U.S. Office of Personnel Management - Ensuring the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce

Electronic Questionnaires for Investigations Processing (e-QIP)

Frequently Asked Questions... about Financial Disclosure Form (SF-714)

Sections include:

Overview;  |  Employee Identification;  |  Annual Income;  |  Bank Accounts;  |  Investment Accounts;  |  Owned Real Estate;  |  Owned Vehicles, Boat, Airplanes, Other;  |  Real Estate You Lease or Rent From Another;  |  Leased Vehicles, Boats, Airplanes, Other;  |  Other Assets;  |  Mortgages, Loans;  |  Other Liabilities;  |  Additional Income/Bankruptcy;  |  Safe Deposit Box;  |  Additional Comments;  |  Certification;

Annual Income

1. Do I have to include financial information about my spouse and dependent children?
2. What if my spouse and/or dependent children do not wish to provide personal financial information for the Financial Disclosure Form?
3. What is the definition of dependent child?
4. What about children over the age of 21?
5. What amount do I report under annual salary and wages?
6. Is it OK to combine my salary and wages with my spouse's salary and wages and report the combined account?
7. My spouse and I filed jointly and we combined our salary income on our income tax return into one figure. Can we do the same on the FDF?
8. Do I report my TSP under non-taxable income?
9. Within the FDF system, I have reported my income but am not sure how I report my spouse's income. How do I report it?
10. Where do I report income received from a part-time business?
11. Where do I report tax refunds?
12. Where do I report the sale of my house?
13. Where do I report the sales of stocks and mutual funds?
14. Is alimony taxable or non-taxable income?
15. As a retired military officer, I received $21,100 in retirement income. Where do I report this?
16. Is interest income received from a municipal bond reportable under Interest Income or Non-Taxable Income?
17. I sold my coin collection on December 20th for $7,500. How is this reported?
18. Last December, my spouse and I separated. Should I include my spouse's income information on my Financial Disclosure Form?
19. My parents live with me; do I have to report their information on the FDF?
20. My mother-in-law lives with us and contributes to the household. She files her taxes independently and I do no claim her on my IRS 1040 form. Do I need to report the amount she contributes to our household?
21. My husband had a car when we met and thus it was in his name only. He sold it a few months ago for several thousand dollars and put the money into our joint bank account. Since it was HIS car but he put the money into OUR account, do I report the income from that sale as HIS or OURS?
22. I received an inheritance from my parents. Do I have to report this?
23. Should gifts that I give be reported on the FDF?
24. Do I have to report amounts I spend for food and utilities?
25. I received a gift of cash in the amount of $11,500. How do I report this?
26. I have assets/income in foreign currencies; do I have to convert into US dollars?

1. Do I have to include financial information about my spouse and dependent children?

   Yes. Executive Order 12968 states that the form should include information with respect to the spouse and dependent children.

2. What if my spouse and/or dependent children do not wish to provide personal financial information for the Financial Disclosure Form?

   You are required to ask for their information. If they do not provide the information, please indicate in the Comments section that they refused to provide the requested financial information and include the reason why.

3. What is the definition of dependent child?

   Dependent children should be included on your Financial Disclosure Form if they are claimed as a dependent on your income tax return.

4. What about children over the age of 21?

   Regardless of the child's age, if you claim a child as a dependent on your IRS 1040 form, then all relevant financial information pertaining to the dependent should be included on your FDF.

5. What amount do I report under annual salary and wages?

   Report the gross amount from your W-2, rounded to the nearest dollar.

6. Is it OK to combine my salary and wages with my spouse's salary and wages and report the combined account?

   No. Your salary and wages should be reported utilizing the code "Filer". Your spouse's salary and wages should be reported utilizing the code "Spouse". If your spouse did not have salary or wages, a "zero" should be entered.

7. My spouse and I filed jointly and we combined our salary income on our income tax return into one figure. Can we do the same on the FDF?

   No. You cannot combine salary income amounts. The FDF is designed for individual amounts to be listed for the filer, the spouse and each dependent child. You should report each individual separately.

8. Do I report my TSP under non-taxable income?

   No, do not report your TSP amounts under non-taxable income. Report your gross salary from your W-2 under annual salary and wages.

9. Within the FDF system, I have reported my income but am not sure how I report my spouse's income. How do I report it?

   After you are finished reporting all of your income, you will be returned to the Section 2 Section Summary where you should click on "Add an Entry". On the next screen, you would select "Spouse" for question 2a Code and then answer the questions with your spouse's information.

