
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 2, 2001 and January 28, 2002]
[CITE: 5USC5520]

 
             TITLE 5--GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION AND EMPLOYEES
 
                           PART III--EMPLOYEES
 
                      Subpart D--Pay and Allowances
 
                     CHAPTER 55--PAY ADMINISTRATION
 
                     SUBCHAPTER II--WITHHOLDING PAY
 
Sec. 5520. Withholding of city or county income or employment 
        taxes
        
    (a) When a city or county ordinance--
        (1) provides for the collection of a tax by imposing on 
    employers generally the duty of withholding sums from the pay of 
    employees and making returns of the sums to a designated city or 
    county officer, department, or instrumentality; and
        (2) imposes the duty to withhold generally on the payment of 
    compensation earned within the jurisdiction of the city or county in 
    the case of employees whose regular place of employment is within 
    such jurisdiction;

the Secretary of the Treasury, under regulations prescribed by the 
President, shall enter into an agreement with the city or county within 
120 days of a request for agreement by the proper city or county 
official. The agreement shall provide that the head of each agency of 
the United States shall comply with the requirements of the city or 
county ordinance in the case of any employee of the agency who is 
subject to the tax and (i) whose regular place of Federal employment is 
within the jurisdiction of the city or county with which the agreement 
is made or (ii) is a resident of such city or county. The agreement may 
not apply to pay for service as a member of the Armed Forces (other than 
service described in section 5517(d) of this title). The agreement may 
not permit withholding of a city or county tax from the pay of an 
employee who is not a resident of, or whose regular place of Federal 
employment is not within, the State in which that city or county is 
located unless the employee consents to the withholding.
    (b) This section does not give the consent of the United States to 
the application of an ordinance which imposes more burdensome 
requirements on the United States than on other employers or which 
subjects the United States or its employees to a penalty or liability 
because of this section. An agency of the United States may not accept 
pay from a city or county for services performed in withholding city or 
county income or employment taxes from the pay of employees of the 
agency.
    (c) For the purpose of this section--
        (1) ``city'' means any unit of general local government which--
            (A) is classified as a municipality by the Bureau of the 
        Census, or
            (B) is a town or township which, in the determination of the 
        Secretary of the Treasury--
                (i) possesses powers and performs functions comparable 
            to those associated with municipalities,
                (ii) is closely settled, and
                (iii) contains within its boundaries no incorporated 
            places, as defined by the Bureau of the Census,

    within the political boundaries of which 500 or more persons are 
    regularly employed by all agencies of the Federal Government;
        (2) ``county'' means any unit of local general government which 
    is classified as a county by the Bureau of the Census and within the 
    political boundaries of which 500 or more persons are regularly 
    employed by all agencies of the Federal Government;
        (3) ``ordinance'' means an ordinance, order, resolution, or 
    similar instrument which is duly adopted and approved by a city or 
    county in accordance with the constitution and statutes of the State 
    in which it is located and which has the force of law within such 
    city or county; and
        (4) ``agency'' means--
            (A) an Executive agency;
            (B) the judicial branch; and
            (C) the United States Postal Service.

(Added Pub. L. 93-340, Sec. 1(a), July 10, 1974, 88 Stat. 294; amended 
Pub. L. 94-358, Sec. 1, July 12, 1976, 90 Stat. 910; Pub. L. 95-30, 
title IV, Sec. 408(a), May 23, 1977, 91 Stat. 157; Pub. L. 95-365, 
Sec. 1, Sept. 15, 1978, 92 Stat. 599; Pub. L. 100-180, div. A, title V, 
Sec. 505(2), Dec. 4, 1987, 101 Stat. 1086.)


                               Amendments

    1987--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 100-180 inserted ``(other than service 
described in section 5517(d) of this title)'' after ``Armed Forces'' in 
penultimate sentence.
    1978--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 95-365 designated existing provisions as 
cl. (i), inserted ``, or whose regular place of Federal employment is 
not within,'' after ``not a resident of'', and added cl. (ii).
    1977--Pub. L. 95-30, Sec. 408(a)(1), inserted ``or county'' after 
``city'' in section catchline.
    Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 95-30, Sec. 408(a)(2), (3), substituted ``city 
or county'' for ``city'' in introductory provisions preceding par. (1), 
in par. (2), and in provisions following par. (2), and, in par. (1), 
substituted ``a designated city or county officer, department, or 
instrumentality'' for ``the city''.
    Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 95-30, Sec. 408(a)(2), substituted ``city or 
county'' for ``city''.
    Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 95-30, Sec. 408(a)(4), (5), added pars. (2) and 
(3) and redesignated former par. (2) as (4).
    1976--Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 94-358 substituted provision defining 
a city, for purposes of this section, as any unit of general local 
government which is classified a municipality by the Bureau of the 
Census, or is a town or township which in the opinion of the Secretary 
of the Treasury possesses powers and performs functions comparable to 
those associated with municipalities, is closely settled, and contains 
within its boundaries no incorporated places, as defined by the Bureau 
of the Census, within the political boundaries of which five hundred or 
more persons are regularly employed by all agencies of the Federal 
Government, for provision defining a city, for purposes of this section, 
as a city which is duly incorporated under the laws of a State and 
within the political boundaries of which five hundred or more persons 
are regularly employed by all agencies of the Federal Government.


