{"data":{"id":"us/31-cfr-205.2","jurisdiction":"us","citation":"31 CFR 205.2","heading":"What definitions apply to this part?","body":"For purposes of this part:\nAdministrative costs means expenses incurred by a State associated with managing a Federal assistance program. This term includes indirect costs.\nAuditable means records must be retained to allow for calculations outlined in the Treasury-State agreements to be reviewed and replicated for compliance purposes. States must maintain these records to be readily available, fully documented, and verifiable.\nAuthorized State official means a person with the authority under the laws of a State to make commitments on behalf of the State for the purposes of this part, or that person's official designee as certified in writing.\nBusiness day means a day when Federal Reserve Banks are open.\nCatalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) means the government-wide list of Federal assistance programs, projects, services, and activities which provide assistance or benefits to the American public. The listing includes financial and non-financial Federal assistance programs administered by agencies of the Federal government.\nClearance pattern means a projection showing the daily amount subtracted from a State's bank account each day after the State makes a disbursement. For example, a State mailing out benefit checks may project that the percentage of checks cashed each day will be 0% for the first day, 10% for the second day, 80% on the third day, and 10% on the fourth day following issuance. Clearance patterns are used to schedule the transfer of funds with various funding techniques and to support interest calculations.\nCompensating balance means funds maintained in State bank accounts and/or State Treasurer bank accounts to offset the costs of bank services.\nCurrent project cost means a cost for which the State has recorded a liability on or after the day that the State last requested funds for the project.\nDay means a calendar day unless otherwise specified.\nDefault procedures means efficient cash management practices that we prescribe for Federal funds transfers to a State if a Treasury-State agreement is not in place.\nDisburse means to issue a check or initiate an electronic funds transfer payment, or to provide access to benefits through an electronic benefits transfer.\nDiscretionary grant project means a project for which a Federal Program Agency is authorized by law to exercise judgment in awarding a grant and in selecting a grantee, generally through a competitive process.\nDollar-weighted average day of clearance means the day when, on a cumulative basis, 50 percent of funds have been paid out. To calculate the dollar-weighted average day of clearance for a clearance pattern:\n(1) For each day, multiply the percentage of dollars paid out that day by the number of days that have elapsed since the payments were issued. For example, on the first day payments were issued, multiply the percentage of dollars paid out on that day by zero, since zero days have elapsed. On the day after payments were issued, multiply the percentage of dollars paid out on that day by one, since one day has elapsed; and so forth.\n(2) Total the results from paragraph (1) of this definition. Round to the nearest whole number. This is the dollar-weighted average day of clearance.\nDraw down (verb) means a process in which a State requests and receives Federal funds.\nDrawdown (noun) means Federal funds requested and received by a State.\nElectronic Funds Transfer (EFT) means any transfer of funds, other than a transaction originated by cash, check, or similar paper instrument, that is initiated through an electronic terminal, telephone, computer, or magnetic tape, for the purpose of ordering, instructing, or authorizing a financial institution to debit or credit an account.\nEstimate means a projection of the needs of a Federal Assistance Program.\nFederal assistance program means a program included in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance where funds are transferred from the Federal government to a State. Federal assistance programs include cooperative agreements, but do not include vendor payments or direct loans.\nFederal Program Agency means an executive agency as defined by 31 U.S.C. 102, except the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), that issues and administers Federal assistance programs to States or cooperative agreements with States.\nFederal-State agreement means an agreement between a State and a Federal Program Agency specifying terms and conditions for carrying out a Federal assistance program or group of programs. This is different than a Treasury-State agreement.\nBureau of the Fiscal Service (we or us) means the Bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury responsible for implementation of this part.\nFiscal year means the twelve-month period that a State designates as its budget year.\nGrant means, for purposes of this part, a funds transfer by the Federal government associated with a Federal assistance program listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance.\nIndirect cost rate means a formula that identifies the amount of indirect costs based on the amount of accrued direct costs. The applicable indirect cost rate shall be described in the Treasury-State agreement.