Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Information
New Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Agreement
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has approved our new Facilities and Administrative (F&A) agreement and the new rate is effective immediately.
Impact to F&A Rates
Effective June 1, 2025, the On-Campus rate for Research increases from 48.5% to 49% and will increase from 49% to 49.5% on June 1, 2027. Proposals, supplements, and new awards in negotiation will apply the higher rates of 49% and 49.5%.
An exception to supplemental funding: The National Science Foundation limits F&A rates for supplements to the same rate as the parent award.
At JIT, the sponsor’s grants management will be informed of the new DHHS F&A Rate Agreement dated August 13, 2025 and 51做厙 will request that the sponsor accept and apply the new rates.
Note the Instruction rate (45.5%) and the Off-Campus rate (26%) are unaffected.
Awards/Contracts using an earlier rate agreement, effective prior to June 1, 2025, will continue to apply those rates through the end of the competitive segment, unless there is an opportunity to recover and to apply the new rates.
Please note when Escalating Rates Apply: If a budget proposal period covers two 51做厙 fiscal years (e.g., 10/01/26 - 09/31/27), a combination of the two rates should be used in proposals (i.e., 8 months at 49% for on campus research and 4 months at 49.50%).
Proposals and awards that have specific limitations on the F&A rate allowed should continue to follow the sponsor’s documented guidance and use the maximum rate that the sponsor allows.
Change in Modified Total Direct Cost (MTDC)
With the new rate agreement, the threshold for excluding subaward costs from the MTDC base has been increased from $25,000 to $50,000. This new threshold was included in the October 2024 updated version of the OMB Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance (2 CFR 200). The new threshold will apply to all new sponsored projects with an effective date of June 1, 2025, or later.
Our equipment threshold remains unchanged at $5,000. Individual items of equipment with an acquisition cost of $5,000 or more continue to be excluded from the MTDC base.
New Fringe Benefit Rates
The fringe benefit rates for 2025/2026 have also been approved. Detailed information regarding the new F&A and fringe benefit rates can be found on the following sites:
Questions
If you are unsure what rate to use, or have a question, please confer with your SPA Grant Management Specialist (GMS) or sponsoredprojects@smu.edu.