Federal · Tracker
SLFRF expenditure deadline: December 31, 2026
Status
Funds obligated by Dec. 31, 2024 must be expended by Dec. 31, 2026 (Sept. 30, 2026 for Surface Transportation and Title I projects); the final Project and Expenditure Report is due April 30, 2027.
- Last changed
- Last verified
- Expenditure deadline
What it means for recipients
Only effects the cited source itself states. Nothing here is advice.
-
A recipient must return funds obligated by December 31, 2024 for uses under 31 CFR 35.6(b) through (g) but not expended by December 31, 2026, and funds obligated for Surface Transportation and Title I uses under 35.6(h) but not expended by September 30, 2026. The only expenditures permitted after December 31, 2026 are administrative expenses necessary to close out the award.
31 CFR 35.5(c), eCFR (ecfr.gov) -
Recipients may expend funds to cover administrative closeout costs until the final Project and Expenditure Report is due on April 30, 2027, 120 calendar days after the end of the period of performance. Other than such administrative closeout costs, recipients may not continue to expend funds beyond the period of performance.
Treasury, SLFRF Compliance and Reporting Guidance v10.1 (home.treasury.gov) -
Subrecipients are subject to the expenditure deadlines. A check that remains uncashed beyond April 30, 2027, or is cancelled after that date, is no longer regarded as an expenditure for an eligible use, and recipients must return any unexpended funds to Treasury. For a multiyear contract extending past the period of performance, the recipient may not use SLFRF funds to cover costs after the applicable expenditure deadline.
Treasury, SLFRF FAQs 17.25 to 17.28 (as of Aug. 7, 2026) (home.treasury.gov) -
Quarterly reporters submit their Q3 2026 Project and Expenditure Report by October 31, 2026 and their final report by April 30, 2027; annual reporters submit one final report by April 30, 2027. An award is not officially closed until Treasury reviews the closeout submission and issues an Award Closeout Notice, and closeout does not eliminate record retention or other post-award responsibilities.
Treasury, SLFRF September 2026 Newsletter (home.treasury.gov)
Changelog 8 entries, newest first
-
September 2026 newsletter: final report due April 30, 2027; closeout is a two-step process
Treasury's September 2026 newsletter states that quarterly reporters will submit their Q3 2026 Project and Expenditure Report by October 31, 2026 and their final report by April 30, 2027, and annual reporters one final report by April 30, 2027. Closeout is described as two steps, submitting the most recent compliance report and then completing a Closeout Report when invited; an award is not officially closed until Treasury issues an Award Closeout Notice. Closeout office hours are listed through December 23, 2026.
Source: Treasury, SLFRF September 2026 Newsletter (home.treasury.gov) -
Treasury adds FAQs 17.24 to 17.28 on closeout costs, subrecipients and uncashed checks
The FAQ document as of August 7, 2026 (version 5.1) states that subrecipients are subject to the expenditure deadlines and that recipients may use SLFRF funds after December 31, 2026 to process and correct final subrecipient invoices as closeout costs through April 30, 2027. It states that closeout may include reissuing uncashed checks, that a check uncashed beyond April 30, 2027 or cancelled after that date is no longer regarded as an eligible expenditure, and that SLFRF funds may not cover costs of a multiyear contract after the applicable expenditure deadline.
Source: Treasury, SLFRF FAQs (as of Aug. 7, 2026) (home.treasury.gov) -
April 2026 newsletter restates the deadlines and the return requirement
Treasury's April 2026 newsletter states that the deadline to expend all SLFRF funds is December 31, 2026, except for Surface Transportation and Title I projects, which must be expended by September 30, 2026, and that recipients are required to return any funds not expended by the expenditure deadline. It notes that funds obligated by December 31, 2024 but not expended may be reclassified to another eligible project under FAQ 17.19, and that 2026 annual and Q1 reports were due April 30, 2026.
Source: Treasury, SLFRF April 2026 Newsletter (home.treasury.gov) -
Treasury: unobligated balances must be returned; recoupment under 31 CFR 35.10 follows
Treasury's November 2025 newsletter states that any funds not obligated by December 31, 2024 must be returned, that the unobligated balance is determined from the most recent Project and Expenditure Report submitted after the obligation deadline, and that if funds are not returned by the deadline in Treasury's September 19 instructions, Treasury will proceed with recoupment under 31 CFR 35.10, beginning with an Initial Notice of Recoupment. It also states that fully expended recipients have been invited to close out on a rolling basis since summer 2025.
