Consult the latest salary cap and stipend levels when you prepare your grant application or contract proposal budget. For fellowship and training awards, learn how you may spend funds.
Salary Cap
Congress restricts the amount of direct salary paid to an individual under an HHS grant, cooperative agreement, or applicable contract to a rate no greater than Executive Level II of the 2024 Executive Schedule Pay Table.
Effective January 1, 2024, the Executive Level II salary cap level is $221,900. NIH announced this level and provided example salary calculations in a January 29, 2024, Guide notice. Also refer to the November 14, 2024 Guide notice, Updated Guidance on Salary Limitation for Grants and Cooperative Agreements, which updates the NIH policy on salary limitation for NIH grants and cooperative agreement awards to include indirect salaries for new, competing renewals, and noncompeting continuations issued on or after October 1, 2024.
Your institution may pay you beyond the cap from non-federal sources. Note that you may not get paid beyond the salary cap by rebudgeting from other categories.
For historic levels, see NIH’s Salary Cap Summary (FY 1990-Present).
NRSA Stipend Levels
The HHS Secretary sets National Research Service Awards (NRSA) stipend levels and adjusts them periodically to reflect increases in the cost of living, as specified in 42 U.S. Code § 288(b)(5). NIH announced the levels for 12 months shown below in an April 23, 2024 Guide notice.
Fellowship and Training Stipend Levels, in Dollars
| Career Level | 12 months | 1 month |
|---|---|---|
| Predoc | 28,224 | 2,352 |
| Postdoc 0 | 61,008 | 5,084 |
| Postdoc 1 | 61,428 | 5,119 |
| Postdoc 2 | 61,884 | 5,157 |
| Postdoc 3 | 64,356 | 5,363 |
| Postdoc 4 | 66,492 | 5,541 |
| Postdoc 5 | 68,964 | 5,747 |
| Postdoc 6 | 71,532 | 5,961 |
| Postdoc 7 or more | 74,088 | 6,174 |
What Do Training Funds Pay For?
You may use funds from Training Grants (T) and Fellowship Grants (F) to pay for the following:
- Stipends—follow the amounts shown in the Stipend Levels table above.
- Facilities and administrative costs based on 8 percent of modified total direct costs. State and local government agencies may request full reimbursement.
- Tuition and fees for each trainee:
- Predoctoral—60 percent of level requested by applicant institution, up to $16,000 per year. You may use 60 percent up to $21,000 for formally combined dual-degree training.
- Postdoctoral—60 percent of level requested by applicant institution, up to $4,500 per year. You may use 60 percent up to $16,000 for formal degree-granting training.
- Childcare costs—each NRSA fellow or trainee may receive $3,000 per budget period to defray childcare costs from a licensed provider. Learn more in the Frequently Asked Questions on Childcare Costs.
- Trainee travel, including attendance at vital scientific meetings. The NIAID cap is $1,000 for each trainee.
- Institutional allowance for training-related expenses (e.g., administrative support, health insurance, and research supplies) for each trainee:
- Predoctoral—$4,750 per year at non-federal public, private, and non-profit institutions (domestic and foreign) and $3,650 per year for federal and for-profit institutions.
- Postdoctoral—$12,400 per year at non-federal public, private, and non-profit institutions (domestic and foreign) and $11,300 per year for federal and for-profit institutions.
- On a case-by-case basis, institutional costs for accommodating disabled trainees in addition to usual costs paid by training-related expenses. Check with your assigned grants management specialist.
More Information
For news on salary and stipends, watch this page or NIAID Funding News. Find more Paylines & Funding information such as the Financial Management Plan and NIAID Paylines.
Questions & Answers
Each year, NIH sets a maximum for program director/PI salaries, though your institution can use its own money to pay beyond NIH's limit.
If the limit changes, you can rebudget funds to pay for a higher salary without prior approval, but you can't get more money from NIH.
When NIH announces the levels in its Guide, we notify you in the NIAID Funding News and post the salary levels on this page.
Yes, but we expect you to budget for salary at a level that matches your level of effort, up to the salary cap.
Keep in mind that if increasing your effort will alter the scope of your research, you need NIAID's permission for the change in scope.
Read Changes to Project or Budget to learn more.