The following F&A Rates are the University of Iowa's federally negotiated [UI Rate Agreement dated March 5, 2009], predetermined F&A cost rates for research, instruction, and other costs. More information on F&A costs.

Charging F&A Costs to Grants and Contracts

Copy of Negotiated F&A Agreement in PDF

Facilities & Administrative (F&A) Cost

(F&A) Cost = F&A RATE x BASE

Use the following F&A Rates according to budget start dates of 7/1/07 and beyond.

Federally-Negotiated F&A Rates*	F&A  RATE	BASE
On-campus Research	50%	MTDC
Off-campus Research (Including VA-Hospital)	26%	MTDC
Other Sponsored Activities	28.5%	MTDC
Instruction**	48%	MTDC

*UI policy requires that applications for external funding charge the maximum allowable federally negotiated F&A cost rate on all sponsored projects regardless of funding source unless a governmental/not-for-profit sponsoring agency’s written policy will not allow full recovery of F&A costs.

**Used for instructional activity established by grant, contract or cooperative agreement. 

NOTE:  A “Training Grant” with a specified maximum allowable F&A rate of 8% is normally allowed only for programs which are capped by appropriation language or governmental or non-profit sponsor policy.  The Training Grant rate normally does not apply to programs from for-profit sponsors.

Other F&A Rates	F&A RATE	BASE
Corporate Sponsored Clinical Trial	25%	TDC

Use the following F&A Rates according to budget start dates of 7/1/03 - 6/30/07.

TYPE OF F&A RATE	F&A  RATE	BASE
On-campus Research	47.5%	MTDC
Off-campus Research (Including VA-Hospital)	26%	MTDC
Training Grants*	8%	MTDC
Corporate Sponsored Clinical Trial	25%	TDC
Other Sponsored Agreements	27%	MTDC

*Must be officially designated as a "Training Grant" by the granting agency in writing.
TDC = Total Direct Costs
MTDC = Modified Total Direct Costs [excludes equipment, patient care costs, tuition/fees, subcontracts over $25,000]

Not sure which rate to use?

Check with the UI Sponsored Programs contact person for the funding agency to which you are applying, or call the UI Sponsored Programs Office (319-335-2123).

Do not use "blended" rates.

Use the rate that will be in effect on the Budget Begin Date for each year of the budget. Do not use "blended" rates, i.e., do not use a rate that is an average of different rates over time, or an average of on- and off-campus rates. Do not use one rate for some budget items and another rate for other budget items. For example, the entire budget for a particular year is either on- or off-campus based on where the "majority" of the work is being done. In general, only one rate is used for the entire budget for each year of the grant.

Some grants are exempt from F&A costs.

Grants solely for one of the following budget categories are exempt from F&A costs:

• Travel
• Equipment
• Construction
• Doctoral Dissertation Support
  

Calculating F&A Costs

F&A Costs = F&A Rate X Base

The "Base" may be either TDC or MTDC, depending on the F&A Rate used

Total Direct Costs (TDC)

Those costs which can be identified with a specific sponsored project or any other university activity with relative ease and a high degree of accuracy. They might include costs such as salaries and benefits, equipment, supplies and services, and travel. For more information on direct costs, click here.

Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC)

MTDC = TDC minus the following:

• Equipment
• Patient care costs
• Subcontracts over $25,000
• Tuition and fees

(In other words, F&A costs are not charged on EQUIPMENT, PATIENT CARE COSTS, SUBCONTRACT AMOUNTS OVER $25,000 (PER CONTRACT) OR TUITION AND FEES. For more information on direct costs, click here.

Equipment

Equipment is defined as items costing $2,000 ($5,000 effective July 1, 2005) or more with an expected service life of two or more years. This may include equipment purchase, installation, and freight.

Patient Care Costs

Includes both inpatient and outpatient charges.

Subcontracts over $25,000

F & A costs are not paid on subcontract amounts over $25,000 per subcontract for the entire project. (A competitive renewal application is considered to be a new project for the purposes of calculating F&A costs.) For example, in a 3-year grant with the same $10,000 subcontract each year (i.e., same PI and institution for the same work each year) there would be a total of $30,000 for that subcontract for the entire project. During Year 1 and Year 2 the entire subcontract amount ($10,000 each year) would be included in the base for calculating F & A costs. During Year 3, only $5,000 of the $10,000 subcontract would be included in the base for calculating F & A because the $25,000 subcontract threshold will have been reached.

Industry-Sponsored Projects other than Clinical Trials -  Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Costs and Required Budget Templates

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