Can federal employees donate sick leave to a coworker?

No. The VLTP only allows donation of annual leave. Sick leave cannot be donated to another employee under any federal leave-sharing program — the statute and regulations cover annual leave exclusively.

Can I pick exactly who receives my donated leave?

Yes — that is the defining feature of the VLTP. Your donation goes to a specific approved leave recipient you name on Form 630-A or 630-B. If you would rather give to a pool instead of a person, that is what an agency leave bank is for.

Will I get my hours back if they aren't used?

Yes, proportionally. Unused donated leave is restored to donors pro rata when the medical emergency ends, as long as you are still a federal employee. You can take it this year, defer it to next leave year, or re-donate it to another recipient.

Is donating annual leave tax-deductible?

No. Under IRS Revenue Ruling 90-29, the donor neither recognizes income nor receives any deduction for donated leave in a medical-emergency leave-sharing plan. The recipient pays ordinary income and payroll taxes when the donated leave is paid to them.

Can my supervisor ask me to donate leave to someone?

Circulating a general notice that a colleague is an approved recipient is normal. But no one may intimidate, threaten, coerce, or promise any benefit — a promotion, an award, better treatment — to influence your decision to donate or not donate. That prohibition is written directly into 5 CFR 630.912.

How to Donate Annual Leave to a Federal Coworker

By the LeaveTransfer.org team · Last reviewed July 1, 2026

Any covered federal employee can donate annual leave to a colleague in a medical emergency through the Voluntary Leave Transfer Program (VLTP). You choose the recipient by name, file one short form with your own agency, and the hours move from your leave balance to theirs — no cash, no middleman, no tax bill for you. Here is everything a donor needs to know.

Who can donate annual leave?

Almost any federal employee covered by the title 5 leave system can donate annual leave — there is no minimum grade, tenure, or agency approval of you as a person. What matters is that you have accrued annual leave available and that the recipient is an approved VLTP leave recipient. Donating is always voluntary: nobody can require, pressure, or reward a donation, and the regulation bans even "promising to confer any benefit" in exchange for one.

One relationship is off-limits no matter how sincere the intent: you may never donate annual leave to your immediate supervisor. The rule exists to keep leave donation free of even the appearance of favor-trading.

How much annual leave can you donate per year?

In any one leave year, you may donate up to one-half of the annual leave you would accrue during that year — across all recipients and leave-bank contributions combined. In practice, for full-time employees:

Your accrual rate	Annual accrual	Max donation per year
4 hours per pay period (<3 years of service)	104 hours	52 hours
6 hours per pay period (3 to under 15 years)	160 hours	80 hours
8 hours per pay period (15+ years)	208 hours	104 hours

If you carry use-or-lose leave, the cap is the lesser of that half-year figure or the number of hours remaining in the leave year that you are scheduled to work and be paid. And the caps aren't absolute: every agency is required to keep written criteria for waiving them, so if you want to give more, ask your HR office about a waiver. Full details and edge cases live in VLTP rules and donation limits.

How to donate annual leave, step by step

Find an approved leave recipient. That might be a colleague whose approval notice circulated at your agency — or a campaign you found on LeaveTransfer.org, where every campaign belongs to a federal employee raising leave hours for a medical emergency.
Check whether you share an agency. Same agency: you'll use OPM Form 630-A. Different agency: OPM Form 630-B — and note the extra conditions below.
Complete the form. It asks for your details, the recipient's name and agency, and the number of hours. You'll certify that the amount is within your annual cap and that you understand the donation is not revocable.
Submit it to your own agency's HR or timekeeping office (not OPM, and not the recipient's agency). Your agency verifies your balance and processes the transfer.
The hours land in the recipient's account. Transfers are hour-for-hour regardless of what either of you earns — 8 donated hours become 8 hours of paid time for the recipient at their own rate of pay.

Can you donate leave to someone at another agency?

Yes — in three situations. The recipient's agency must accept cross-agency donations when the donor is a family member of the recipient; it may also accept them when it judges that donations from inside the agency may not be enough, or that the transfer otherwise furthers the program's purpose. Many LeaveTransfer.org pledges fall under those two discretionary doors — which is why Form 630-B routes through both agencies' HR offices for confirmation.

What donors can't do

Donate sick leave. Only annual leave is transferable — sick leave stays yours, always.
Donate to your immediate supervisor, in any amount, for any reason.
Take a donation back. The 630-A/630-B certification is explicit: "my decision to transfer leave is not revocable." You get hours back only if the emergency ends with donated leave unused, via pro-rata restoration.
Claim a tax deduction. The IRS treats a medical-emergency leave donation as a non-event for the donor — no income recognized, no deduction allowed.

What happens to unused donated hours?

When the recipient's medical emergency ends, any donated leave still unused is divided among the donors in proportion to what each gave (donors who have left federal service don't receive restoration). You can choose to have restored hours credited this leave year, credited next leave year, or donated onward to another leave recipient. Once restored, the hours count toward your normal use-or-lose ceiling at the end of the year.

Frequently asked questions

Can federal employees donate sick leave to a coworker?: No. The VLTP only allows donation of annual leave. Sick leave cannot be donated to another employee under any federal leave-sharing program — the statute and regulations cover annual leave exclusively.
Can I pick exactly who receives my donated leave?: Yes — that is the defining feature of the VLTP. Your donation goes to a specific approved leave recipient you name on Form 630-A or 630-B. If you would rather give to a pool instead of a person, that's what an agency leave bank is for.
Will I get my hours back if they aren't used?: Yes, proportionally. Unused donated leave is restored to donors pro rata when the medical emergency ends, as long as you are still a federal employee. You can take it this year, defer it to next leave year, or re-donate it to another recipient.
Is donating annual leave tax-deductible?: No. Under IRS Revenue Ruling 90-29, the donor neither recognizes income nor receives any deduction for donated leave in a medical-emergency leave-sharing plan. The recipient pays ordinary income and payroll taxes when the donated leave is paid to them.
Can my supervisor ask me to donate leave to someone?: Circulating a general notice that a colleague is an approved recipient is normal. But no one may intimidate, threaten, coerce, or promise any benefit — a promotion, an award, better treatment — to influence your decision to donate or not donate. That prohibition is written directly into 5 CFR 630.912.

OPM Forms 630, 630-A, 630-B & 630-COPM Form 630, 630-A, 630-B, and 630-C explained: what each VLTP form does, which one you need, official download links, and where to submit them.Rules & donation limitsVLTP rules and limits: how much annual leave you can donate, the supervisor restriction, anti-coercion protections, set-aside accounts, and leave restoration.Becoming a leave recipientBecome a VLTP leave recipient: what counts as a medical emergency, how to apply with OPM Form 630, the 10-day decision rule, and how donated leave reaches you.VLTP frequently asked questionsAnswers to the most common questions about the Voluntary Leave Transfer Program: donating, receiving, forms, taxes, privacy, and how LeaveTransfer.org helps.

Sources

Official government sources, verified July 1, 2026: