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Division of Sponsored Programs > Proposal Preparation & Submission > Budgeting > Other Direct Costs

Other Direct Costs

On this page:

Equipment
Travel
Materials & Supplies
Consultant Services
Computers and Computer Services
Rental/User Fees and Auxiliaries
Facility Alterations and Renovations
Patient Care Costs
Data Management and Sharing
Training Costs – Training Grants

Direct costs are those budget line items that support performing the scope of work and are reasonable, easily identifiable and allocable to the project. The Principal Investigator is responsible for spending the direct costs on allowable costs, such as project personnel salaries and wages, associated fringe benefits, graduate student salaries, materials & supplies, travel, and equipment.

The guidance below covers typical direct cost categories. Faculty are encouraged to group costs according to sponsor requirements.

Equipment

Equipment is an item that meets all of the following criteria:

  • Has an acquisition cost of $10,000 or more. Includes: Invoice amount, sales tax, freight costs, installation costs, and other costs incurred to acquire; less trade or trade in discounts and/or educational allowances. Excludes: insurance, maintenance and service contracts and warranty costs, and
  • Has normal expected life of 1 year or more

HiperGator hardware acquisition should be budgeted as equipment, even if under the $10,000 threshold, as the acquisition is a part of a larger computing cluster. HiperGator services should be budgeted as Other Direct Costs.

Travel

Travel charges may include airfare, hotel charges, taxis, visas, passports, entry or exit taxes, per diems and rental cars. Most sponsors require the budget justification include the purpose, destination and time span for each trip, and the number of individuals for whom funds are requested. This must be fully explained, noting the relationship of the trip to the project. Sponsors may not cover travel for conference attendance unless there is active involvement of the project personnel in the program to present, and/or the meeting has direct relevance to the research project. Some sponsors may require detailed information on airfare, mileage, lodging, meals, ground transportation, conference fees, and other costs at proposal stage.

When traveling on sponsored projects, keep in mind the sponsor may have restrictions that prohibit or limit the amount and type of travel and/or travel reimbursements. Principal Investigators and sponsored projects personnel should make sure any proposed travel is in accordance with the sponsored project’s terms and conditions before the travel begins.

Sponsored research funds are subject to both sponsor and State of Florida rules and regulations. All travel and travel reimbursements must follow the UF Travel Directives & Procedures.

Domestic Travel

Domestic travel reimbursements are subject to the State’s travel regulations and payment rates. Out-of-state travel should be requested on the basis of actual expenses for lodging and round trip economy airfare. Meals for State of Florida employees are reimbursed using the State per diem rate. In addition, some sponsors may have set fixed maximum per diem limits. Reimbursement for any trip which includes both in and out-of-state travel should be requested on the basis of as close an estimate as possible.

Foreign Travel

Foreign travel requests must specify the destination. The U.S. Department of State’s foreign per diem and hotel plus meal payment rates should be used in the budget. Typically, for international travel, only American flag air carriers may be used. Costs of permits, licenses, or other government authorizations required to conduct research in a foreign country or remove research artifacts from the country may be included in the proposal budget. Additional UF procedures apply to international travel, including Export Control review, UF International Center registration, and Asset Management approval if traveling with UF-owned property. Review the International Business Travel website for more information.

Materials & Supplies

Materials and supplies necessary for the performance of the work may be budgeted for as direct costs.

Direct charging of general office supplies should be restricted to projects with a high demand for these items and must be in compliance with UF’s Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) policy; all such charges must be project-specific and justified in the budget. Even though supplies are estimations, it is advisable to have a breakdown of these items by general classification as substantial amounts are usually challenged by sponsor reviewers.

Consultant Services

Consultants differ from Consortiums/Subawards in that Consultants provide advice or professional services for a fee, but should not be making decisions on the direction of the project. Typically, consultants will charge a fixed fully burdened rate for their services (i.e., $250/hour). Consultant services are budgeted as a direct charge in the “Other” category. Consultant Services need to be justified in the budget narrative as essential and necessary for the project performance.

