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Division of Sponsored Programs > Proposal Preparation & Submission > Budgeting > F&A Rates (IDC)

Facilities & Administrative (F&A) or Indirect Costs (IDC)

UF’s current federally negotiated F&A Rate Agreement is available HERE.

All sponsored projects must follow the University’s Facilities & Administrative Cost Policy found at F&A Policy and F&A Directives and Procedures.

Project budgets should include all costs required to accomplish the objectives in the proposal or agreement. These costs are itemized as either:

  • Direct costs (salary, fringe benefits, supplies, travel, etc.)
  • Facilities and Administrative (F&A) costs incurred for sponsored programs administration and compliance, purchasing, accounting, library services, and building custodial services, depreciation, and utilities.

F&A costs cannot easily be allocated to individual projects, therefore sponsors require that they are budgeted and collected as a percentage of a project’s direct cost. When developing a contract or grant budget, use the appropriate rate below.

***Only ONE rate may be applied to each award. The rate will be determined by how the majority of activity is performed under the project (i.e. off-campus, in an REC, or for a particular activity – Research, Other Sponsored Activity, or Instruction), and that rate will apply to the entire award.

Negotiated Rates:

Sponsor Type of Project Activity/Contract Rate on MTDC (effective 7/1/2025) Rate on MTDC (prior rates)
On-campus Off-campus3 On-campus Off-campus3
Sponsors without a pre-approved exemption (below) Research 53.5% 26% 52.5% 26%
IFAS AREC1 – Research activities 36.5% 24% 34.1% 26%
Other Sponsored Activity 30% 20% 32.6% 26%
Instruction 45% 26% 47.5% 26%
Scripps 69.5% 26% 93.2%  
Department of Defense Contracts Research Contract or Subcontract2 56% 28.5% 54.5% 28%

1 Agriculture Research and Education Centers (AREC) and Florida Medical Entomology Lab within the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.  See: https://ifas.ufl.edu/maps/ for details.

2 If the project will be funded as a grant or cooperative agreement, then the rate used for on-campus research should be 53.5% MTDC. The DoD rate of 56% MTDC should be used for a federal procurement contract that is governed by Federal Acquisition Regulations (FARs) and other transaction agreement/other transaction authority (OTA).

  • If the proposal is being submitted via UFIRST SF424/Grants.gov, the 53.5% F&A rate should be used.

3 The off-campus rate should be applied if the activity is conducted in any buildings that are not owned and maintained by UF and which rent is directly allocated to the project. Off-campus F&A can only be charged to projects where rent (which may be in the form of janitorial services, building maintenance, etc.) is directly charged to the project.

  • Travel costs, field work and Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Research & Education Centers do not qualify for the off campus rate.

2025 F&A Rate Update FAQs

F&A Rate Update:

  1. What F&A rate applies to my award?
    1. Competitive awards effective or signed before July 1, 2025 AND with start date before July 1, 2025: use rates in effect at time of proposal.
    2. Competitive awards effective or signed on or after July 1, 2025 OR with start date after July 1, 2025: use new rates.
    3. Incremental funding obligated in an award (including flow through) with an effective date or signed prior to July 1, 2025: use rates in effect at time of original competitive award.
    4. Competitive supplemental funding effective or signed on or after July 1, 2025: use new rates. Funds will be issued in a separate project.
  2. At what point will the sponsor be notified of the F&A change? Who will notify the sponsor?
    1. DSP will notify the sponsor of the updated F&A rate if necessary. Units will be engaged to provide updated budgets when required by sponsor or UF policy.
      1. A formal notification will not be required for all awards. Note NIH Grants Policy Statement 7.4: “F&A costs awarded may be subject to upward or downward adjustment, depending on the type of rate negotiated and recipient type. Generally, recipients may rebudget between direct and F&A costs (in either direction) without NIH prior approval, provided there is no change in the scope of the approved project.”
  3. What F&A rate should I use in my new proposal?
    1. Effective immediately, all outgoing proposals for competitive funding must use the new rates.
    2. Continuation proposals and other proposals routed to request release of already committed funding may continue to reflect the rates in effect at time of original competitive award.
    3. For proposals with start dates prior to July 1,2025, the F&A rate will need to be manually updated within the UFIRST Budget Workspace to the appropriate rate for the work based on the proposed start date. Keep in mind, if the award is received on or after July 1, 2025, or has a start date on or after July 1, 2025, it will be expensed at the new rate.
  4. The sponsor has asked for a revised budget for my submitted proposal. Should I update the F&A rate?
    1. If the proposed start date is on or after July 1, 2025, use the new F&A rate in the revised budget. Your award will be expensed at the new rate.
    2. If the proposed start date is before July 1, 2025, you may continue to use the F&A rate in effect at time of original proposal submission. Keep in mind, if the award is received on or after July 1, 2025 or has a start date on or after July 1, 2025, it will be expensed at the new rate.

Equipment Definition Update:

  1. I ordered equipment prior to July 1, 2025 but it will be paid after July 1, 2025. What definition of equipment will apply to this transaction?
    1. The change from $5,000 to $10,000 will apply to ALL equipment purchases expensed on or after July 1, 2025, whether the purchase is on an old or new award.
  2. Will KK5 awards need to be rebudgeted to move expenses between $5,000 and $9,999 out of equipment and into supplies?
    1. Yes.
  3. Will KK3 awards need to be rebudgeted to move expenses from Direct to F&A?
    1. Yes

Subaward Update – MTDC Base:

  1. On what subawards is the UF F&A being charged on the first $50,000 of the subaward?
    1. New awards effective or signed on or after July 1, 2025 OR with start date after July 1, 2025 will use the new F&A rate, including the new MTDC base.
    2. On existing awards:
      1. Subawards initiated after July 1, 2025 that were NOT included in the original submitted budget will be expensed UF F&A on the first $50,000 (the new MTDC definition).
      2. Subawards initiated after July 1, 2025 that WERE included in the original submitted budget will be expensed UF F&A on the first $25,000.
      3. Existing subawards issued on or before July 1, 2025 AND with start dates before July 1, 2025 will have UF F&A expensed on the first $25,000.
  2. Do I have to update the budget for my in-progress proposal to use the new MTDC base?
    1. Yes, the UFIRST proposal budget grids have been updated to calculate F&A on the first $50k of each subaward. All competitive proposals must use this new threshold. Proposals in Draft should be updated before routing for review.
  3. When will the UFIRST award budget reconciliation and financial summary be updated to show the new MTDC base for subawards?
    1. Updates to the Award module will be made closer to the July 1, 2025 effective date.

Last updated 3/27/25