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Scope Note
This page provides the latest information about NIH fiscal policies to help you better understand NIH’s approach to grant funding.
NIH Budget Overview
- Current and historical NIH budget information from the NIH Office of Budget
- Funding Patterns by NIH Institute and Center
- Summary statistics on the NIH-funded portfolio from the NIH Data Book
NIH Institute and Center Funding Strategies
The NIH Institute, Center, and Office (ICOs) Profiles include a link to each ICO's Funding Strategy. (Some ICOs use a different label, e.g., Fiscal Policy, Financial Management Plan, Paylines, Operating Guidelines, or Grant Funding Plan.)
NIH Salary Cap
Congress legislatively mandates a limitation on salary for individuals under NIH grant and cooperative agreement awards. The mandate appears in the annual appropriation act that provides authority for NIH to incur obligations for a given fiscal year (FY).
The amount of salary that can be provided to an individual through grant and cooperative agreement funds cannot exceed Executive Level II of the Federal Executive Pay Scale (Office of Personnel Management Salaries & Wages). For FY 1990 through FY 2024, the salary cap applied only to direct salaries. Effective for FY 2025, the salary cap applies to both:
- Direct salaries (individuals working directly on NIH projects).
- Indirect salaries (executive salaries in various uncapped cost pools).
Salary Cap Summary (FY 1990 - Present)
NRSA Stipend Levels
Stipend levels for Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards (NRSA) are updated periodically in conjunction with an NIH annual appropriation and announced via a notice in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts.
Stipends Summary – NRSA (FY 2018-Present)
NIH Fiscal Policies and Notices
- NOT-OD-25-085 - Guidance on Salary Limitation for Grants and Cooperative Agreements FY 2025
- NOT-OD-25-084 - NIH Operates Under a Continuing Resolution
- NOT-OD-25-054 - NIH Operates Under a Continuing Resolution
- NOT-OD-25-025 - Updated Guidance on Salary Limitation for Grants and Cooperative Agreements
- NOT-OD-25-010 - NIH Operates Under a Continuing Resolution
- NOT-OD-25-010 - NIH Operates Under a Continuing Resolution
- NOT-OD-24-110 - Notice of Legislative Mandates in Effect for FY 2024
- NOT-OD-24-109 - Notice of Fiscal Policies in Effect for FY 2024
- NOT-OD-24-104 - Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Stipends, Tuition/Fees and Other Budgetary Levels Effective for Fiscal Year 2024
- NOT-OD-24-073 - NIH Operates Under a Continuing Resolution
- NOT-OD-24-059 - NIH Operates Under a Continuing Resolution
- NOT-OD-24 057 - Guidance on Salary Limitation for Grants and Cooperative Agreements FY 2024
- NOT-OD-24-007 - NIH Operates under a Continuing Resolution
- NOT-OD-24-007 - NIH Operates Under a Continuing Resolution
- NOT-OD-23-111: Reminder – NIH Policies for NRSA Stipends, Compensation and Other Income
- Reminder – NIH Policies for NRSA Stipends, Compensation and Other Income
- NOT-OD-23-076: Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Stipends, Tuition/Fees and Other Budgetary Levels Effective for Fiscal Year 2023
- NOT-OD-23-072: Notice of Legislative Mandates in Effect for FY 2023
- NOT-OD-23-071: Notice of Fiscal Policies in Effect for FY 2023
- NOT-OD-23-056: Guidance on Salary Limitation for Grants and Cooperative Agreements FY 2023
- NOT-OD-23-052: NIH Operates Under a Continuing Resolution
- NOT-OD-23-050: NIH Operates Under a Continuing Resolution
- NOT-OD-22-132: Correction to Stipend Levels for Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Stipends, Tuition/Fees and Other Budgetary Levels Effective for Fiscal Year 2022
- NOT-OD-22-117: Notice of Legislative Mandates in Effect for FY 2022
- NOT-OD-22-108 (RESCINDED): Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Stipends, Tuition/Fees and Other Budgetary Levels Effective for Fiscal Year 2022
- NOT-OD-22-105: Notice of Fiscal Policies in Effect for FY 2022
- NOT-OD-22-076: Guidance on Salary Limitation for Grants and Cooperative Agreements
- NOT-OD-22-045: NIH Operates Under a Continuing Resolution
- NOT-OD-21-009 - NIH Operates Under a Continuing Resolution
- NOT-OD-21-049 - Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Stipends, Tuition/Fees and Other Budgetary Levels Effective for Fiscal Year 2021
- NOT-OD-21-056 -Notice of Legislative Mandates in Effect for FY 2021
- NOT-OD-21-057 - Guidance on Salary Limitation for Grants and Cooperative Agreements FY 2021
- NOT-OD-21-058 - Notice of Fiscal Policies in Effect for FY 2021
- NOT-OD-22-132 - Correction to Stipend Levels for Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Stipends, Tuition/Fees and Other Budgetary Levels Effective for Fiscal Year 2022
- NOT-OD-20-046 - NIH Operates Under a Continuing Resolution
- NOT-OD-20-065 - Guidance on Salary Limitation for Grants and Cooperative Agreements FY 2020
- NOT-OD-20-066 - Notice of Legislative Mandates in Effect for FY 2020
- NOT-OD-20-068 - Notice of Fiscal Policies in Effect for FY 2020
- NOT-OD-20-070 - Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Stipends, Tuition/Fees and Other Budgetary Levels Effective for Fiscal Year 2020
- NOT-OD-19-099 - Guidance on Salary Limitation for Grants and Cooperative Agreements FY 2019
- NOT-OD-19-030 - Notice of Legislative Mandates in Effect for FY 2019
- NOT-OD-19-031 - Notice of Fiscal Policies in Effect for FY 2019
- NOT-OD-19-036 - Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Stipends, Tuition/Fees and Other Budgetary Levels Effective for Fiscal Year 2019
- NOT-OD-18-120 - NIH Operates Under a Continuing Resolution Through December 22, 2017
- NOT-OD-18-124 - NIH Operates Under a Continuing Resolution Through January 19, 2018
- NOT-OD-18-139 - NIH Operates Under a Continuing Resolution Through February 8, 2018
- NOT-OD-18-136 - NIH Operates Under a Continuing Resolution Through March 23, 2018
- NOT-OD-18-137 - Guidance on Salary Limitation for Grants and Cooperative Agreements FY 2018
- NOT-OD-18-175 - Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Stipends, Tuition/Fees and Other Budgetary Levels Effective for Fiscal Year 2018
- NOT-OD-18-180 - Notice of Fiscal Policies in Effect for FY 2018
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NOT-OD-18-181 - Notice of Legislative Mandates in Effect for FY 2018
- NOT-OD-17-124 - NIH Operates Under a Continuing Resolution Through December 8, 2017
- NOT-OD-17-048 - NIH Operates Under a Continuing Resolution
- NOT-OD-17-086 - NIH Fiscal Policy for Grant Awards - FY 2017
- NOT-OD-17-087 - Revision: Guidance on Salary Limitation for Grants and Cooperative Agreements
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NOT-OD-17-075 - Notice of Legislative Mandates in Effect for FY 2017
- NOT-OD-16-002 - NIH Operates Under a Continuing Resolution
- NOT-OD-16-044 - Notice of Legislative Mandates in Effect for FY 2016
- NOT-OD-16-046 - NIH Fiscal Policy for Grant Awards - FY 2016
- NOT-OD-16-048 - Notice of Correction to Legislative Mandates in Effect for FY2016: Restriction on the Purchase of Sterile Needles
- NOT-OD-16-059 - Notice of Correction to Salary Limitation on NIH Grants, and Cooperative Agreements
- NOT-OD-15-048 - Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Stipends, Tuition/Fees and Other Budgetary Levels Effective for Fiscal Year 2015
- NOT-OD-15-049 - Notice on Salary Limitation on Grants, Cooperative Agreements, and Contracts
- NOT-OD-15-050 - NIH Fiscal Policy for Grant Awards - FY2015
- NOT-OD-15-054 - Notice of Legislative Mandates in Effect for FY 2015
- NOT-OD-14-046 - Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Stipends, Tuition/Fees and Other Budgetary Levels Effective for Fiscal Year 2014
- NOT-OD-14-052 - Notice of Salary Limitation on Grants, Cooperative Agreements, and Contracts
- NOT-OD-14-053 - Notice of Legislative Mandates in Effect for FY2014
- NOT-OD-14-055 - NIH Fiscal Policy for Grant Awards FY 2014
- NOT-OD-14-062 - Notice of Additional Legislative Mandate in Effect for FY2014 Restricting Pornography on Computer Networks
- NOT-OD-12-033 - Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Stipends, Tuition/Fees and Other Budgetary Levels Effective for Fiscal Year 2012
- NOT-OD-12-034 - Notice of Legislative Mandates in Effect for FY2012
- NOT-OD-12-035 - Notice of Salary Limitation on Grants, Cooperative Agreements, and Contracts
- NOT-OD-12-036 - NIH Fiscal Policy for Grant Awards FY 2012
- NOT-OD-13-002 - NIH Operates Under a Continuing Resolution
- NOT-OD-11-077 - Clarification of NIH Fiscal Policy for Grant Awards FY 2011
- NOT-OD-11-067 - Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Stipends, Tuition/Fees and Other Budgetary Levels Effective for Fiscal Year 2011
- NOT-OD-11-068 - NIH Fiscal Policy for Grant Awards FY 2011
- NOT-OD-11-037 - Non-Competing Grant Awards under the Current Continuing Resolution
- NOT-OD-10-047 - Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Stipends, Tuition/Fees and Other Budgetary Levels Effective for Fiscal Year 2010
- NOT-OD-10-039 - NIH Fiscal Policy for Grant Awards FY 2010
- NOT-OD-10-041 - Salary Limitation on Grants, Cooperative Agreements, and Contracts
- NOT-OD-10-040 - Notice of Legislative Mandates in Effect for FY2010
- NOT-OD-10-012 - Non-Competing Grant Awards under the Current Continuing Resolution
- NOT-OD-09-075 - Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Stipend and Other Budgetary Levels Effective for Fiscal Year 2009
- NOT-OD-09-068 - Announcing the FY 2009 NIH Director's Bridge Awards
- NOT-OD-09-069 - Salary Limitation on Grants, Cooperative Agreements, and Contracts
- NOT-OD-09-070 - Notice of Legislative Mandates in Effect for FY2009
- NOT-OD-09-071 - The Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 Makes the NIH Public Access Policy Permanent
- American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
- NOT-OD-09-066 - NIH Fiscal Policy for Grant Awards FY 2009
- NOT-OD-09-002 - Non-Competing Grant Awards under the Current Continuing Resolution