{
  "slug": "indirect-cost-rate",
  "title": "Indirect Cost Rate Calculator",
  "heading": "Indirect Cost Rate Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/indirect-cost-rate",
  "summary": "Calculate your organization's indirect cost rate for grant proposals.",
  "description": "Federal awards under 2 CFR 200 (Uniform Guidance) let any nonprofit that has never negotiated a rate with the government claim a de minimis 10% indirect rate on modified total direct costs, no documentation required. But organizations with real administrative overhead often qualify for a higher negotiated rate, and knowing your actual rate before you negotiate protects you from underfunding your own operations. This calculator divides total indirect costs, meaning shared costs like the executive director's time, HR, IT, accounting, rent for admin space, and finance staff, by your modified total direct cost base, which excludes items like equipment purchases over $5,000, subawards over the first $25,000, and capital expenditures. The result is the percentage you add on top of direct program costs to recover true overhead.",
  "formula": "Indirect rate = total indirect costs ÷ modified total direct costs (MTDC) × 100.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=indirect-cost-rate",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "indirectCosts",
      "label": "Total indirect/overhead costs",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 180000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "directCosts",
      "label": "Direct program costs (total)",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 900000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 1,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "excludedCapital",
      "label": "Equipment/capital costs to exclude from base",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 40000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "excludedSubawards",
      "label": "Subaward amounts over $25k to exclude",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 0,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "deMinimis",
      "label": "Using de minimis rate instead?",
      "kind": "select",
      "hint": null,
      "default": "no",
      "options": [
        {
          "value": "no",
          "label": "No, calculate my actual rate"
        },
        {
          "value": "yes",
          "label": "Yes, use 10% de minimis"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "rate",
      "label": "Indirect cost rate",
      "format": "percent",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "mtdc",
      "label": "Modified total direct cost base",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "recoveryOnBase",
      "label": "Indirect recovery on current base",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "indirectOn100k",
      "label": "Indirect $ recoverable from a $100k grant",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Total indirect/overhead costs: 180000 $",
      "Direct program costs (total): 900000 $",
      "Equipment/capital costs to exclude from base: 40000 $",
      "Subaward amounts over $25k to exclude: 0 $",
      "Using de minimis rate instead?: No, calculate my actual rate"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Indirect cost rate: 20.9%",
      "Modified total direct cost base: $860,000",
      "Indirect recovery on current base: $180,000",
      "Indirect $ recoverable from a $100k grant: $17,308"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter total indirect/overhead costs ($).",
      "Enter direct program costs (total) ($).",
      "Enter equipment/capital costs to exclude from base ($).",
      "Enter subaward amounts over $25k to exclude ($).",
      "Enter using de minimis rate instead?.",
      "Read your indirect cost rate on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "indirectCosts": 108000,
        "directCosts": 540000,
        "excludedCapital": 24000,
        "excludedSubawards": 0,
        "deMinimis": "no"
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "indirectCosts": 180000,
        "directCosts": 900000,
        "excludedCapital": 40000,
        "excludedSubawards": 0,
        "deMinimis": "no"
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "indirectCosts": 288000,
        "directCosts": 1440000,
        "excludedCapital": 64000,
        "excludedSubawards": 0,
        "deMinimis": "no"
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "What's excluded from the MTDC base?",
      "a": "Equipment purchases over $5,000, capital expenditures, the portion of each subaward over the first $25,000, patient care costs, rental costs of off-site facilities, scholarships, and participant support costs. Getting this wrong is the single most common indirect rate calculation error nonprofits make."
    },
    {
      "q": "Can I just use the 10% de minimis rate forever?",
      "a": "Yes, it's available indefinitely to any organization that has never had a federally negotiated indirect cost rate. It's simple and requires no cost allocation plan, but organizations with real overhead above 10% of MTDC are leaving recoverable money on the table by defaulting to it instead of negotiating."
    },
    {
      "q": "How do I get a negotiated rate above 10%?",
      "a": "You submit an indirect cost rate proposal to your cognizant federal agency (usually whichever agency provides the most funding) with a cost allocation plan showing actual indirect costs and the base. Rates for nonprofits commonly land between 15% and 35% depending on facility costs and admin staffing."
    },
    {
      "q": "Do private foundations respect this rate?",
      "a": "Not always, but momentum has shifted. Many major foundations now voluntarily honor the 15% minimum recommended by funder collaboratives, and some fully fund a federally negotiated rate. Always ask; a rate you don't request is a rate you don't get."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/grant-budget-builder",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/multi-grant-overhead-allocation"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Indirect Cost Rate Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/indirect-cost-rate)"
}