RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  01-01780
            INDEX CODE:  128.00
            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  NO

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APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His December, 2000, and January, 2001, pay statements be changed to  reflect
that he received his backpay payment in December, 2000, vice January,  2001;
and, that he receive an amended W-2 to reflect the same.

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APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

The Air Force owed him $2,439 in backpay which was transferred to  his  bank
account on 29 Dec 00.  However, the Air Force recorded the  payment  on  his
January 2001 Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) as having been  paid  2  Jan
01. His taxable income in 2000 placed him  in  the  15%  tax  bracket.   His
taxable income in  2001  will  place  him  in  the  28%  bracket.   The  13%
difference means that for tax year 2001 he will pay $317 more  in  taxes  on
the $2,439 that he earned in 2000.

In support of his request applicant provided a personal statement, his  bank
account summary, and  an  AFSLA/JACA  memorandum,  dated  25  Jul  00.   His
complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.

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STATEMENT OF FACTS:

On 2 Aug 00, applicant was appointed a first lieutenant, Reserve of the  Air
Force and was voluntarily ordered to  extended  active  duty  on  that  same
date.  He is currently serving on  EAD  in  the  grade  of  captain,  having
assumed that grade effective and with a date of rank of 2 Feb 01.

Additional relevant facts pertaining to  this  application,  extracted  from
the applicant’s military records, are contained in the  letter  prepared  by
the appropriate office of the Air Force.  Accordingly, there is no  need  to
recite these facts in this Record of Proceedings.

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

DFAS-GAM/DE recommends denial.  DFAS states that in late December, 2000,  an
electronic funds transfer (EFT) was created  to  pay  backpay  to  his  bank
account.  The EFT was forwarded to his bank on 29 Dec 00 with an  authorized
payment date of 2 Jan 01.  Apparently the bank credited the payment  to  his
bank account on 29 Dec 00.  His earlier request that DFAS issue  a  W-2c  to
reflect the payment as 2000 income was denied because the early payment  was
not authorized by DFAS.  The Operating Guidelines issued  by  the  Automated
Clearing  House,  which  pertain  to  EFT  payments  made  by  the   Federal
Government,  specifically  obligates  a  financial   institution   to   post
transactions to consumer accounts  as  of  the  payment  date  and  requires
employees’ statements to reflect that posting date.  By  crediting  the  EFT
payment to his account prior to the authorized payment date, the  bank  used
its own funds because it did not have  authority  to  issue  the  Government
payment on that date.  Although he received the money in 2000, the money  he
received was not from the government; in effect,  the  bank  lent  him  such
monies until the approved payment date (see Exhibit B).

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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Applicant responded and states  that  in  citing  its  own  regulations  the
advisory ignores the plain guidance of the Internal Revenue  Service  (IRS),
which provides that income, although not actually reduced  to  a  taxpayer's
possession, is constructively received by him in  the  taxable  year  during
which it is credited to his account, set apart for him,  or  otherwise  made
available so that he may draw  upon  it  at  any  time.   DFAS  argues  that
granting his requested relief would entail an "extensive  workload"  on  the
agency.  There is only one case before the Board, tied to a specific set  of
facts and circumstances.  The  bulk  of  the  inappropriate  actions,  which
resulted in the late payments, have been within the Air Force and DFAS,  not
his financial institution as cited by DFAS.  His repeated efforts to  remedy
the problem of being underpaid for 5  months  were  rejected  and  dismissed
(see Exhibit D).

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THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:

1.  The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided  by  existing  law  or
regulations.

2.  The application was timely filed.

3.  Insufficient relevant evidence has been  presented  to  demonstrate  the
existence  of  probable  error  or  injustice.   We  took  notice   of   the
applicant's complete submission in judging the merits of the case;  however,
we agree with the opinion and recommendation of  the  Air  Force  office  of
primary responsibility and adopt  their  rationale  as  the  basis  for  our
conclusion that the applicant has  not  been  the  victim  of  an  error  or
injustice.  We note that the  applicant  based  his  request  upon  what  he
believes will be an increased tax burden for his 2001 Federal income  taxes.
 Inasmuch as the increased tax burden he provided is merely his  estimation,
it is our opinion that until he files his  2001  federal  income  taxes,  an
injustice to him has not yet occurred.  Once he has  filed  his  2001  taxes
and if is able to show that an injustice actually occurred, he may  resubmit
his  application  and  we  will  be  willing  to  reconsider  his   request.
Otherwise, in the absence of compelling evidence to the  contrary,  we  find
no basis to recommend granting the relief sought in this application.

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THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:

The applicant be notified that the evidence presented  did  not  demonstrate
the existence of probable material error or injustice; that the  application
was denied without a personal appearance;  and  that  the  application  will
only be reconsidered  upon  the  submission  of  newly  discovered  relevant
evidence not considered with this application.

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The following members of the Board considered this application in  Executive
Session on 24 Oct 01, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

      Mr. Henry Romo, Jr., Panel Chair
      Ms. Brenda L. Romine, Member
      Mr. James W. Russell III, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 18 Jun 01, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Letter, DFAS-GAM/DE, dated 30 Aug 01, w/atchs.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 14 Sep 01.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, Applicant, dated 15 Oct 01.




                                             HENRY ROMO,JR.
                                             Panel Chair