General Introduction
The Office of Federal, State and Local Governments (FSLG) of the Internal Revenue Service, Tax Exempt and Governments Entities Operating Division provides customized outreach products and services to federal agencies, quasi-governmental entities, state agencies and local governments, including U.S. Possessions (American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).
Our Mission
Providing government entities top quality service by helping them understand and comply with their tax responsibilities and applying the law with integrity and fairness to all.
What We Do
The primary objective of Federal, State and Local Governments (FSLG) is to offer you assistance in complying with federal employment tax laws and information return reporting through partnering, coalition building, outreach and education. This office acts as an advocate to help you understand and resolve tax issues. We also coordinate with other IRS offices such as Customer Account Services, Counsel, Government Liaison & Disclosure, Employee Plans and Excise Tax to better assist you. Additionally, Federal, State and Local Governments works with the Taxpayer Advocate Service to resolve tax problems.
We deliver various services through partnering with government associations, practitioner associations, IRS Counsel, and other IRS offices. Individualized service is available to you on a voluntary basis. Specially trained IRS staff can address tax topics- unique to government entities -that may relate to, for example, governments as employers, and issues of payments to outside contractors. Our offices , located throughout the country, currently provide:
- Assistance through individualized instruction focused on employment tax withholding, reporting and filing requirements.
- Assistance for information return reporting for payments to vendors.
- Participation in educational seminars and workshops at national and local levels.
FSLG works with the Social Security Administration (SSA) to educate government entities about Section 218 Social Security Agreements. These voluntary agreements provide social security and/or Medicare coverage for state and local employees. While IRS is responsible for administering and enforcing the tax laws, SSA processes and interprets these agreements and related coverage issues. For more information, please visit SSA's State and Local Government Employers webpage.
State Social Security Administrator
Each state has a State Social Security Administrator who is the main resource for informing governmental entities within the state on Social Security and Medicare issues and the terms of the state's Section 218 Agreement. The names and contact information for each state's administrator can be found on the National Conference of State Social Security Administrators (NCSSSA) website. This group provides a peer network for State Social Security Administrators, as well as serves as a link between the states, the SSA and the IRS.
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