currently using space, it is traditionally calculated by dividing the usable square feet of the space, by the number of personnel who occupy the space.

  • A Small Business Administration program that gives preferential consideration for certain government contracts to businesses that meet the following eligibility requirements:

    • Be a small business, as defined by the size standard corresponding to any NAICS code listed in the business’s SAM profile
    • Have no less than 51% of the business owned and controlled by one or more veterans
    • For those veterans who are permanently and totally disabled and unable to manage the daily business operations of their business, their business may still qualify if their spouse or appointed, permanent caregiver is assisting in that management

    Get a full list of eligibility requirements.

  • A governmentwide acquisition contract exclusively for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses to sell IT services such as:

    • Data management
    • Information and communications technology
    • IT operations and maintenance
    • IT security
    • Software development
    • Systems design
    • New and emerging technologies
  • The amount of solid waste, such as trash or garbage, construction and demolition waste, and hazardous waste, that is reused, recycled or composted instead of being put in a landfill or burned.

  • A GSA program designed to promote recycling and reuse of solid waste.

  • A Small Business Administration program that gives preferential consideration for certain government contracts to businesses that meet the following eligibility requirements:

    • Be a small business
    • Be at least 51% owned and controlled by women who are U.S. citizens
    • Have women manage day-to-day operations who also make long-term decisions

    See Title 13 Part 127 Subpart B of the Code of Federal Regulations for more information.