FEA FMS Definitions

Government Fiscal/Employer Agent (FEA)
A Government FEA is a state or local government entity that may apply for and receive approval from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to be an employer agent on behalf of individuals/representatives, performing all that is required of an employer for wages paid on their behalf and all that is required of the payer for requirements of back-up witholding, as applicable.
  • It receives, disburses, and tracks public funds on behalf of individuals; assists with completing participant enrollment and worker employment forms; conducts criminal background checks of prospective workers; and verifies workers' citizenship status.
  • It also prepares and distributes workers' payroll including witholding, filing and depositing of federal and state income tax witholding and employment taxes and locality taxes.
  • It may process and pay vendor invoices for approved goods and services.
  • It generates reports for state program agencies, I&A providers, and individuals/representatives.
  • It brokers workers' compensation and other insurance as required.
  • A government FEA operates under section 3504 of the IRS code, IRS Rev. Proc. 80-4, 1980-1 C.B. 581 and as modified by IRS Proposed Notice 2003-70 without being considered the common law employer of the participant's workers.
Financial Management Services (FMS)
Financial Management Services (FMS) is a service/function that assists consumers and/or their representatives to:
  • Manage and direct the disbursement of public funds contained in the consumer-directed budget;
  • Facilitate the employment of staff by the consumer or representative by performing as the consumer's agent such employer responsibilities as processing human resource forms and payroll, witholding federal, state, and local taxes and making tax payments to the appropriate tax authorities, brokering and processing the payment for workers' compensation and other available insurances; and
  • Perform fiscal/accounting tasks such as processing and paying invoices for approved goods and services and generating expenditure reports to the consumer or representative, care manager or supports coordinator, and the Office of Long Term Living (OLTL).