Indirect Cost Recovery

Indirect costs may also be called Facilities and Administrative costs or F&A Costs.  Indirect costs are those costs that cannot be directly allocated to a project.  Indirect cost includes utilities, general office supplies, general equipment, personnel costs for administrative offices, etc. Therefore, the amount budgeted for indirect cost recovery is not available to Principal Investigators (PI) to spend on the project. Instead, the indirect cost recovery amount is used by Marymount to cover indirect costs incurred by the University.

The indirect rate is negotiated with the federal cognizant agency, Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS). Once this rate is negotiated with DHHS, it will be utilized for any federal project during the timeframe included in the agreement unless there is a program specific exclusion.  Sometimes, non-federal entities will also allow this rate to be charged to their non-federal projects since it has already been negotiated with the federal government. Check with Office of Sponsored Programs to determine if this is the case.

The indirect recovery rate is based on direct costs modified to exclude certain items from the calculation such as participant support costs, equipment, subaward amounts over $25K, etc.  The base on which the rate is calculated is found on the negotiated indirect cost rate agreement.  For institutions of higher education such as Marymount University, the rate in effect at the time of award must be used for the life of the award on federal projects.

The total direct costs plus indirect recovery costs combined cannot exceed an award limit imposed by the granting organization, if applicable.  A cost may not be charged directly on some projects and indirectly on other projects for the same or similar purpose.  Consult with Office of Sponsored Programs or Financial Services if in doubt on how a cost should be budgeted and charged.

For a copy of the Marymount University Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement:  https://marymount.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/federally-approved-rate-agreement-through-2025-1.pdf