May 26

What Is the USSGL? A Complete Guide to the U.S. Standard General Ledger

The U.S. Standard General Ledger (USSGL) is the federal government's uniform chart of accounts. Published by Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service as a supplement to the Treasury Financial Manual, it assigns a six-digit account number to every type of account a federal agency uses, provides standardized transaction codes (journal entries) for common accounting events, defines the attributes required for financial reporting, and crosswalks every account to the lines of the federal financial statements. All federal agencies are required to follow it under the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996 (FFMIA).

Key takeaways

• What it is: A uniform six-digit chart of accounts used by every federal agency, plus standardized journal entries, account attributes, and crosswalks to financial statements.
• Who maintains it: Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service, updated annually by Treasury Bulletin.
• Where to find it: tfx.treasury.gov/tfm/supplements/ussgl
• Legal basis: Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996 (FFMIA), building on the CFO Act of 1990.
• How it is organized: Seven sections covering chart of accounts, definitions, transaction codes, attributes, crosswalks to external reports, crosswalks to reclassified statements, and GTAS validations and edits.
• Why it matters for careers: Because every federal agency uses the same chart of accounts, USSGL skills transfer directly from one agency to another, making federal accounting one of the most portable career paths in the profession.

The USSGL in plain English

The USSGL is what makes federal accounting consistent across thousands of agencies and components. Every appropriation gets recorded the same way. Every capitalized asset uses the same account number. Every line of the balance sheet maps back to the same set of accounts and attributes. That consistency exists because Congress requires it. Federal financial statements consolidate from agency level to department level to government-wide, and consolidation only works if everyone is using the same chart of accounts the same way.
For new federal accountants, this is the most important reference document you will encounter. Once you can navigate it, you can find the right account, the right transaction code, the right attribute, and the right financial statement line for any federal accounting question. For experienced federal accountants moving between agencies, it is the foundation that lets your skills travel.

Why federal accounting is a career superpower

In commercial accounting, every company runs its own chart of accounts. Move to a new employer and you are relearning where things post, what the account hierarchy looks like, and how the financial statements roll up. That re-onboarding tax is real!
Federal accounting works differently. Every agency uses the same USSGL because every agency has to consolidate up into the government-wide financial statements. If you learn how to record an appropriation at the Department of Agriculture, that knowledge transfers directly to the Department of Energy. If you learn how to capitalize an asset at NASA, the same accounts and transaction codes apply at NOAA. Reading financial statements at one agency teaches you to read them at any agency, because the line items are the same.
This portability matters for two reasons. First, the federal government does literally everything: forestry, rockets, public health, science and research, roads, trains, national parks, weather satellites. Whatever you find interesting, some agency is doing it. Second, you can build a career across mission areas without starting over technically. Move from a science agency to a public health agency, from defense to civilian, from headquarters to a field office, and your USSGL knowledge comes with you.
For a new federal accountant, learning the USSGL is the foundation. For a manager, sitting your new staff down and walking them through it is one of the highest-return things you can do in their first month.

Where the USSGL lives in the Treasury Financial Manual

The USSGL is a supplement to the Treasury Financial Manual, not one of its four volumes. The current version is published at tfx.treasury.gov/tfm/supplements/ussgl. Bookmark it. You will use it constantly.
Quick terminology note. When a federal accountant says "check the TFM," they almost always mean the USSGL supplement, not the four-volume TFM itself. The four TFM volumes cover federal agencies (Volume 1), Federal Reserve Banks (Volume 2), depositaries and financial agents (Volume 3), and other parties (Volume 4). The USSGL is a supplement that sits alongside those volumes and is what most agency accountants reference daily.
The USSGL is updated by Treasury Bulletin. The bulletin number tells you the fiscal year and the version. For example, "2025 TFM Bulletin No. 2025-06" indicates fiscal year 2025, version 6. The site posts a Part 1 (current fiscal year) and a Part 2 (next fiscal year). Day-to-day research happens in Part 1. Part 2 is where you check for new accounts or new validations that take effect next year.

The seven sections of the USSGL supplement

The USSGL is organized into seven sections. Each one answers a specific question you will eventually need to answer in your work.
Section Name What it answers
I Chart of Accounts Which six-digit account number to use
II Accounts and Definitions What each account is actually for
III Account Transactions Which journal entry (transaction code) to post
IV Account Attributes Which attributes are required for reporting
V Crosswalks to Standard External Reports Which line of which financial statement each account maps t
VI Crosswalks to Reclassified Statements How accounts roll up to the government-wide statements
VII GTAS Validations and Edits Whether your trial balance will pass Treasury's checks

Most federal accountants spend most of their time in Sections 1, 2, and 3 (chart of accounts, definitions, and transaction codes). Section 4 (attributes) and Section 5 (crosswalks) come into play when you start working on financial statement preparation or reconciliation. Section 7 (validations and edits) becomes critical when you are responsible for GTAS submissions.

The USSGL chart of accounts at a glance

The six-digit USSGL accounts are organized into series. Each series has a specific purpose. Once you internalize the series, you can usually guess the type of account from the first digit alone.
• 100000 series. Assets.
• 200000 series. Liabilities.
• 300000 series. Net Position (equivalent to equity in commercial accounting).
• 400000 series. Budgetary Accounts. Unique to federal accounting; self-balance within the 4000s.
• 500000 series. Revenue and Other Financing Sources.
• 600000 series. Expenses.
• 700000 series. Gains, Losses, and Miscellaneous Items.
• 800000 series. Memorandum Accounts.
The 400000 series is what makes federal accounting different from commercial accounting. Budgetary accounts track the flow of budget authority from appropriation through obligation to outlay, completely separate from the proprietary accounting most accountants learn in school. For a full USSGL chart of accounts walkthrough, including what each series tracks and how budgetary and proprietary accounting run in parallel, see our deep dive on Sections 1 and 2.

How the USSGL enables federal consolidation

Federal agencies do not produce financial statements just for their own use. Department-level statements roll up from multiple sub-agencies. Government-wide statements roll up from every department. That entire reporting structure only works if everyone is using the same accounts the same way.
This is why the USSGL is not optional. It is the mechanism by which thousands of agencies and components produce financial statements that consolidate cleanly. Without it, intragovernmental eliminations would fail, financial statement preparation would be ad hoc at every agency, and the government-wide audit would be impossible.

A practical USSGL example: Sarah's first day

Meet Sarah. It is her first day as a federal accountant. Her manager walks over and says: "We work at a law enforcement agency. We just seized $10,000 in cash during an investigation, and it has not been deposited yet. Can you look up the GL account and transaction code we need to record the seizure?"
Sarah does not know the answer off the top of her head. Nobody would. The USSGL has thousands of accounts and hundreds of transaction codes. What Sarah does know is where to look.
She opens the USSGL chart of accounts (Section 1), searches "seized," and finds two candidates: 153100 Seized Monetary Instruments and 153200 Seized Cash Deposited. She checks the definitions in Section 2 and confirms that 153100 is the right account for undeposited seized cash. She opens the T-Accounts under Section 3, finds the transaction codes that debit 153100, narrows to C166 by reading the descriptions, and confirms it is the right transaction for recording seized monetary instruments including undeposited cash.
Total time: maybe five minutes once Sarah knows the navigation. That is the value of the USSGL. It is a complete, searchable, authoritative reference that gives every federal accountant the same answer to the same question.

What to learn next: the three USSGL deep dives

If you are new to the USSGL, work through the chart of accounts and the transaction codes first. Those are the two sections you will use every day. Once you are comfortable navigating those, account attributes and the crosswalks to financial statements become the next layer.
• The USSGL Chart of Accounts: A Walkthrough of Sections 1 and 2
• USSGL Transaction Codes: How to Research and Post Federal Journal Entries
• USSGL Account Attributes and Crosswalks: How Sections 4, 5, and 6 Drive Financial Reporting

Frequently asked questions about the USSGL

What is the USSGL?

