U.S. Office of Government Ethics
1201 New York Ave., NW 
Suite 500
Washington, DC  20005-3917

			         March 17, 2005
                                 DO-05-007

MEMORANDUM

TO:		Designated Agency Ethics Officials

FROM:		Marilyn L. Glynn
		Acting Director

SUBJECT:	Increased Gifts and Travel Reimbursements Reporting
                Thresholds for Financial Disclosure Reports


The Office of Government Ethics (OGE) has issued final rule amendments
that in pertinent part revise the executive branch financial disclosure
regulation to increase, retroactively effective to January 1, 2005, the
thresholds for reporting of gifts, reimbursements and travel expenses
for the public and confidential report systems.  See 70 Federal Register
12111-12112 (March 11, 2005).  The new aggregation threshold for the
reporting of gifts and reimbursements received from any one source is
"more than $305"; items worth "$122 or less" do not need to be counted
towards that overall threshold.[1]  These increases are tied under the
Ethics in Government Act and OGE regulations to the increase last
January by the General Services Administration of "minimal value" for
purposes of the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act to "$305 or less" for
the three-year period 2005-2007.  See 70 Federal Register 2317-2318 (pt.
V) (January 12, 2005).

The calendar year 2004 Public Financial Disclosure Reports (SF 278s) due
this coming May are not affected by this change, because the new gifts
and reimbursements thresholds only became effective as of the beginning
of 2005.  However, any newly filed termination public reports will be
affected for the portion of 2005 covered.  For Confidential Financial
Disclosure Reports (OGE Form 450s), OGE has administratively determined
that departments and agencies can extend for their filers the new higher
thresholds for the current reporting period in its entirety (October
2004 through September 2005) in order to relieve the reporting burden
and to promote ease of administration.

Departments and agencies should promptly notify their report filers of
these new thresholds.  OGE will include the new thresholds in future
editions of the two report forms.


[1]  The prior reporting amounts were more than $285 for the aggregation
threshold and $114 or less for excepted items.