Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Fully-loaded annual cost
$78,740
Allocated to Program A
$39,370
Allocated to Program B
$23,622
Allocated to admin/other
$15,748
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How to use this
- 1Enter annual base salary ($).
- 2Enter fringe/benefits rate (%).
- 3Enter % time on program a.
- 4Enter % time on program b.
- 5Enter % time on admin/other.
- 6Read your fully-loaded annual cost on the right — it updates as you type.
- 7Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
When one staff member splits time across multiple grant-funded programs, each grant typically wants to see only its share of that person's fully-loaded cost, salary plus benefits and payroll taxes, based on documented time allocation, not an arbitrary split. This calculator takes an employee's base salary, a fringe/benefits rate, and the percentage of time they spend on up to three programs (which should come from a timesheet or approved time-and-effort certification, not a guess), and produces the fully-loaded cost allocated to each program, which is exactly the figure a grant budget and a time-and-effort report both need to match.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Annual base salary: 62000 $
- Fringe/benefits rate: 27 %
- % time on Program A: 50
- % time on Program B: 30
- % time on admin/other: 20
Results
- Fully-loaded annual cost: $78,740
- Allocated to Program A: $39,370
- Allocated to Program B: $23,622
- Allocated to admin/other: $15,748
What each field means
Inputs
- Annual base salary ($)
- The annual base salary used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 62000 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Fringe/benefits rate (%)
- The fringe/benefits rate used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 27 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–60 %.
- % time on Program A
- The % time on program a used in the calculation. Starts at 50 so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–100.
- % time on Program B
- The % time on program b used in the calculation. Starts at 30 so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–100.
- % time on admin/other
- The % time on admin/other used in the calculation. Starts at 20 so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–100.
Results
- Fully-loaded annual cost
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Allocated to Program A
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Allocated to Program B
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Allocated to admin/other
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
Do percentages need to add up to 100?
Yes for an accurate allocation; this calculator normalizes them if they don't, but a time-and-effort report submitted to a federal grantor must show percentages that actually sum to 100% of the employee's compensated time, not an approximation.
What's a typical fringe rate to use?
Most nonprofits land between 20% and 35% of base salary once you include employer payroll taxes (roughly 7.65% for FICA/Medicare), health insurance, retirement match, and workers' comp. Calculate your organization's actual blended rate from your last completed fiscal year rather than guessing.
How often does time allocation need to be documented for federal grants?
2 CFR 200.430 requires personnel activity reports or equivalent documentation that reflects actual after-the-fact activity, not a budgeted estimate, prepared at least monthly and signed by the employee or a supervisor with firsthand knowledge of the work performed.
What if an employee's actual time shifts significantly mid-year?
Update the allocation percentages going forward and, if a federal grant is involved, be prepared to true-up the allocation based on actual time-and-effort documentation at year-end; budgeted allocations are estimates, actual documented time is what withstands an audit.
Accuracy and 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.
Related tools
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Staff Cost Allocation Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/staff-cost-allocation
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/staff-cost-allocation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Staff Cost Allocation Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Staff Cost Allocation Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/staff-cost-allocation) (2026).