The U.S. Standard General Ledger (USSGL) is the federal government's uniform chart of accounts, published by Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service as a supplement to the Treasury Financial Manual. It assigns a six-digit account number to every type of account a federal agency uses, provides standardized transaction codes for journal entries, defines account attributes required for reporting, and crosswalks every account to the lines of the federal financial statements. Federal agencies are required to follow it under the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996 (FFMIA), which builds on the CFO Act of 1990.

What does USSGL stand for?

USSGL stands for United States Standard General Ledger. It is the federal government's uniform chart of accounts, published by Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service as a supplement to the Treasury Financial Manual.

Where can I find the USSGL online?

The current USSGL is published at tfx.treasury.gov/tfm/supplements/ussgl. The site posts both a Part 1 (current fiscal year) and a Part 2 (next fiscal year). Most day-to-day research happens in Part 1. The USSGL is updated by Treasury Bulletin, with bulletin numbers indicating fiscal year and version (for example, 2025-06 means fiscal year 2025, version 6).

Is the USSGL the same as the Treasury Financial Manual?

No. The Treasury Financial Manual (TFM) has four volumes covering federal agencies, Federal Reserve Banks, depositaries, and other parties. The USSGL is a separate supplement to the TFM, not one of the four volumes. When federal accountants say "check the TFM," they almost always mean the USSGL supplement, because that is where the chart of accounts, transaction codes, attributes, and crosswalks live.

Why is the USSGL different from a commercial chart of accounts?

Two main differences. First, the USSGL is mandatory and consistent across every federal agency, while commercial companies design their own charts of accounts. Second, the USSGL includes a complete set of budgetary accounts (the 400000 series) that track the flow of budget authority from appropriation through outlay. Budgetary accounting runs in parallel with proprietary accounting and is unique to federal financial management.

Who maintains the USSGL?

Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service maintains the USSGL. They publish it as a supplement to the Treasury Financial Manual and update it annually via Treasury Bulletin. The Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB) sets the underlying accounting standards that the USSGL implements.

How many sections are in the USSGL?

The USSGL supplement has seven sections: (1) Chart of Accounts, (2) Accounts and Definitions, (3) Account Transactions, (4) Account Attributes, (5) Crosswalks to Standard External Reports, (6) Crosswalks to Reclassified Statements, and (7) GTAS Validations and Edits. Most day-to-day federal accounting research happens in Sections 1, 2, and 3.

What is the difference between budgetary and proprietary accounts in the USSGL?

Proprietary accounts track what an agency owns, owes, earns, and spends. They are similar to commercial accounting. Budgetary accounts (USSGL series 400000) are unique to federal accounting and track the flow of budget authority from appropriation through apportionment, allotment, obligation, and outlay. Budgetary accounts self-balance within the 400000 series. Every federal accounting transaction may post to one or both sides, depending on the transaction.

How long does it take to learn the USSGL?

You can become comfortable navigating the USSGL in two to four weeks of structured study combined with daily use on the job. Mastery is a longer arc. Most federal accountants continue learning new corners of the USSGL throughout their careers because the supplement covers every type of federal transaction, and no single accountant encounters all of them. What matters early is knowing how to navigate the seven sections efficiently, not memorizing accounts and transaction codes.

Build a strong USSGL foundation

If you are new to federal accounting, or if you manage staff who are, the most valuable thing you can do is learn how to navigate the USSGL. The Introduction to the USSGL  course walks through all seven sections of the TFM supplement, shows you how to research transactions efficiently, and earns NASBA-approved CPE credit. It is the same material covered in this guide, taught at depth, with worked examples and knowledge checks.

Sources and further reading

• Treasury Financial Manual, USSGL Supplement (tfx.treasury.gov)
• Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996 (FFMIA)
• Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 (CFO Act)