10. Where do I report income received from a part-time business?

    You should report your net profit (total income minus total expenses) in the Annual Income section and specifically within Other Income. Also, provide details in Section 12 Additional Income.

11. Where do I report tax refunds?

    Income tax refunds should not be reported.

12. Where do I report the sale of my house?

    Often the profit from the sale of your personal residence is non-taxable (up to $250,000 for individuals and $500,000 for married couples who owned their property for two or more years and meet all the other applicable qualifications). If this is the case, report the non-taxable gain in "Non-taxable Income". Please provide details (purchase price, sales price and mortgage paid off) in Section 12 Additional Income. If a capital loss occurred, please provide this information (along with the purchase price, sales price and mortgage paid off) in the Comments field.

13. Where do I report the sales of stocks and mutual funds?

    Report the overall calendar year profit from the sale of stocks and mutual funds in the Annual Income section and specifically within Other Income. This amount should also be explained in Section 12 Additional Income. If there was a loss for the calendar year, report it and also explain it.

14. Is alimony taxable or non-taxable income?

    Alimony is taxable income and should be reported in 2h Other Income.

15. As a retired military officer, I received $21,100 in retirement income. Where do I report this?

    The taxable amount of your retirement pay should be reported in 2h Other Income. If your retirement income also includes disability pay or other non-taxable payments, that amount should be reported under Non-taxable Income. If the total Section 2 Other Income is $10,000 or more, please provide details in Section 12 Additional Income.

16. Is interest income received from a municipal bond reportable under Interest Income or Non-Taxable Income?

    It is reportable under Non-Taxable Income. Also, provide details in Section 12 Additional Income.

17. I sold my coin collection on December 20th for $7,500. How is this reported?

    Your gain from the sale (selling price minus cost) should be reported within Other Income if the gain was $500 or greater.

18. Last December, my spouse and I separated. Should I include my spouse's income information on my Financial Disclosure Form?

    This depends upon your legal status as of December 31. If you had a legal separation agreement as of December 31, you would not include your spouse's income information. Please provide an explanation in the Additional Comments field. However, if you did not have a formal separation agreement on December 31, you would include your spouse's income information.

19. My parents live with me; do I have to report their information on the FDF?

    No. You do not need to report your parents' income information. However, if you have signature authority, i.e. your name is also on any type of account with your parents, you should report the relevant information including account balances in either the Bank Accounts section or the Investment Accounts section. You should also provide an explanation in the Additional Comments field about the specific details. On those accounts where you maintain signature access only in the event of an emergency, you are not required to list the account balances. However, you should provide details in the Additional Comments field that you do maintain signature access on accounts listing specifics about where the account is held, the names on the accounts and the relationship of the name reported.

20. My mother-in-law lives with us and contributes to the household. She files her taxes independently and I do not claim her on my IRS 1040 form. Do I need to report the amount she contributes to our household?

    The amount she contributes constitutes a "gift" to you and should be listed in the Non-Taxable Income section. The details should also be explained in Section 12 Additional Income.

21. My husband had a car when we met and thus it was in his name only. He sold it a few months ago for several thousand dollars and put the money into our joint bank account. Since it was HIS car but he put the money into OUR account, do I report the income from that sale as HIS or OURS?

    Assuming that the sale amount was at least $500, report the amount received on the Spouse's screen, under Non-Taxable Income, and select the "Filer & Spouse" codes.

22. I received an inheritance from my parents. Do I have to report this?

    Yes. If you received an inheritance during the reporting year, it should be reported in the Annual Income section and specifically within Non-Taxable Income. Other examples of non-taxable income that should be reported include gifts, life insurance proceeds, child support, veteran's benefits, welfare payments, court awards and foster care payments. Only list those incomes if the overall balance totals $500 or more. If any amounts are reported, please provide details in Section 12 Additional Income.

23. Should gifts that I give be reported on the FDF?

    No. Gifts that you give are not reportable.

24. Do I have to report amounts I spend for food and utilities?

    No. Normal living expenses are not to be reported on the FDF.

25. I received a gift of cash in the amount of $11,500. How do I report this?

    Gifts should be reported in the Annual Income section and specifically within Non-Taxable Income. If any amounts are reported, please provide details in Section 12 Additional Income.

26. I have assets/income in foreign currencies; do I have to convert into US dollars?

    Yes. Enter the value as of December 31 in US dollars.

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