How do I code a TRS late fee or penalty paid through TEXNET, including a late retiree (ER) submission?
Short answer
Code a TRS penalty, late fee or interest charge to Object 6499 Miscellaneous Operating Costs from local (non-federal) funds, not 6146.
TEXNET is only the payment portal. The FASRG coding lives in your ledger.
The detail
What goes where:
- 6499: Only the late fee, penalty and interest. FASRG describes 6499 as including "fees (not associated with professional development or travel)" (FASRG v20 FAR Appendices, Object Code 6499, p. 183).
- 6146: The underlying contribution or surcharge itself, even when it was reported or paid late, stays in object 6146 in the same fund and function as the salary it relates to. FASRG: "Your district must allocate TRS matching expenditures in the same manner as it allocates the salaries included in the TRS calculation." (FASRG v20 Module 1, p. 160)
6146 is for contributions: "expenditures or expenses made from local, state, and federal program funds" to pay "the required matching amount from federal funds" and "any employer contribution for the retired teachers' health insurance plan" (FASRG v20 FAR Appendices, Object Code 6146, Teacher Retirement or TRS Care, p. 163). A late fee is not a contribution. It is a charge for missing a deadline.
Retiree (ER) late submissions:
A TRS Retiree ER late-submission charge is an Employment After Retirement report late fee under Tex. Gov't Code §825.408(a-1). It is coded the same way: 6499, local funds. The pension surcharge or TRS-Care surcharge itself for the working retiree, even if reported or paid late, stays in 6146 in the same fund/function as the salary it relates to. Only the TRS-assessed late fee, penalty and interest go to 6499.
Why not the grant:
A late fee exists only because the employer did not meet a state-law deadline, so under 2 CFR §200.441 it is unallowable on federal awards: "Costs resulting from recipient or subrecipient violations of, alleged violations of, or failure to comply with, Federal, State, local, tribal, or foreign laws and regulations are unallowable" (2 CFR §200.441). Pay it from local funds even when the late contribution was for a grant-funded employee. The contribution itself stays on the grant in 6146.
How to pay it through TEXNET:
ASCENDER's TRS process is: after submission files are complete, "determine the TRS payment amount, and then make the payment through TEXNET" (ASCENDER: Academy > Augusttrsreportingchecklist > Determine TRS payment).
In practice:
- Separate the TEXNET total into (a) contributions/surcharges vs. (b) late fees/penalties/interest.
- Record (a) to 6146 in the fund/function of the related salary.
- Record (b) to 6499 in a local fund in the same function you would use for miscellaneous operating costs.
Practical entry: 199-XX-6499-XX-XXX-X-XX-X-XX (or other local fund) for the fee/interest; leave the underlying surcharge/contribution in XXX-XX-6146-XX-XXX-X-XX-X-XX where the salary was charged.
Background: what TRS can charge under Tex. Gov't Code §825.408 (Tex. Gov't Code §825.408):
- Regular monthly reports/deposits, subsection (a): unpaid amount plus compounded interest plus a size-based late fee, with statutory caps of $1,000 per business day and $25,000 per reporting period.
- Retiree return-to-work reports, subsection (a-1): due before the 11th day after the end of the month the retiree worked. Interest at the subsection (a) rate plus a late fee set by TRS for each business day late. The subsection (a) caps are not written into (a-1).
Where this comes from
- FASRG Update 20, Module 1: Financial Accounting and Reporting Appendices. Open the PDF
- Object Code 6146 Teacher Retirement or TRS Care (page 163)
- Object Code 6499 Miscellaneous Operating Costs (page 183)
- FASRG Update 20, Module 1, allocating TRS matching expenditures (page 160). Open the PDF
- Texas Government Code §825.408, late fees and interest on employer reports and deposits, subsections (a) and (a-1). Read the statute
- 2 CFR §200.441, Fines, penalties, damages and other settlements. Read the regulation
- ASCENDER Business help, August TRS reporting checklist, Determine TRS payment. Open the help page
Related questions
Current as of: FASRG Update 20 (TEA documents dated June–July 2026); Tex. Gov't Code §825.408; 2 CFR §200.441. Checked 21 October 2026.
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