Budget Preparation
When a faculty member or unit based research office seeks the help of ORS to develop or review a budget, ORS will do so to ensure that all proposed costs are allowable per the proposal guidelines and the Uniform Guidance, 2 CFR 200. Particular attention will be paid to the budget justification to check that there is sufficient explanation about each line item to be sure that all costs are coded correctly for F&A cost recovery. It is important to note that costs associated with participant support costs, human subjects incentive fees and any stipend related proposed costs must have a clear explanation in the budget justification so that there is no
confusion about the purpose of these costs and that they are listed in the budget correctly with associated F&A costs as allowed. Please address budget preparation questions by submitting a ticket or working with the pre-award specialist already assigned to you.
Facilities and Administrative Costs (F&A)/Indirect Costs
The budget must include F&A. Guidance can be found here. Waivers must be requested prior to routing and submission.
Raises
Raises for succeeding years should be proposed at an average increase of 2.5% percent per year. Raises for graduate students should be proposed at 3% per year. Raises are effective July 1 of each year.
Fringe Benefits
Chart of Average Fringe Benefit Rates
The below rates are based on average faculty & staff salaries for each Employee Category.
| Employee Category | Average Salary Base | FY 2024 | FY 2025 (current) | FY 2026 | FY 2027 | FY 2028 | FY 2029 | FY 2030 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EHRA Faculty & Staff | $100,000 | 36.80% | 36.90% | 32.1% | 32.5% | 32.9% | 33.3% | 33.8% |
| SHRA Staff | $55,000 | 55.00% | 55.30% | 49.5% | 50.1% | 50.7% | 51.4% | 52.0% |
| Post Doc | $60,000 | 19.40% | 18.80% | 20.3% | 20.5% | 20.7% | 20.9% | 21.1% |
| Graduate Student*** | $15,000 | 0.10% | 0.10% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% |
| Undergraduate Student* | $10,000 | 0.10% | 0.10% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% |
| Non-Enrolled Undergraduate/Graduate Student (SUMMER)* | $5,000 | 7.75% | 7.75% | 8.15% | 8.15% | 8.15% | 8.15% | 8.15% |
| Temporary** | $41,000 | 12.00% | 13.10% | 13.6% | 13.7% | 13.8% | 14.0% | 14.1% |
* Undergraduate & Non-Enrolled (Summer) Students and Temporary Employees do not receive health insurance. Therefore, an average salary base was not calculated.
***Graduate Student Health Insurance is budgeted in addition to the costs above.
If you have questions about these rates, please contact the Office of Research Services at research@charlotte.edu.
Detail Breakdown of FY2026 Fringe Benefit Rates (effective 7/1/2025)
| Employee Category | Retirement | FICA / Social Security | Claims- Made Fringe Benefits | Total Fixed Fringe Rate w/o Health Insurance | Annual Health Insurance Premium | Average Fringe Benefit Rate | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EHRA Faculty & Staff | 14.24% | 7.65% | 1.73% | 23.62% |
+ | $8,500 |
= | 32.1% |
| SHRA Staff | 24.67% | 7.65% | 1.73% | 34.05% | $8,500 | 49.5% | ||
| Post Doc | 0% | 7.65% | 0.50% | 8.15% | $5,763 | 20.3% | ||
| Graduate Student* | 0% | 0% | 0.50% | 0.50% | $0 | 0.50% | ||
| Undergraduate Student | 0% | 0% | 0.50% | 0.50% | $0 | 0.50% | ||
| Undergraduate / Graduate Student (SUMMER) | 0% | 7.65% | 0.50% | 8.15% | $0 | 8.15% | ||
| Temporary | 0% | 7.65% | 0.50% | 8.15% | $2,212 | 13.6% |
For more information, please see the links below:
| Annual Health Insurance Premium Costs: | |||||
| Post Doc: | Postdoctoral Fellows – Benefits | ||||
| Graduate Student: | UNC Charlotte Student Health Insurance *UNC Charlotte Student Health Insurance is now separately budgeted in addition to the claims made rate. The 2026-2027 premium is $4,733. For budgeting purposes, the rate listed above will be used with a 1.5% annual escalation factored in for future years. | ||||
Tuition:
- Include undergraduate/graduate student tuition as needed as a separate line item under other direct costs.
- Starting FY25 (7/1/24), full out of state tuition must be budgeted for graduate students as allowed by their respective compensation package.
- Click here for the university’s tuition information. Tuition is budgeted based on the approved compensation packages below.
- Click here for the Graduate Student Compensation packages managed by the Graduate School. Graduate student support must be budgeted using the appropriate fiscal year compensation package stipend, allowable health insurance and allowable tuition and tuition increments
- Tuition should be escalated by 3% in out years.