De minimis indirect cost rate calculation (15% of MTDC)

Multiply your modified total direct costs (MTDC) by the rate, up to 15%. The rate applies to the MTDC base only.

Indirect = rate × MTDC

MTDC = salaries + fringe + supplies + services + travel + the first 50,000 dollars of each subaward

Example. Salaries 100,000 dollars, fringe 30,000, travel 5,000, supplies 5,000, one subaward of 80,000 and equipment of 20,000. MTDC is 190,000 (the subaward counts for 50,000 and the equipment is left out). At 15%, the indirect is 28,500 dollars. Applying 15% to all 240,000 of direct costs would claim 36,000, which is 7,500 too much.

2 CFR 200.1 leaves these out of the base:

• equipment
• capital expenditures
• charges for patient care
• rental costs
• tuition remission, scholarships and fellowships
• participant support costs, such as stipends and participant travel
• the part of each subaward above 50,000 dollars

The 50,000 dollars applies once per subaward over the whole award, however many years it runs. Equipment means a per-unit cost of 10,000 dollars or more, or your lower capitalization level. Cheaper items count as supplies and stay in the base.

It is up to 15% of MTDC, set in 2 CFR 200.414(f). The rate went from 10% to 15% in the Uniform Guidance revision effective October 1, 2024, and the eCFR shows no change to it since.

• You may choose any rate up to 15%.
• You may use it if you have no current federal negotiated rate.
• It needs no documentation and has no end date.
• Once you elect it, use it on all federal awards until you negotiate a rate.
• Charge each cost as direct or indirect, never both.

Agencies and pass-through entities may not require a lower rate unless a federal statute or regulation does. Where your notice of award states different terms for that reason, use them. State rules vary for state-funded grants.

Read how the funder states the match, then use the matching formula.

• Percent of total project cost: match = federal request × m ÷ (1 − m)
• Percent of the federal share: match = federal request × m
• Dollar for dollar: 100% of the federal share

Example. A 25% match of total project cost on a 200,000 dollar request is 66,667 dollars, for a 266,667 dollar project. Under 2 CFR 200.306(c), indirect you could have charged but did not can count toward the match with the funder’s prior approval.

Paste your lines from Excel or Google Sheets, or drop a CSV, and check the category on each line. Download the budget table, open it in Excel and copy the totals into the application.

• One row per line: description, category (optional) and amount.
• Each subaward gets one row with its total for all years, so the 50,000 dollar rule applies to each.
• Leave out any indirect or total rows. The tool adds the indirect itself.

To track spending against the budget during the award, set up one class per grant in QuickBooks Online. Our reports work starts there.