# Bureau of the Fiscal Service *Agency of the U.S. Department of the Treasury that manages federal accounting, central payments and the public debt* The Bureau of the Fiscal Service (Fiscal Service) is a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. It combines functions previously carried out by the Bureau of the Public Debt and the Financial Management Service, under the Office of Fiscal Service.[^1] It handles the federal government's accounting, central payment systems and public debt, and acts as the government's agent in its dealings with other federal agencies. Wikipedia describes it as, in effect, the government's checking account and the payment rail for every federal agency.[^1] The bureau runs the TreasuryDirect website, through which Treasury securities are purchased. It also conducts the daily Treasury securities auctions that raise the cash used to fund federal activities.[^1] For fiscal year 2023 the bureau disbursed 87.9% of federal payments, totaling $5.6 trillion, and processed $5.4 trillion in federal revenue.[^2] ## History According to the Wikipedia account, the Fiscal Service originated in 1939 under the Roosevelt administration. That year Treasury's financing activities were brought together as a "Fiscal Service" under a fiscal assistant secretary. Those activities "included accounts, deposits, bookkeeping, warrants, loans, currency, disbursements, surety bonds, savings bonds, and the public debt."[^3] The agency had lost its authority over the public debt by 1974, when it took the name Bureau of Government Financial Operations. A further change of name in 1984 made it the Financial Management Service.[^3] A directive of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, effective October 7, 2012, merged the Bureau of the Public Debt and the Financial Management Service into the Fiscal Service. Combining the two agencies and their data centers is reported to have saved $415 million.[^3] The bureau handles current and delinquent consumer and commercial debts owed to the federal government, and it reports that information to credit rating firms.[^3] As of 2017, the bureau may receive voluntary donations made to the government to reduce the public debt. Such donations averaged $2.3 million a year over the 26 years before 2021. As of 2026, the public debt stood at more than $40 trillion.[^3] The bureau also helps carry out extraordinary measures during debt-ceiling crises, including the 2023 United States debt-ceiling crisis.[^3] On January 20, 2025, the second Trump administration created the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a temporary organization with Elon Musk as administrator. The same action renamed the United States Digital Service as the United States DOGE Service, to act as DOGE's parent agency. On January 31, 2025, the DOGE team gained access to the U.S. Treasury payment system.[^3] ## Publications The bureau publishes federal data on "accounting, central payment systems, and public debt" at fiscaldata.treasury.gov.[^4] As of February 9, 2025, the site offered 52 downloadable datasets. They covered the amount of federal debt and who holds it, the Treasury's daily cash balance, settled offers in each day's Treasury auction, and government revenue and cash inflows by department. Other datasets covered the position of state unemployment insurance funds and state and local government security auctions.[^4] The bureau draws on this data to produce the annual *Financial Report of the United States Government*. Prepared under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, the report sets out the federal government's financial position once each fiscal year has closed.[^4] The bureau also maintains [[USAspending.gov]], a repository of federal grants awarded and disbursed.[^4] ## Disbursements Most federal disbursements and collections pass through the Fiscal Service. In fiscal year 2023 these amounted to 87.9% of federal payments, or $5.6 trillion paid out, and $5.4 trillion in federal revenue collected.[^2] All collections paid to the Internal Revenue Service are handled by the bureau, which accounts for much of its collection volume.[^2] The Department of Defense manages its own payments rather than routing them through the bureau. Grants for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are paid through the Fiscal Service.[^2] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Bureau of the Fiscal Service*, lead section (revision 1374197675, retrieved 2026-10-26) — the bureau's place in Treasury, its consolidation of predecessor agencies, its functions, TreasuryDirect and daily auctions. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_the_Fiscal_Service [^2]: Wikipedia contributors, *Bureau of the Fiscal Service*, "Disbursements" section (revision 1374197675, retrieved 2026-10-26) — fiscal 2023 disbursement and revenue figures, IRS collections, Department of Defense exception, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid payments. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_the_Fiscal_Service [^3]: Wikipedia contributors, *Bureau of the Fiscal Service*, "History" section (revision 1374197675, retrieved 2026-10-26) — 1939 origin, 1974 and 1984 renamings, 2012 merger and savings, debt collection, donations, debt figure, debt-ceiling role, 2025 DOGE access. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_the_Fiscal_Service [^4]: Wikipedia contributors, *Bureau of the Fiscal Service*, "Publications" section (revision 1374197675, retrieved 2026-10-26) — fiscaldata.treasury.gov datasets as of February 9, 2025, the *Financial Report of the United States Government*, and USAspending.gov. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_the_Fiscal_Service