Payments for Quarters Maintenance and Operation Expenses From Salary Deductions for Quarters

An officer of the Black Hills National Forest requested an advance decision on the propriety of using rent collected from Forest Service employees for the use of Government quarters to pay for the maintenance and operation expenses of the quarters. He also questioned the propriety of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) determination that salary deductions should be treated as reimbursements rather than refunds. It was held that payroll deductions for the use of Government quarters may be used to pay for quarters maintenance and operation expenses since the Forest Service appropriations out of which salaries are paid are available for such purposes. GAO agreed with the OMB position that in the absence of specific statutory authority to return the collected funds to agency appropriations, employee payments, as distinguished from salary deductions, for quarters and subsistence must be deposited to miscellaneous receipts.