F&A / MTDC Calculator
Enter your direct-cost lines to build the Modified Total Direct Cost base, apply your F&A rate, and see total direct costs, indirect costs, and the full award total. Equipment, participant support, tuition, and the portion of each subaward above the included amount are excluded from the base for you. The subaward amount defaults to $25,000, the figure for NIH awards, and can be switched to $50,000.
Only the first $25,000 of each subaward counts toward the MTDC base. Of $80,000 in subawards, $25,000 is included. Equipment, participant support, and tuition are excluded.
Exclusions follow the standard MTDC definition in the Uniform Guidance. Your institution's NICRA governs the exact base and rate. This tool is for planning, not official guidance.
How F&A and MTDC fit together
Facilities and Administrative costs, often called indirect costs or overhead, pay for the shared infrastructure that research depends on but that no single grant can be billed for directly: buildings, utilities, libraries, and the offices that administer awards. Institutions recover these costs by applying a negotiated F&A rate to a defined base rather than itemizing them on every budget.
That base is almost always Modified Total Direct Cost. You start from total direct costs, remove the excluded categories, and apply the F&A rate to what remains. Total direct costs still include the excluded items; they simply do not carry overhead. The award total is total direct costs plus the F&A charged on the MTDC base.
What gets excluded, and why
The exclusions exist because these costs would overstate overhead recovery. A large one-time purchase or a pass-through to another organization does not generate proportional administrative burden, so the Uniform Guidance keeps them out of the base. The standard exclusions are:
- Equipment and other capital expenditures (items with a useful life over one year at or above the equipment threshold: $5,000 for NIH awards, or $10,000 under the 2024 Uniform Guidance if your rate agreement cites it).
- Participant support costs such as trainee stipends, travel, and fees.
- Tuition remission and scholarships or fellowships.
- Rental of off-site space and certain patient care costs.
- The portion of each subaward above the first $25,000 (NIH and older rate agreements) or $50,000 (2024 Uniform Guidance, if your rate agreement cites it).
A worked example
Take a budget with $305,000 of MTDC-eligible direct costs (salaries, fringe, supplies, travel, and other), $50,000 of equipment, one subaward of $80,000, and a 55 percent F&A rate. Equipment is excluded entirely, and only the first $25,000 of the subaward counts, so the MTDC base is $305,000 plus $25,000, or $330,000. F&A is 55 percent of $330,000, which is $181,500. Total direct costs are $435,000 (including the full equipment and subaward amounts), so the full award comes to $616,500.
For the full list of what is in and out of the base, and why NIH and other agencies currently use different figures, read the modified total direct costs guide.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Applying F&A to total direct costs instead of the MTDC base, which overstates indirect recovery.
- Forgetting the per-subaward rule and counting the full value of a large subaward in the base.
- Misclassifying a sub-$10,000 computing device as equipment, which wrongly removes it from the base.
- Using the on-campus rate for work performed off-campus, or the wrong activity-type rate.
- Assuming every sponsor allows your negotiated rate; some cap F&A or use a different base.
Frequently asked questions
Why is F&A applied to MTDC instead of total direct costs?
Because a handful of direct costs would distort overhead recovery if they were included. A single large piece of equipment or a big subaward does not create proportionally more administrative and facility burden, so the Uniform Guidance excludes them from the base that F&A is charged against.
Which F&A rate should I use?
Use the rate from your institution's Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement that matches the work: on-campus versus off-campus, and the activity type (organized research, instruction, or other sponsored activity). If a sponsor caps the rate below your negotiated figure, budget to the cap.
Does the subaward exclusion apply per subaward or across all of them?
Per subaward. Under the $25,000 rule, the first $25,000 of each subaward is included in MTDC and the remainder is excluded, so two $20,000 subawards are fully included while one $50,000 subaward contributes only $25,000 to the base.
Should I use $25,000 or $50,000 for subawards?
Use $25,000 for NIH awards: NIH rescinded the 2024 Uniform Guidance thresholds in April 2026 (NOT-OD-26-072). Use $50,000 only for other federal awards under the 2024 Uniform Guidance when your negotiated rate agreement cites the $50,000 amount. If you are unsure, ask your sponsored programs office.
Do all sponsors use MTDC?
No. MTDC is the most common federal base, but some foundations and programs use total direct costs, cap F&A at a fixed percentage, or disallow indirect costs entirely. Always confirm the base and rate the sponsor allows before you build the budget.
Budget and track F&A in one place
GrantsManager tracks spend and encumbrances against each award's budget, F&A included.
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