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Checkoff
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<p>A checkoff or check-off is a bookkeeping mechanism that provides for regular payment of an obligation such as <a href="/facts/Union_dues/r0JmmU92">union dues</a>. The same term is used to refer to a tax on sales of agricultural goods that finance a generic commodity marketing program; one example is the <a href="/facts/Commodity_checkoff_program/leW6WfSw">commodity checkoff programs</a> mandated by the <a href="/facts/United_States_Department_of_Agriculture/3PK2rx7C">United States Department of Agriculture</a> to promote sales of <a href="/facts/Dairy_Management_Inc./32jAxYPf">milk</a>, <a href="/facts/Beef._It%27s_What%27s_For_Dinner/hXSlPDH6">beef</a>, <a href="/facts/Soybean_checkoff/4aalMx3m">soybeans</a>, or <a href="/facts/Sorghum_bicolor/plhebeSP">sorghum</a>. Some US states offer income tax checkoffs to contribute voluntarily to various state programs. </p>