Salaries & Wages

Salaries and wages of UF personnel should be budgeted as direct costs in proportion to the time each person expects to spend on a project. Sponsored programs funds may not be used to augment the total salary or rate of pay of UF faculty or staff; they are replacement funds, releasing a percent of time of the regular employee for work on the project. Salaries charged against sponsored programs funds must follow a scale that is consistent with the policy and regular practices of the University of Florida.

Salaries and wages are one of the most crucial categories in a proposal budget. Sponsors may want to know the title of each position, the name and employment level of the person filling the position, and possibly even a job description if the position is to be advertised. The reviewers may also request the annualized base salary and the level of effort to be spent on the project by each person. Effort may be expressed in calendar months (best practice) or as a percentage of time. DSP recommends using only one form of effort in the budget and budget justification if possible. If the sponsor’s forms require a certain effort format, DSP recommends using the same effort format across all documents being submitted to the sponsor.

Use this excel-based calculator to convert percent effort to person months: Person Month Conversation Worksheet.

See Effort Reporting and Management for more information including the impact of the proposed effort on expectations of effort throughout the life of the award.

9-Month Salaries

Individuals on 9-month appointments may be budgeted for summer salary, but must use the Institutional Base Salary to estimate the cost. To ensure a consistent calculation, salaries for all appointment types are annualized to 12 months full-time in the UFIRST budget workspace. There is no need to adjust this annualized salary to reflect the 9-month salary. Enter the proposed calendar months in the budget workspace and the system will calculate the correct cost-per-month.

Salary Increases

UF recommends using a 3% escalation factor on salaries and wages for multi-year proposals. Other increases may also be included in a proposal budget if appropriate, such as:

Escalation in the first budget period, if the start date is after an anticipated increase.
Expected title changes, such as promotions or tenure.
Expected job changes, such as Graduate Assistant to Post Doc.

Increases should be justified in the proposal.

NIH Salary Cap & Other Salary Limitations

Salary Caps

A salary cap is a limit on the maximum salary rate that can be paid to any person working on a project. When preparing a budget, only use a salary cap if it is mandated in the sponsor’s solicitation or policies.

When a salary cap is mandated AND the UF employee’s institutional base salary (IBS) is greater than the cap, the requested salary should be calculated on the maximum annual amount allowed by the sponsor, rather than on the IBS. Known salary caps are loaded into the UFIRST budget workspace and updated each year. There is no need to edit the annual salary in UFIRST to account for a salary cap. UFIRST automatically calculates and generates an “over the cap” cost share budget. While over the cap cost share is not committed to the sponsor, it can affect department budgets, as the funds must be supported from less-restricted funding sources. Best practice is to enter the IBS in the “annual salary” field on sponsor forms, when requested.

Congress limits the direct salary that an individual may receive under a National Institutes of Health grant to Executive Level II of the Federal Executive pay scale. The Executive Level II salary is currently $225,700, effective January 1, 2025. Other sponsors that typically use the Executive Level II salary cap include Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Florida Department of Health.

NIH Salary Cap Calculator excel

Salary Limitations

Some sponsors or programs limit the maximum amount of salary that can be requested, but do not impose a cap on the IBS. For example, a program may require the PI devote 9 months of effort to the project but place a maximum limit on the amount of salary that will be provided. If the cost for 9 months of the PI’s time exceeds the salary limit, the excess should be entered in UFIRST as voluntary cost share. Do not edit the salary cap in UFIRST to account for the limit.

Budgeting Administrative and Clerical Salaries as a Direct Cost

The Uniform Guidance (UG) applicable to federal funding clearly states salaries of administrative and clerical staff should normally be treated as Facilities & Administrative (indirect costs), however, direct charging of administrative and clerical costs may be appropriate to a federal award only if all of the following conditions are met:

Administrative or clerical services are integral❶ to a project or activity;
Individuals involved can be specifically identified with the project or activity;
Such costs are explicitly included in the budget or have the prior written approval of the Federal awarding sponsor; and
The costs are not also recovered as indirect costs.

❶UF considers integral to mean: (1) circumstances exist where administrative or clerical services being provided are necessary for the performance of the project or activity being supported by the federal award; AND (2) a minimum of 20% FTE is budgeted in the grant’s budget year.

Reference: UG Sections 200.413, 200.430

Budgeting: If you believe your project meets all the conditions above, you must specifically budget for the effort and salary of the administrative or clerical position that will be devoted to the project and provide in the budget justification a narrative that explains how these administrative and clerical services are integral or necessary for the performance of the project or activity.
Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) Exemptions: If awarded, UF will require a CAS exemption be completed, reviewed, and approved for administrative and clerical salaries to be direct charged to federally funded projects. See CAS Exemptions for more information.

Last updated 4/22/25