FAQs: Grants

Facilities and Administrative (F&A) costs, formerly known as indirect costs and/or overhead are costs which are necessary to support research and other sponsored programs but which cannot be readily assigned to individual projects. The University's F&A rates are calculated in accordance with federal cost principles and are negotiated with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services- Division of Cost Allocation. View current federally negotiated F&A rates.

Rutgers develops and submits its fringe benefit rates annually to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Cost Allocation Services (DHHS-CAS), our federal cognizant audit agency for approval. Once approved, the final negotiated fringe benefit rates become effective July 1 of the fiscal year noted.  

Provisional fringe benefit rates are those that are in effect until the current fiscal year rates are approved by DHHS-CAS. 

The composite fringe benefit rates below do not include FICA/Medicare costs. Actual Social Security Taxes (FICA) and Medicare costs are specifically identified by each employee and charged separately as a direct cost to account codes 51250 (FICA) and 51260 (Medicare). When planning the total fringe benefit costs for the below employee types, a factor of 7.65% (FICA 6.20% / Medicare 1.45%) should be added. (FICA/Medicare is not added to Legacy UMDNJ Graduate/Teaching Assistants or Graduate Students or Ineligible foreign national). The 2018 Tax Rate for FICA is 6.20% and Medicare is 1.45%.  View the current federally negotiated Fringe rates. 

Effort Certification & Reporting, in accordance with 2 CFR Part 200 is the University’s internal control for providing assurance to sponsors that: 

• Remuneration charged to sponsored programs are justifiable, reasonable, and allocable to the respective sponsored projects, in relation to the work performed 
• Faculty and staff have met their commitments to sponsored projects including cost-sharing 

Please visit GCA’s Effort Reporting Policies, Procedures, and Forms page for more information on the effort reporting and certification process. To manage the reporting and certification process the University maintains a system called ECRT which is the tool PI’s are required to use in order to confirm all effort worked on their sponsored projects. Please reach out to your SSW Grant/Contract Coordinator if you have any questions regarding this process.

If a funding agency or program officer reaches out to you regarding an invoice or financial report, please forward that communication directly to your SSW Grant/Contract Coordinator and the Sponsored Project Business Manager. They will work with GCA to answer all inquiries.