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Title 41 — Public ContractsRelease 119-73not60

§4301 Definitions

Title 41 › Subtitle Subtitle I— Federal Procurement Policy › Chapter 43— ALLOWABLE COSTS › § 4301

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

Defines key words used in this chapter. Compensation for a fiscal year is all pay for that year—wages, salary, bonuses, and deferred pay—whether paid, earned, or recorded as owed in the employer’s cost accounting records. A covered contract is one worth more than $500,000 made by an executive agency, but not a fixed-price contract without cost incentives or a firm fixed-price purchase of commercial products or services. Fiscal year means the accounting year the contractor uses. A senior executive is one of the five highest-paid managers at each home office and at each contractor segment.

Full Legal Text

Title 41, §4301

Public Contracts — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

In this chapter:
(1)The term “compensation”, for a fiscal year, means the total amount of wages, salary, bonuses, and deferred compensation for the fiscal year, whether paid, earned, or otherwise accruing, as recorded in an employer’s cost accounting records for the fiscal year.
(2)The term “covered contract” means a contract for an amount in excess of $500,000 that is entered into by an executive agency, except that the term does not include a fixed-price contract without cost incentives or any firm fixed-price contract for the purchase of commercial products or commercial services.
(3)The term “fiscal year” means a fiscal year established by a contractor for accounting purposes.
(4)The term “senior executive”, with respect to a contractor, means the 5 most highly compensated employees in management positions at each home office and each segment of the contractor.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 4301(1)41:256(m)(1).June 30, 1949, ch. 288, title III, § 306(m), as added Pub. L. 105–85, title VIII, § 808(b)(2), Nov. 18, 1997, 111 Stat. 1836; Pub. L. 105–261, title VIII, § 804(b), Oct. 17, 1998, 112 Stat. 2083. 4301(2)41:256(l)(1).June 30, 1949, ch. 288, title III, § 306(l)(1), as added Pub. L. 100–700, § 8(a)(1), Nov. 19, 1988, 102 Stat. 4634; Pub. L. 103–355, title II, § 2151, Oct. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 3315. 4301(3)41:256(m)(3). 4301(4)41:256(m)(2).

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2018—Par. (2). Pub. L. 115–232 substituted “commercial products or commercial services” for “commercial items”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2018 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 115–232 effective Jan. 1, 2020, subject to a

Savings Provision

, see section 836(h) of Pub. L. 115–232, set out as an

Effective Date

of 2018 Amendment;

Savings Provision

note under section 453b of Title 6, Domestic Security.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

41 U.S.C. § 4301

Title 41 — Public Contracts

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60