| DHHS Rate Agreement with FY 25 Fringe Benefits Rates | June 4, 2024 |
On This Page
Indirect or Facilities and Administration Costs
| Research, on-campus |
FY 25 – 49.5% Beyond: 49.5% until renegotiated |
| Training/Instruction, on-campus | 34.0% |
| Other Sponsored Activities, on-campus | 35.0% |
| Off-campus Research, Training, or Other Sponsored Activities | 26.0% |
Employee Benefit Fringe Rates
The University's fringe benefit rates for sponsored projects are negotiated annually with our cognizant federal agency, the Department of Health and Human Services, and are updated regularly on the Campus R&R budget template.
| Fringe Benefit Rates (FY 26 Provisional – July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026) | Pct Salary or Wage |
|---|---|
| Academic and calendar year | FY26 Provisional – 29.5% |
| For faculty with AY appointments & regular full time (FT) & part time (PT) calendar year employees | |
| Summer | FY 26 Provisional – 15.8% |
| For AY faculty and other AY FT/PT regular employees | |
| Adjunct faculty | FY 26 Provisional – 12.8% |
| Temporary, Overtime, Extra Service or Overload (FICA only) | FY 26 Provisional – 7.9% |
| Graduate Assistants (all federal, corporate, state) | FY 26 Provisional – 10.8% |
| Graduate Assistants (non-profit sponsors) | FY 26 – 55.0% |
How to Apply Fringe Benefit Rates
Understand how to apply fringe benefit rates to sponsored project budgets, including current negotiated rates, graduate assistant policies, and salary budgeting requirements.
Determining Which Rate
Learn how Syracuse University determines the appropriate Facilities and Administrative (F&A) rate for sponsored projects, including off-campus rates, sponsor limitations, and requests for rate exceptions.
Graduate Assistant Remitted Tuition
| Graduate Assistant Remitted Tuition | / Credit Hr |
|---|---|
| 25 – 26 AY | $2,015 |
Funds for tuition for graduate assistants on sponsored activities are provided by the deans of schools and colleges and are linked to institutional F&A recovery. Consequently, in all cases, funds available for tuition contribution are limited. Students engaged as graduate assistants in sponsored activities that recover the full, federally approved F&A rate for the program type may be eligible for institutional contribution of tuition expenses if approved by the college or school dean. Your unit may provide an amount ordinarily not to exceed that charged to the sponsor (1-to-1). The sponsored award and the unit’s tuition account will be used equally to draw down the credit used. Any unused tuition credit hours per academic year cannot be carried forward to the following academic year. It is a “use it or lose it” tuition cost sharing commitment. Students engaged as fellows will have any tuition costs not covered by the sponsored award provided by their home unit.
Travel Costs for Sponsored Projects
While the SU travel policy does not use government per diem, these rates can be used to assess the reasonableness of proposed lodging costs as well as meals and incidentals.
Mileage for personal car use for University business follows IRS rates, which are updated at least annually; travel policy is under the auspices of the Comptroller's office.
| IRS mileage reimbursement rate for University business (January 1, 2026) | $0.725mile |
Applying Travel Rates
Find guidance on budgeting travel for sponsored research, including allowable travel expenses, conference costs, foreign travel requirements, mileage, and federal travel regulations.
Animal Research Rates
| Rabbit | $1.39/Cage/Day |
| Rat | $0.54/Cage/Day |
| Mouse | $.73/Cage/Day |
| Guinea Pig | $0.89/Cage/Day |
| Toad/Frog | $1.10/Day/Enclosure |
| Fish Tank | $.11/Cage/Day |