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TIP/PATAX Frequently Asked Questions

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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Q: What are TIP and PATAX?

A: TIP is a centralized System application used to collect and report corporate tax payments remitted electronically or through PATAX and invest Treasury funds with participating financial institutions.

PATAX is a centralized Federal Reserve System application that collects, adjusts and reports all Advices of Credit (AOC) representing paper federal tax deposits (FTDs)

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Q: What are the address and the fax number for the operations area?

A:

  • Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
  • TT&L Treasury Support Center
  • P.O. Box 14915
  • St. Louis, Missouri 63178

Customer Service Area fax: 1-866-707-6574
Collateral Monitoring Area fax: 1-866-707-6575

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Q: What are my institution's Treasury securities investment options?

A: Investment Options

Dynamic Investment

Through the Dynamic Investments feature of TIP, excess Treasury funds are placed into the TIP Main accounts of participating financial institutions. To qualify for Dynamic Investments, a financial institution must be a same-day Direct Investment participant.

At periodic intervals throughout each business day (generally every hour from noon until 5 p.m. ET, or until the cutoff time established by the financial institution), TIP initiates the Dynamic Investment process. Dynamic Investments increase an institution's Main account balance and credit its Reserve account or that of a designated correspondent. This new feature allows a financial institution to maximize its participation within the investment program.

The Treasury may elect to stop the Dynamic Investment function at any time during the business day. The Fed sends an electronic broadcast message to participating financial institutions when this occurs.

Direct Investment

The Treasury periodically invests a portion of its excess operating cash directly into the TIP Main accounts (previously the TT&L Note accounts) of Direct Investment program participants. When the Treasury initiates an investment, a financial institution's Reserve account or a designated correspondent's Reserve account is credited. To determine if a Direct Investment has been placed in its account, a financial institution may view their activity Statement after 10:45 a.m. ET. At the request of TT&L users, a notification message is no longer sent when a Direct Investment occurs.

Direct Investments are distributed among participating financial institutions according to one of the following types of notification:

  • One-day notification – A financial institution that elects a one-day notification receives notice of a Direct Investment one business day prior to the day the funds are credited to its Reserve account or a designated correspondent's Reserve account.
  • Same-day notification – A financial institution that elects a same-day notification is notified of a Direct Investment on the same day that the funds are to be credited to its Reserve account. A financial institution that elects to be a "same-day notification" participant also is considered to be a "one-day notification" participant.

When the Treasury announces investments, they are targeted to a specific group; for example, the Treasury may issue a one-day Direct Investment to be deposited with one-day participants only, or a one-day Direct Investment to be deposited with same-day participants only.

Direct Investments are distributed solely on the basis of actual capacity. In TIP, capacity is based on current information–including collateral value, balance limit (previously, maximum balance) and Main account balance.

The calculations used to determine these capacities are:

Same-day capacity = Collateral value or balance limit (whichever is lower)
- Main account balance

One-day capacity = Collateral value or balance limit (whichever is lower)
- Main account balance - Pending investments + Pending withdrawals

If a financial institution would like more information on participating in the Direct Investment program, please refer to the Treasury Financial Manual, Volume IV or call the TT&L Treasury Support Center (TSC) at 1-888-568-7343.

Special Direct Investment

If a financial institution participates in the Direct Investment program, it could also elect to receive Special Direct Investments (SDI). During periods of significant tax receipts, the Treasury invests a portion of its operating cash directly into the SDI account of program participants. However, a financial institution must first qualify to secure borrowings (advances) from the discount window under the Borrower-In-Custody (BIC) procedures established by the Fed for that purpose. SDIs are similar to Direct Investments, except that the collateral used to secure SDIs must be held in a BIC arrangement (also called Off-Premise Collateral or OPC).

Like Direct Investments, financial institutions can choose to receive SDIs with a same-day or one-day notice. Those choosing the 'same-day notice' option are automatically enrolled in the 'one-day notice' program; however, the Treasury announces SDIs targeted to a specific group, just as it does for Direct Investments. SDIs are distributed solely on the basis of a financial institution's actual capacity, using current information that includes collateral value and SDI account balance. At the Treasury's discretion, the funds in a SDI account may be held for a maximum period of 21 calendar days.

The calculations used to determine capacity are:

SDI same-day capacity = SDI collateral value - SDI account balance

SDI one-day capacity = SDI collateral value - SDI account balance - Pending SDI investments + Pending SDI withdrawals

If a financial institution would like more information on participating in the SDI program, please refer to the Treasury Financial Manual, Volume IV or call the TT&L Treasury Support Center at 1-888-568-7343.

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Q: When are AOCs due to the FRB?

A: The Fed must receive the AOC information via TT&L Plus on the business day following a tax deposit. The cutoff for entering AOCs is 5 p.m. ET. The financial institution can enter (stage) AOC information for the next business day beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET on the date of receipt.

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Q: What do I do when TT&L Plus® is unavailable

A: During peak volume periods, TT&L Plus may be periodically unavailable. If you experience this, please close your browser and try again later.

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Q: What TIP/PATAX reports are available on TT&L Plus?

A: The following reports are available on TT&L Plus:

AOC Processing Report
AOC Acknowledgement
Activity Statement for Collector
Activity Statement for Main Account
Activity Statement for SDI
Pledgor Collateral Monitoring Recap
State and Undated
Cycle Statement

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Q: How do I access the TIP/PATAX reports available on TT&L Plus?

A: Refer to the TT&L Plus Subscriber Guide located on the TT&L Plus Application (Off-site Link).

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Q: How can I get a printout of my current activity statement on TT&L Plus?

A: Refer to the TT&L Plus Subscriber Guide located on the TT&L Plus Application (Off-site Link).

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Q: What should I do if I receive the message "The Deposit Date entered is not less than the current date. Enter a Deposit Date that is less than the current date."?

A: The PATAX application is open for AOC entry from 5 p.m. ET on Sunday through 4 a.m. ET on Saturday. AOC deposits must be entered into PATAX on the business day following a tax deposit. Since the AOC date must be prior to the current system date, a financial institution should verify the date of the receipt of the tax deposit when it receives this type of error message.

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Q: How do I know that my AOC was processed?

A: The AOC Acknowledgement in TT&L Plus will show transactions that are accepted, rejected or pending. The AOC Processing Report has a list of all AOCs entered and a recap by branch. It only shows transactions that were accepted.

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Q: If I made a mistake entering my AOC, how do I get an adjustment?

A: No action is required the IRS will detect the error and make an adjustment. IRS has up to 20 business days to return an adjustment. For more detailed information regarding adjustments please refer to "Tips For Processing Federal Tax Deposits" (PDF).

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