UF faculty may not be paid as consultants from UF sponsored projects. Intra-UF consulting undertaken by and between UF faculty is expected for faculty working within their UF appointment. They should be budgeted in the personnel section, with the appropriate amount of salary and fringe corresponding to the effort devoted to
the project.

Federal employees may not be paid for consulting from federal funds.

Computers and Computer Services

2 CFR 200.453 allows the direct charging of computing devices costing less than $10,000 as a material and supply cost provided they are essential ❶ and allocable to the project. Computing devices do not have to be solely dedicated to the performance of a federal award in order to be charged 100% to a single award or allocated to several awards. Computer devices are expected to be primarily used to support the performance of the federal award.

❶ UF considers essential to mean: Computer devices and accessories that are necessary for the performance of the project or activity being supported by the federal award. Examples of essential, might include: (1) used to acquire, store, analyze, process, and publish data necessary for the performance of the project or activity; (2) used to create information electronically, including printing, transmitting, receiving and visualizing the information in support of the performance of the project or activity; (3) used in training, instruction, or curriculum development activities funded by the federal award; or (4) other circumstances demonstrated as essential.

Budgeting for Computers

If computer devices and/or accessories are essential and allocable to the performance of the project and meet the conditions above, you should budget for the computer devices and/or accessories and provide a narrative in the budget justification that explains how the items are essential to the performance of the project.

In the case of NIH Modular Grant applications, computing devices and/or accessories should be itemized and justified in a detailed budget and justification provided internally to UF.

Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) Exemptions: If awarded, purchasing of computer devices and/or accessories costing less than $10,000 must follow UF’s Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) policy. Budgets that include computer devices and/or accessories that have been justified as essential will assist and expedite the CAS Exemption request process.

Rental/User Fees and Auxiliaries

The University recovers the cost of maintenance of facilities, space, equipment and other assets through the “Facilities” portion of the Facilities & Administration rate. 2 CFR 200 mandates that no cost can be both direct charged to a grant and included in the “Facilities” portion of the F&A rate development. Therefore, internal charges between departments for use of facilities and equipment must be scrutinized to ensure UF does not charge sponsors for the same asset twice. To ensure this does not occur, follow the costing guidance below:

  • The Rental/User Fees category should be used when renting or leasing a facility/space that is not owned by UF. NOTE: If rental in non-UF facilities/space is budgeted for and the majority of the project occurs in these facilities, the project may qualify for the off campus F&A rate.
  • The Rental/User Fees category should also be used when renting or leasing equipment that is not owned by UF, when the annual lease is $5,000 or more and exceeds one year in length.
  • The Other Expenses category should be used when renting or leasing equipment that is not owned by UF, when the annual lease is less than $5,000 or less than one year in length.
  • The Other Expenses category should also be used when renting or leasing facility/space/equipment that is owned by UF and an approved Fee for Service Educational Activity (FSEA) Rate is in place. The owner/operator of the facility/space/equipment should provide you documentation of the approved rates as you are preparing your budget. Examples include UFARM, ICBR and ACS core services.

When the facility/space/equipment is owned by UF and no approved Fee for Service Educational Activity (FSEA) Rate is in place, only direct costs associated with running or using the space or equipment may be included on the budget as direct charges. These charges may only include reimbursable expenses such as personnel time, materials and supplies, fuel, etc. Direct charges may not include any maintenance or depreciation on the already UF owned asset.

When budgeting for these items on a grant proposal, it is acceptable to use a flat rate which is not broken out into reimbursable expenses, depending on the level of detail that is required by the sponsor. However, when these costs are charged to the grant, they must be broken out. If there is not an approved FSEA rate, no flat rate may be charged to the grant.

Examples: 

  • A PI would like to use a greenhouse which is owned by another department at UF. There is not a UF approved FSEA rate in place for use of the greenhouse. The PI could budget for purchasing plants and fertilizers for the project, and for paying greenhouse staff to care for her plants. She could not budget for electricity or water use, or maintenance for the greenhouse.
  • The University owns a boat which is used by many faculty to access remote field sites. There is not a UF approved FSEA rate in place for the use of the boat. The PI could budget for the hourly rate of the ship’s captain and fuel but not for a flat rate for the maintenance and depreciation of the boat.

Facility Alterations and Renovations

Facility alterations and/or renovation (A&R) costs must be specifically budgeted for and approved by the sponsor. A&R costs are allowable if necessary for the performance of the project. One example is altering a room to make space for a new grant-related piece of equipment. Provide the square footage and justify the basis for the costs in detail. If A&R costs are in excess of $500,000 this would be considered a ”construction” project and not allowable under traditional grants.

Pricing should be coordinated with UF’s Department of Planning, Design, and Construction.

Patient Care Costs

Patient care costs are defined by NIH as: “Research patient-care costs are the costs of routine and ancillary services provided by hospitals to individuals participating in research programs. The costs of these services normally are assigned to specific research projects through the development and application of research patient-care rates or amounts”.

Budgeting for Patient Care

Indicate in detail the basis for estimating costs in this category, including the number of patient days, estimated cost per day, and cost per test or treatment. If both in-patient and out-patient costs are requested, provide information for each separately. If multiple sites are to be used, provide the information by detail by site.

Location of Services: If Shands bills for the medical services, these services are patient care costs; if UF bills for medical services, these are not patient care costs. For example, an MRI or a blood draw provided at Shands or its clinics is a patient care cost; while an MRI at the McKnight Brain Institute or a blood draw in UF research space is not a patient care cost. The term patient care may include services, such as a blood draw, that are not strictly “care” of the patient but would meet the NIH definition of patient‐care costs.

If you are unsure of where the services will be performed, include the costs in the ‘Other Expenses’ section of your budget.

Research patient-care costs do not include:

  • The otherwise allowable items of personal expense reimbursement, such as patient travel or subsistence, consulting physician fees, or any other direct payments related to all classes of individuals, including inpatients, outpatients, subjects, volunteers, and donors;
  • Costs of ancillary tests performed in facilities outside the hospital on a fee-for-service basis (e.g., in an independent, privately owned laboratory) or laboratory tests performed at a medical school/university not associated with a hospital routine or ancillary service;
  • Recruitment or retention fees; or
  • Costs for data management or statistical analysis of clinical research results.

Change in Service Location

If you need to change the anticipated service location during the project (from UF to Shands or vice versa), this will not be considered a change in scope. However, a change in the service location can result in an increase/decrease of patient care costs, which may require rebudgeting and if the F&A base is MTDC, could result in an increase in F&A charged to the project. This change may require change in R99 status for Shands billing.

Patient Care Definitions from the NIH Grants Policy Statement:

  • Routine Services: Regular room services, minor medical and surgical supplies, and the use of equipment and facilities, for which a separate charge is not customarily made.
  • Ancillary Services: Those special services for which charges are customarily made in addition to routine services, e.g., x-ray, operating room, laboratory, pharmacy, blood bank, and pathology.
  • Outpatient Services: Services rendered to subjects/volunteers/donors who are not hospitalized.
  • Usual Patient Care: Items and services (routine and ancillary) ordinarily furnished in the treatment of patients by providers of patient care under the supervision of the physician or other responsible health professional. Such items or services may be diagnostic, therapeutic, rehabilitative, medical, psychiatric, or any other related professional health services. These expenses are for care that would have been incurred even if the research study did not exist. The patient and/or third-party insurance generally will provide for reimbursement of charges for “usual patient care” as opposed to not reimbursing those charges generated solely because of participation in a research protocol.

