FASAB clarifies accounting for government land

The staff of the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board has issued new guidance on the accounting and reporting rules for federal land.

Technical Bulletin 2025-1, Technical Clarifications: SFFAS 59, Accounting and Reporting of Government Land, clarifies the existing guidance in Statement of Federal Financial Accounting Standards 59, Accounting and Reporting of Government Land.

TB 2025-1 specifically clarifies the SFFAS 59 requirements regarding the (1) categorization of general property, plant and equipment land and stewardship land, (2) preparer flexibility concerning the accounting and reporting of non-outer continental shelf submerged land as well as ownership and related acquisition assertions, and (3) expensing of G-PP&E permanent land rights.

“This TB clarifies existing standards for the accounting and reporting of government land by addressing unique characteristics of government land holdings that have arisen during the required supplementary information transition period,” said FASAB executive director Monica Valentine in a statement Friday. “We appreciate the constructive and timely engagement from stakeholders to support FASAB’s mission to continuously improve federal financial reporting.”

TB 2025-1 is available at https://fasab.gov/accounting-standards/.