Source: Treasury, SLFRF November 2025 Newsletter (home.treasury.gov) -
Compliance and Reporting Guidance v10.1 sets the final Project and Expenditure Report for April 30, 2027
Version 10.1 of the Compliance and Reporting Guidance states that funds obligated by December 31, 2024 must be expended by December 31, 2026, Surface Transportation and Title I funds by September 30, 2026, and that any funds not expended by the applicable deadline must be returned to Treasury. It states that recipients may expend funds for administrative closeout costs until the final Project and Expenditure Report is due on April 30, 2027, and its reporting tables set both the final quarterly report and the final annual report for that date.
Source: Treasury, SLFRF Compliance and Reporting Guidance v10.1 (home.treasury.gov) -
Obligation interim final rule lets reported compliance and closeout costs count as obligated
The obligation interim final rule (88 FR 80584, effective November 20, 2023) amended the definition of obligation so a recipient is also considered to have incurred an obligation by December 31, 2024 for requirements under federal law, regulation or the award terms, such as reporting, subrecipient monitoring, record retention and audits, if it estimated and reported the amount to Treasury by April 30, 2024. The estimate may not include any expenditure to be made after December 31, 2026 other than administrative expenditures necessary to close out the award.
Source: Federal Register, 88 FR 80584 (obligation interim final rule) (federalregister.gov) -
Interim final rule adds a Sept. 30, 2026 expenditure deadline for Surface Transportation and Title I projects
Treasury's interim final rule implementing the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 amendments (88 FR 64986, effective September 20, 2023) states that recipients must obligate funds used for Surface Transportation projects and Title I projects by December 31, 2024 and expend them by September 30, 2026. The rule describes this deadline as three months earlier than the December 31, 2026 expenditure deadline for all other eligible uses.
Source: Federal Register, 88 FR 64986 (2023 interim final rule) (federalregister.gov) -
Treasury final rule sets the Dec. 31, 2024 obligation and Dec. 31, 2026 expenditure deadlines
Treasury published the SLFRF final rule at 87 FR 4338, effective April 1, 2022. As adopted, 31 CFR 35.5 limited the use of funds to costs incurred between March 3, 2021 and December 31, 2024, deemed a cost incurred if the recipient had incurred an obligation by that date, and required recipients to return any funds not obligated by December 31, 2024 and any funds obligated by then but not expended by December 31, 2026.
Source: Federal Register, 87 FR 4338 (Treasury final rule) (federalregister.gov)
Background
The current regulatory text is at 31 CFR 35.5, as amended at 88 FR 65026 (September 20, 2023) and 88 FR 80589 (November 20, 2023). Treasury's SLFRF program page lists the newsletters, FAQs and the October 2026 Project and Expenditure Report user guide cited above.
We searched the full enacted texts of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (P.L. 118-5), the 2025 reconciliation act (P.L. 119-21), the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 (P.L. 119-75) and the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027 (P.L. 119-103) for any rescission of Fiscal Recovery Fund balances and found none. Return of unobligated funds proceeds under 31 CFR 35.5(c) and recoupment under 31 CFR 35.10.
Follow this issue
One email a week with what changed in the rules that fund your work, cited to the source. Subscribing here also flags this tracker so you hear when it changes.
Sources cited on this page
- Treasury, SLFRF September 2026 Newsletter home.treasury.gov
- Treasury, SLFRF FAQs 17.25 to 17.28 (as of Aug. 7, 2026) home.treasury.gov
- Treasury, SLFRF April 2026 Newsletter home.treasury.gov
- Treasury, SLFRF November 2025 Newsletter home.treasury.gov
- Treasury, SLFRF Compliance and Reporting Guidance v10.1 home.treasury.gov
- Federal Register, 88 FR 80584 (obligation interim final rule) federalregister.gov
- Federal Register, 88 FR 64986 (2023 interim final rule) federalregister.gov
- Federal Register, 87 FR 4338 (Treasury final rule) federalregister.gov
- 31 CFR 35.5(c), eCFR ecfr.gov
How this page is maintained: every entry links the primary record it describes. An editor re-reads each source on the "last verified" date above; nothing is added without a source, and nothing is forecast. About our methodology.