USC Department of Contracts and Grants

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Proposal Rates at a Glance

The rates below are from the May 29, 2024 Federal Rate Agreement. If you have questions regarding the use of this rate agreement, please contact the Department of Contracts and Grants.

Fringe Benefits

Period Federal (Provisional Rates) Non-Federal
7/1/2023 – 6/30/2024 34.30%

33.50%
7/1/2023 – 6/30/2024 25.30% (postdocs)                  
 25.30% (postdocs) 
7/1/2024 – 6/30/2025       31.70%                                 33.50%
7/1/2024 – 6/30/2025       22.60% (postdocs)                                  22.60%  (postdocs) 

Note: Fringe Benefits do not apply to student employees or teaching assistants.

Facilities & Administration Costs 
The base for F&A Costs is the Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC).

On-Campus Rates:

On-Campus Rates Period On-Campus Research On-Campus Instruction On-Campus Other Sponsored Activities
7/1/2020-6/30/2023 65.00% 45.00% 30.50%
7/1/2023-6/30/2024 65.50% 45.00% 30.50%
7/1/2024-6/30/2026 66.00% 45.00% 30.50%

Off-Campus Rates:

Period Off-Campus Research* Off-Campus Instruction* Off-Campus Other Sponsored Activities
7/1/2020-6/30/2026 26.00% 26.00% 26.00%
7/1/2026-Future 26.00%(provisional) 26.00%(provisional)

26.00%(provisional)

*The on-campus MTDC base excludes equipment, capital expenditures, charges for patient care, tuition remission, rental costs of off-site facilities, scholarships, and fellowships as well as the portion of each subgrant and subcontract in excess of $25,000. Note that equipment is defined by the Rate Agreement as tangible, non-expendable personal property having a useful life of more than one year and an acquisition cost of $5,000 or more.

**The off-campus MTDC base excludes facilities rental costs and operations and maintenance expenses from the direct cost items of materials, supplies, and services.

On-Campus
On-campus locations include space in buildings owned by the University and, in many instances, space in buildings leased by some entity of the University. Further criteria for designating leased space as on-campus are provided below. The on-campus designation indicates that any reimbursement of facilities-related costs will occur indirectly, through the application of a F&A rate that includes those costs, rather than through a direct space charge.

Off-Campus
Off-campus locations include space that is being rented/leased for the performance of the scope of research which is remote from campus. Factors indicating that a space is remote include significant physical distance from either campus, and use of separate (non-University) services such as mail, telephone, network and other support services.

Off-campus locations also include University buildings designated by the Office of Financial Analysis as Off Campus:

The off-campus designation indicates that any reimbursement of facilities-related costs will occur directly, through a direct space charge, rather than indirectly through the application of a F&A rate that includes those costs.

Examples of working arrangements that are not considered “Off-Campus”:

  • Working Remotely
  • Attending a Conference
  • Subcontracts

In select cases, the nature of the project entails activity in multiple locations. When those locations represent both on- and off-campus space (according to the criteria established above), and the proportion of off-campus activity reaches the threshold outlined below, then the project will be apportioned into the on and off campus components.

Two sponsored project accounts will be established: one for the expenses associated with the on-campus activity and one for the expenses associated with the off-campus activity. The establishment of separate accounts will facilitate the assessment of the appropriate F&A rates. Costs should be charged to the respective accounts in accordance with the proposed and awarded project budget.

For reference purposes, you may view the following Federal Agreements: