Examples
Worked examples
- Is an instance
A 100-percent project-dedicated postdoc salary is direct-charged to the grant.
- Is an instance
A reagent kit consumed entirely on a single experiment is direct-charged.
Counter-examples
Looks similar, but isn't
- Not an instance
A departmental administrator's salary supporting many projects is not normally direct-charged.
- Not an instance
Utilities for the building are not direct-charged.
Editorial commentary
Direct charging applies to costs unambiguously attributable to one project (e.g., a postdoc dedicated 100 percent to the project, reagents consumed entirely on its work). The decision between direct charging and indirect treatment must be consistent within an institution to satisfy Uniform Guidance consistency requirements (2 CFR 200.403). Misclassification (e.g., directly charging clerical salaries that should be indirect) is a frequent audit finding. Costs not normally direct may be direct-charged in unlike circumstances (e.g., grant-funded administrative support for a major centre grant where administrative effort is unusually high).
References
- US Office of Management and Budget Uniform Guidance 2 CFR 200.403-200.413; COGR Excellence in Research.
Also known as
Direct charging (federal) · Direct cost allocation
Machine-readable encodings
Use in your systems
<role vocab="credit"
vocab-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/"
vocab-term="Direct charging"
vocab-term-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/direct-charging" />{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "DefinedTerm",
"name": "Direct charging",
"identifier": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/direct-charging",
"description": "The practice of charging a specific cost directly to a sponsored project's budget as a direct cost rather than recovering it through the indirect cost rate, when the cost meets allowability, allocability, and reasonableness criteria.",
"inDefinedTermSet": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/domain/funding-lifecycle-and-financial-vocabulary/",
"url": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/direct-charging",
"sameAs": [
"Direct charging (federal)",
"Direct cost allocation"
],
"license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
}