                    Effective Date of 1978 Amendment

    Section 2 of Pub. L. 95-365 provided that: ``The amendments made by 
the first section of this Act [amending this section] shall take effect 
on the 90th day after the date of the enactment of this Act [Sept. 15, 
1978].''


                    Effective Date of 1977 Amendment

    Section 408(c) of Pub. L. 95-30 provided that: ``The amendments made 
by this section [amending this section] shall take effect on the date of 
enactment of this Act [May 23, 1977].''


                    Effective Date of 1976 Amendment

    Section 2 of Pub. L. 94-358 provided that: ``The amendment made by 
the first section of this Act [amending this section] shall take effect 
on the date of the enactment of this Act [July 12, 1976].''


                             Effective Date

    Section 3 of Pub. L. 93-340 provided that: ``This section shall 
become effective on the date of enactment of this Act [July 10, 1974]. 
The provisions of the first section and section 2 of this Act [enacting 
this section and amending section 410 of Title 39, Postal Service] shall 
become effective on the ninetieth day following the date of enactment.''

                        Executive Order No. 11833

    Ex. Ord. No. 11833, Jan. 13, 1975, 40 F.R. 2673, which related to 
the withholding of city income or employment taxes by Federal agencies, 
was revoked by Ex. Ord. No. 11863, June 12, 1975, 40 F.R. 25413, 
formerly set out below.

                        Executive Order No. 11863

    Ex. Ord. No. 11863, June 12, 1975, 40 F.R. 25431, which related to 
the withholding of city income or employment taxes by Federal agencies, 
was revoked by Ex. Ord. No. 11968, Jan. 31, 1977, 42 F.R. 6787, formerly 
set out below.

                        Executive Order No. 11968

    Ex. Ord. No. 11968, Jan. 31, 1977, 42 F.R. 6787, which related to 
the withholding of District of Columbia, State and city income or 
employment taxes, was revoked by Ex. Ord. No. 11997, June 22, 1977, 42 
F.R. 31759, set out below.

Ex. Ord. No. 11997. Withholding of District of Columbia, State, City and 
                    County Income or Employment Taxes

    Ex. Ord. No. 11997, June 22, 1977, 42 F.R. 31759, provided:
    By virtue of the authority vested in me by Sections 5516, 5517 and 
5520 of Title 5 of the United States Code, and Section 301 of Title 3 of 
the United States Code, and as President of the United States of 
America, in order to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to provide 
for the withholding of county income or employment taxes as authorized 
by Section 5520 of Title 5 of the United States Code as amended by 
Section 408 of Public Law 95-30, as well as to provide for the 
withholding of District of Columbia, State and city income or employment 
taxes, it is hereby ordered as follows:
    Section 1. Whenever the Secretary of the Treasury enters into an 
agreement pursuant to Sections 5516, 5517 or 5520 of Title 5 of the 
United States Code, with the District of Columbia, a State, a city or a 
county, as the case may be, with regard to the withholding, by an agency 
of the United States, hereinafter referred to as an agency, of income or 
employment taxes from the pay of Federal employees or members of the 
Armed Forces, the Secretary of the Treasury shall ensure that each 
agreement is consistent with those sections and regulations, including 
this Order, issued thereunder.
    Sec. 2. Each agreement shall provide (a) when tax withholding shall 
begin, (b) that the head of an agency may rely on the withholding 
certificate of an employee or a member of the Armed Forces in 
withholding taxes, (c) that the method for calculating the amount to be 
withheld for District of Columbia, State, city or county income or 
employment taxes shall produce approximately the tax required to be 
withheld by the District of Columbia or State law; or city or county 
ordinance, whichever is applicable, and (d) that procedures for the 
withholding, filing of returns, and payment of the withheld taxes to the 
District of Columbia, a State, a city or a county shall conform to the 
usual fiscal practices of agencies. Any agreement affecting members of 
the Armed Forces shall also provide that the head of an agency may rely 
on the certificate of legal residence of a member of the Armed Forces in 
determining his or her residence for tax withholding purposes. No 
agreement shall require the collection by an agency of delinquent tax 
liabilities of an employee or a member of the Armed Forces.
    Sec. 3. The head of each agency shall designate, or provide for the 
designation of, the officers or employees whose duty it shall be to 
withhold taxes, file required returns, and direct payment of the taxes 
withheld, in accordance with this Order, any regulations prescribed by 
the Secretary of the Treasury, and the new applicable agreement.
    Sec. 4. The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to prescribe 
additional regulations to implement Sections 5516, 5517 and 5520 of 
Title 5 of the United States Code, and this Order.
    Sec. 5. Executive Order No. 11968 of January 31, 1977, is hereby 
revoked. However, all actions heretofore taken by the President or his 
delegates in respect of the matters affected by this Order and in force 
at the time of the issuance of this Order, including any regulations 
prescribed or approved by the President or his delegates in respect of 
such matters and any existing agreements approved by his delegates, 
shall, except as they may be inconsistent with the provisions of this 
Order, remain in effect until amended, modified, or revoked pursuant to 
the authority conferred by this Order, unless sooner terminated by 
operation of law.
                                                           Jimmy Carter.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in section 5517 of this title; title 39 
section 410.
