Sec. B — Run your own numbers

Indirect cost rate calculator: what's your recovery gap?

Enter annual figures for your federally funded work. The worksheet computes your modified total direct costs (MTDC), your rate-determination base, your actual indirect cost rate, and what you'd recover under the 15% de minimis rate vs. a negotiated rate — using the 2024 Uniform Guidance rules (15% de minimis; the first $50,000 of each subaward counts toward MTDC; unallowable-activity costs held in the rate base per § 200.413(e)).

Runs in your browser · nothing is stored or sent anywhere

Direct salaries, wages & fringe benefitsPeople charged directly to awards and projects

Materials, supplies, services & travelOther direct costs that stay in the base

Unallowable-activity direct costs (optional)Fundraising, lobbying — never charged to awards, but they stay in the base that computes your rate (2 CFR 200.413(e))

Subawards — total dollars & countOnly the first $50,000 of each subaward counts toward MTDC

Excluded direct costsEquipment, capital expenditures, patient care, rental costs, tuition remission, scholarships & fellowships, participant support

Total indirect costsAdmin salaries, facilities, utilities, insurance, accounting, HR, IT — the shared costs of running the organization

Modified total direct costs — MTDC B.1 + B.2 + capped subawards (computed) —

Rate-determination base MTDC + B.2a — 2 CFR 200.413(e) (computed) —

Your indirect cost rate B.5 ÷ B.6a (computed) —

Load the guide's worked example

Determination

De minimis (15% MTDC)

—

Negotiated rate

—

Left on the table

—

Book a free consultation — bring these numbers Or email us your numbers Next: score your grant readiness →

Methodology & what MTDC includes

MTDC (modified total direct costs) follows 2 CFR 200.1 as revised in 2024: direct salaries and wages, applicable fringe benefits, materials and supplies, services, travel, and up to the first $50,000 of each subaward, regardless of the subaward's period of performance.

Excluded from MTDC: equipment, capital expenditures, charges for patient care, rental costs, tuition remission, scholarships and fellowships, participant support costs, and the portion of each subaward above $50,000.
Subaward simplification: this worksheet caps subawards at $50,000 × the number of subawards. If your subawards vary widely around $50k, the true MTDC differs slightly — a rate proposal computes it subaward by subaward.
Rate-determination base: per 2 CFR 200.413(e), the direct costs of unallowable activities (fundraising, lobbying) remain in the base used to compute the rate even though they can never be charged to awards. Omitting them is a standard reviewer deficiency.
The "negotiated rate" column applies your computed rate to award-chargeable MTDC and assumes your awards permit indirect costs at the negotiated rate. With unallowable-activity costs entered, their share of overhead correctly remains with unrestricted funds. Some programs cap or restrict indirect recovery.

What this is — and isn't

This is a planning estimate to size the decision between the de minimis election and a negotiated rate. It is not a rate proposal, an audit opinion, or accounting advice — your actual rate depends on allowability, allocability, and how your cost pools are built. That's the work we do; the free consultation is where it starts.