Patient Care FAQs

Patient Care FAQs

  1. Is lab work or procedures done by a hospital that is NOT Shands considered patient care?
    • Each hospital must develop its own patient‐care rates, which usually are their Medicare rates for each specific service it provides to research subjects. These costs would be considered allowable patient‐care costs.
  2. Is lab work that is sent to a non‐hospital lab considered patient care?
    • Per the NIH policy, costs of ancillary tests performed outside the hospital on a fee‐for‐service basis by an independent, privately owned laboratory or performed at a medical school/university (UF) laboratory (Quest, CTSI, CRC, AMRIS etc.) are not considered patient‐care.
  3. Are professional fees for medical procedures (UFP) considered patient care?
    • Per the NIH policy, patient‐care costs do not include consulting physician fees. Ordinarily, physicians who are named as co‐investigators or other key persons on a project will be compensated through their effort on the project, fulfilling their time as part of their professorial duties to conduct research.
    • UF Professional fees do not meet the definition of patient‐care costs.
    • UF expects that when professionals are identified as participating on an NIH grant submission, their professional services are presented in the budget with appropriate effort and salary compensation.
    • Shands Technical fees meet the definition of patient‐care costs.
  4. Are costs for testing research subject specimens that UF receives from another clinical site considered patient care?
    • As these tests would not be conducted by a Shands laboratory and the specimens are not from UF’s subjects, they would not be considered patient‐care costs.
  5. Are maintenance, administrative overhead, record retention and dispensing charges from Investigational Drug Services (IDS) considered patient care?
    • When you are paying IDS directly (i.e., account numbers that begin with “Shands” or “IDS” prefix on your quote/invoice), the costs to dispense the drugs from IDS for your participants would be considered patient care costs. For account numbers that begin with “UF”,  “CRC”, or “ONC” prefix, these would not be considered patient care costs as you are not paying IDS directly. Protocol maintenance, administrative overhead and record retention costs would not be considered patient care costs.
  6. Is the imaging CD I need from Radiology for the protocol required CT scan a patient care cost?
    • The CD would not be considered a patient care cost.
  7. Are the required UF Staff health assessments needed in order to work on a particular study considered patient care costs?
    • These are not considered patient care costs.

Data Management and Sharing

NIH recognized that DMS costs may be requested in many cost categories. Applications submitted for due dates on/after October 5, 2023, will no longer require the use of the single DMS cost line item.

NIH will require applicants to specify estimated DMS cost details within the “Budget Justification” attachment of the R&R Budget Form or “Additional Narrative Justification” attachment of the PHS 398 Modular Budget Form, pursuant to the instructions. View the NIH Announcement.

Proposal budgets should include estimated funds needed for data management and sharing activities. These should include all allowable costs for DMS for all data types. Best practice is to plan on full storage costs being incurred during the period of performance, even for scientific data and metadata preserved and shared beyond the award period. Reasonable, allowable costs should be included in NIH budget requests when associated with:

  • Curating data and developing supporting documentation, including formatting data according to accepted community standards; de-identifying data; preparing metadata to foster discoverability, interpretation, and reuse; and formatting data for transmission to and storage at a selected repository for long-term preservation and access.
  • Local data management considerations, such as unique and specialized information infrastructure necessary to provide local management and preservation (e.g., before deposit into an established repository)
  • Preserving and sharing data through established repositories, such as data deposit fees necessary for making data available and accessible. For example, if a Data Management and Sharing Plan proposes preserving and sharing scientific data for 10 years in an established repository with a deposition fee, the cost for the entire 10-year period must be paid prior to the end of the period of performance. If the Plan proposes deposition to multiple repositories, costs associated with each proposed repository may be included.

Budget requests must not include infrastructure costs that are included in institutional overhead or costs associated with the routine conduct of research. Costs associated with collecting or otherwise gaining access to research data, such as data access fees are considered costs of doing research and should not be included in data management and sharing budget requests.

Training Costs – Training Grants Only

This category may include fees, tuition, trainee travel costs and stipends. While the budget cost category reflects the total required cost, provide individualized breakdown of costs for each trainee on a separate page to allow reviewers an independent assessment of the level, scope and need for the training activity. Sponsors may have specific rules and regulations for training costs.

Last updated 4/24/25