04. Attachment 4 - Budget Category Descriptions Guide.docx

Budget Category Descriptions – Help Aid

1. Personnel: An organization’s Full-Time or Part Time attributed to the award activities.

2. Fringe Benefits: Employer pension plans, health benefits, or other benefits that conform to an organization’s established policy or Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA).

3. Travel: Domestic and international airfares, lodging and meals allowances, and local travel directly attributable to an award activity. Refer to Federal Travel Regulations per diem rates for cost reasonableness.

4. Equipment: Tangible non-expendable personal property having a useful life of more than one (1) year and an acquisition cost of $5,000 or more per unit or consistent with recipient policy, lower limits may be established.

5. Supplies: Expendable (consumable), small general office items, adding machines, calculators or computer software, etc with a value of less than $5,000.

6. Contractual: A procurement contract under an award or sub-tier awards for goods or services.

7. Construction: Major costs for new, rearrangement, alteration, reconversion, or renovation of facilities.

8. Other Direct Costs: Other direct costs could include participant support costs and any program related costs or materials.

9. Indirect Costs: Costs that are incurred for a common or joint purpose and cannot be identified readily and specifically with a particular award or other activity (accounting, utilities, legal).

10. Total Direct Costs: All costs chargeable to an award excluding indirect costs.

11. Total Award Costs: All costs chargeable to an award, including indirect costs.

12. Cost Sharing: The portion of the project or program costs not borne by DOS or another federal agency, which includes cash and third-party in-kind contributions.