F&A Rates (IDC)

Facilities & Administrative (F&A) Rates also known as Indirect Costs (IDC) or Overhead Costs

A budget should include all costs needed to accomplish the objectives presented in the proposal. The total cost of any project includes both direct costs (salaries for the researchers, lab supplies, travel) and facilities & administrative costs.

F&A costs are real costs that provide reimbursement for actual institutional expenses that support extramural activities but cannot be directly charged to a grant or contract. The costs result from shared services such as libraries, physical plant operation and maintenance, utility costs, general, departmental and sponsored projects administrative expenses, and depreciation or use allowance for buildings and equipment.

Some Sponsors prescribe F&A rates other than what are listed in the tables below. The University of Florida will accept the rate if it is equitably applied by that Sponsor to all applicants. Examples include many non-federal foundations and some Federal programs, such as USDA NIFA and NIH Career Awards. Please provide a copy of the Sponsor’s F&A policy in your proposal package.

Table Definitions:

Base: The F&A rate is applied to a base of direct costs in order to determine the F&A cost. This direct cost base can be calculated in one of the following ways:

• TDC base = Total Direct Costs. All direct costs are included. There are no exclusions or modifiers. F&A cost = TDC base x F&A rate.
• MTDC base = Modified Total Direct Costs. TDC minus equipment, patient care, tuition, rental costs of off-site facilities, scholarships, fellowships, and the portion of each subaward in excess of $25,000. F&A cost = MTDC base x F&A rate.

Off Campus: For all activities performed in facilities not owned by the University of Florida and to which rent is directly allocated (charged) to the project(s), the off-campus rate will apply. Where a project has both an On and Off Campus Activity, budgets should break out each type and the expenses will be charged accordingly. Where project activity is being performed in facilities not owned by the University of Florida and there is no rent involved you should contact your Dean for Research and work with DSRs Proposal Processing Office to determine what rate to use.

The University of Florida’s current federally negotiated F&A Rate Agreement is available at: http://research.ufl.edu/research/pdf/FA_Rate_Agreement_03182012.pdf.

*Agriculture Research and Education Centers (AREC) and Florida Medical Entomology Lab within the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

**Includes, but is not limited to IFAS Extension Activities.

 For proposals where budget periods cross F&A rate periods the F&A should be calculated on a monthly pro rata basis. If you use the myUFL Grants system to build your proposal’s budget it will automatically calculate the correct F&A for all budget periods and the cumulative period of performance.

Questions may be directed to DSR’s Proposal Processing Office at ufproposals@ufl.edu.