\nIndirect costs means costs a State incurs that are necessary to the operation and performance of its Federal assistance programs, but that are not readily identifiable with a particular project or Federal assistance program.\nInterest calculation costs means those costs a State incurs in performing the actual calculation of interest liabilities, including those costs a State incurs in developing and maintaining clearance patterns in support of interest calculations.\nMaintenance-of-effort means a requirement that a State spend at least a specified amount of State funds for Federal assistance program purposes.\nMajor Federal assistance program means a Federal assistance program which receives Federal funding in excess of the dollar thresholds found in Table A to § 205.5.\nObligational authority means the existence of a definite commitment on the part of the Federal government to provide appropriated funds to a State to carry out specified programs, whether the commitment is executed before or after a State pays out funds for Federal assistance program purposes.\nPay out means to debit the State's bank account.\nPay out funds for Federal Assistance Program Purposes means, in the context of State payments, to debit a State account for the purpose of making a payment to:\n(1) A person or entity that is not considered part of the State pursuant to the definition of “State” in this section; or\n(2) A State entity that provides goods or services for the direct benefit or use of the payor State entity or the Federal government to further Federal assistance program goals.\nRebate means funds returned to a State by third parties after a State has paid out those funds for Federal assistance program purposes.\nRefund means funds that a State recovers that it previously paid out for Federal assistance program purposes. Refunds include rebates received from third parties.\nRefund transaction means an entry to the record of a State bank account representing a single deposit of refunds. A refund transaction may consist of a single check or item, or a bundle of accumulated checks.\nRelated banking costs means separately identified costs which are necessary and customary for maintaining an account in a financial institution, whether a commercial account or a State Treasurer account. Investment service fees and fees for credit-related services are not related banking costs.\nRequest for funds means a State's request for funds that the State completes and submits in accordance with Federal Program Agency guidelines.\nReverse flow program means a Federal assistance program, such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI), for which the Federal government makes payments to recipients on behalf of a State.\nRevolving loan fund means a pool of program funds managed by a State. States may loan funds from the pool to other entities in support of Federal assistance program goals. Investment income is earned on the funds that remain in the pool and on loans made from pool funds. A Federal Program Agency may require that all income derived from a revolving loan fund be used for Federal assistance program purposes.\nSecretary means the Secretary of the United States Department of the Treasury. We are the Secretary's representative in all matters concerning this part, unless otherwise specified.\nState means a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Virgin Islands. It includes any agency, instrumentality, or fiscal agent of a State that is legally and fiscally dependent on the State Executive, State Treasurer, or State Comptroller.\n(1) A State agency or instrumentality is any organization of the primary government of the State financial reporting entity, as defined by generally accepted accounting principles.\n(2) A fiscal agent of a State is an entity that pays, collects, or holds Federal funds on behalf of the State in furtherance of a Federal assistance program, excluding private nonprofit community organizations.\n(3) Local governments, Indian Tribal governments, institutions of higher education, hospitals, and nonprofit organizations are excluded from the definition of State.\nTreasury-State agreement means a document describing the accepted funding techniques and methods for calculating interest and identifying the Federal assistance programs governed by this subpart A.\nTrust fund for which the Secretary is the trustee means a trust fund administered by the Secretary.\nVendor payment means a funds transfer by a Federal Program Agency to a State to compensate the State for acting as a vendor on a Federal contract.\nWe and Us means Bureau of the Fiscal Service.","path":["Title 31—Money and Finance: Treasury","Subtitle B—Regulations Relating to Money and Finance","CHAPTER II—FISCAL SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY","SUBCHAPTER A—BUREAU OF THE FISCAL SERVICE","PART 205—RULES AND PROCEDURES FOR EFFICIENT FEDERAL-STATE FUNDS TRANSFERS"],"source_url":"https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2026-08-25/title-31.xml","current_through":"2026-08-25","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-08-27T02:25:25Z","sha256":"a8012a549df0ac9d6541e01d723bf7c55439b663f55b2de4398649dccdba9cf2","source_id":"us-cfr","stale":true,"prev":"us/31-cfr-205.1","next":"us/31-cfr-205.3"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}