Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

HRM: Deadline extended to 2022 for OASDI tax deferral repayment

May 21, 2021
HRM Header

As a reminder, former U.S. President Trump signed a presidential executive order on Aug. 8, 2020, to suspend Old Age, Survivors, and Disabilities Insurance tax deductions because of COVID-19. The period of deferment was Sept. 1 through Dec. 31, 2020.    

In the past several weeks, the Forest Service’s payroll provider, the USDA National Finance Center, mailed Demand Notice of Payment letters to employees who separated (terminated, resigned, retired), were placed into a non-pay status or had insufficient funds to collect the OASDI taxes. In these letters, impacted individuals were given an original deadline of May 2, 2021, to repay the deferred taxes in full.  

To assist and minimize impacts to our seasonal workforce, our pay team worked with USDA and NFC to request a longer repayment period. Recently, NFC issued an updated notification that the new deadline is Jan. 3, 2022.    

Additional information about the deferred OASDI taxes is available on the HRM’s pay website (internal link).

Below is the latest information about how and when employees will pay back the deferred OASDI taxes

Permanent employees

Permanent employees who have remained on the payrolls, with no break in service or placement into non-pay status, will continue to have the deferred OASDI taxes automatically collected from their paycheck each pay period.  

Seasonal/temporary employees who received a Demand Notice of Payment

Seasonal/temporary employees must read the demand notice thoroughly. They have the option to pay the deferred OASDI taxes in full or they can elect to set up a repayment agreement with Human Resources Management.  

If an employee does not respond to the demand notice to either set up a repayment plan or pay the deferred OASDI taxes in full by Jan. 3, 2022, the outstanding balance will become delinquent. These will then be referred to the Treasury Offset Program and Bureau of Fiscal Services for collection. If this debt becomes delinquent, it will impact an employee’s credit rating and additional administrative and penalties, interest and fees will be added to the outstanding balance. The Internal Revenue Service may also add tax penalties.

To make payment in full to NFC

Any employee who elects to pay the outstanding balance of the deferred taxes in full can do so by using one of the following avenues: 

  • Pay online at Pay.gov or
  • Mail a check along with a copy of the signed demand notice to:  
    • USDA, National Finance Center, Administrative Collections
    • P.O. Box 790342
    • St. Louis, MO 63179-0342 

To set up a repayment agreement, please contact Human Resources Management as soon as possible

Employees need to fill out the Repayment Agreement that is provided in the Demand Notice by selecting the repayment option of your choice, signing the agreement and attaching it to an HRM case using this email address: hrm_contact_center@usda.gov.

Help is available

Open an HR Help case: