[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 5, Volume 3]
[Revised as of January 1, 2005]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 5CFR2634.301]

[Page 502-503]
 
                    TITLE 5--ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL
 
                CHAPTER XVI--OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS
 
PART 2634_EXECUTIVE BRANCH FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE, QUALIFIED TRUSTS, AND 
CERTIFICATES OF DIVESTITURE--Table of Contents
 
                      Subpart C_Contents of Reports
 
Sec. 2634.301  Interests in property.

    Source: 57 FR 11808, Apr. 7, 1992, unless otherwise noted.


    (a) In general. Each financial disclosure report filed pursuant to 
this part, whether public or confidential, shall include a brief 
description of any interest in property held by the filer at the end of 
the reporting period in a trade or business, or for investment or the 
production of income, having a fair market value in excess of $1,000. In 
the case of public financial disclosure reports, the report shall 
designate the category of value of the property in accordance with 
paragraph (d) of this section. Each item of real and personal property 
shall be disclosed separately. Note that for Individual Retirement 
Accounts (IRA's), brokerage accounts, trusts, mutual or pension funds 
and other entities with portfolio holdings, each underlying asset must 
be separately disclosed, unless the entity qualifies for special 
treatment under Sec. 2634.310 of this subpart.
    (b) Types of property reportable. Subject to the exceptions in 
paragraph (c) of this section, examples of the types of property 
required to be reported include, but are not limited to:
    (1) Real estate;
    (2) Stocks, bonds, securities, and futures contracts;
    (3) Livestock owned for commercial purposes;
    (4) Commercial crops, either standing or held in storage;
    (5) Antiques or art held for resale or investment;
    (6) Beneficial interests in trusts and estates;
    (7) Deposits in banks or other financial institutions;
    (8) Pensions and annuities;
    (9) Mutual funds;
    (10) Accounts or other funds receivable; and
    (11) Capital accounts or other asset ownership in a business.
    (c) Exceptions. The following property interests are exempt from the 
reporting requirements under paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section:
    (1) Any personal liability owed to the filer, spouse, or dependent 
child by a spouse, or by a parent, brother, sister, or child of the 
filer, spouse, or dependent child;
    (2) Personal savings accounts (defined as any form of deposit in a 
bank, savings and loan association, credit union, or similar financial 
institution) in a single financial institution or holdings in a single 
money market mutual fund, aggregating $5,000 or less in that institution 
or fund;
    (3) A personal residence of the filer or spouse, as defined in Sec. 
2634.105(l); and
    (4) Financial interests in any retirement system of the United 
States (including the Thrift Savings Plan) or under the Social Security 
Act.
    (d) Valuation categories. The valuation categories specified for 
property items on public financial disclosure reports are as follows:
    (1) Not more than $15,000;
    (2) Greater than $15,000 but not more than $50,000;
    (3) Greater than $50,000 but not more than $100,000;
    (4) Greater than $100,000 but not more than $250,000;
    (5) Greater than $250,000 but not more than $500,000;
    (6) Greater than $500,000 but not more than $1,000,000; and
    (7) Greater than $1,000,000;

[[Page 503]]

    (8) Provided that, with respect to items held by the filer alone or 
held jointly by the filer with the filer's spouse and/or dependent 
children, the following additional categories over $1,000,000 shall 
apply:
    (i) Greater than $1,000,000 but not more than $5,000,000;
    (ii) Greater than $5,000,000 but not more than $25,000,000;
    (iii) Greater than $25,000,000 but not more than $50,000,000; and
    (iv) Greater than $50,000,000.
    (e) Valuation of interests in property. A good faith estimate of the 
fair market value of interests in property may be made in any case in 
which the exact value cannot be obtained without undue hardship or 
expense to the filer. Fair market value may also be determined by:
    (1) The purchase price (in which case, the filer should indicate 
date of purchase);
    (2) Recent appraisal;
    (3) The assessed value for tax purposes (adjusted to reflect the 
market value of the property used for the assessment if the assessed 
value is computed at less than 100 percent of that market value);
    (4) The year-end book value of nonpublicly traded stock, the year-
end exchange value of corporate stock, or the face value of corporate 
bonds or comparable securities;
    (5) The net worth of a business partnership;
    (6) The equity value of an individually owned business; or
    (7) Any other recognized indication of value (such as the last sale 
on a stock exchange).

    Example 1. An official has a $4,000 savings account in Bank A. His 
spouse has a $2,500 certificate of deposit issued by Bank B and his 
dependent daughter has a $200 savings account in Bank C. The official 
does not have to disclose the deposits, as the total value of the 
deposits in any one bank does not exceed $5,000. Note, however, that the 
source, and if he is a public filer the amount, of interest income from 
any bank is required to be reported under Sec. 2634.302(b) of this 
subpart if it exceeds the reporting threshold for income. See Sec. 
2634.309 of this subpart for disclosure coverage of spouses and 
dependent children.
    Example 2. Public filer R has a collection of post-impressionist 
paintings which have been carefully selected over the years. From time 
to time, as new paintings have been acquired to add to the collection, R 
has made sales of both less desirable works from his collection and 
paintings of various schools which he acquired through inheritance. 
Under these circumstances, R must report the value of all the paintings 
he retains as interests in property pursuant to this section, as well as 
income from the sales of paintings pursuant to Sec. 2634.302(b) of this 
subpart. Recurrent sales from a collection indicate that the collection 
is being held for investment or the production of income.
    Example 3. A reporting individual has investments which her broker 
holds as an IRA and invests in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. Each 
such asset having a fair market value in excess of $1,000 at the close 
of the reporting period must be separately listed, and also the value 
must be shown if she is a public filer. See Sec. 2634.311(c) of this 
subpart for attachment of brokerage statements in lieu of listing, in 
the event of extensive holdings. Note that for a mutual fund held in 
this IRA investment account, its underlying assets must also be 
separately detailed, unless it qualifies as an excepted investment fund, 
pursuant to Sec. 2634.310 of this subpart.

[57 FR 11808, Apr. 7, 1992; 57 FR 21854, May 22, 1992, as amended at 65 
FR 69656, Nov. 20, 2000]