In 1990 Congress legislatively mandated a limit on the salary that individuals can charge to NIH grant and cooperative agreement awards. That mandate (the NIH Salary Cap) remains in effect, and since December 2013 has been tied to Executive Level II of the Federal Executive pay scale. Effective January 1, 2024, the salary limitation for Executive Level II is $221,900.
The Federal Executive pay scale is typically updated in January each year, and Ohio State recommends investigators immediately start using the updated Salary Cap amount in proposal budgets. However, NIH does not provide additional funding when the Salary Cap increases, so funds have to be rebudgeted to cover the increased salary costs. To mitigate to some extent the impact on awards that are flat-funded (e.g., modular grants) or awards for which the out-years were funded at a lower cap level, Ohio State has had a long-standing practice of beginning to charge projects at the new Salary Cap on July 1 each year. Fringe benefit rates also typically change on July 1, and Workday begins charging the new Salary Cap and fringe benefit rates automatically.