How to Fill Out and Submit the SF-424A Budget Information Form

The SF-424A is the standard budget attachment for federal non-construction grant applications, and to fill it out correctly you enter your program identifiers and totals in Section A, break the budget into object class categories in Section B, record any non-federal contributions in Section C, forecast first-year cash needs in Section D, and use Sections E and F for multi-year projections and indirect cost details. Every figure must reconcile with the SF-424 cover sheet and the budget narrative before you submit through Grants.gov. This guide walks through how to fill out the SF-424A budget form section by section, with the traps that cause most rejections.

What to Have Ready Before You Open the Form

Pull these together first. Missing any of them mid-application creates delays, and an expired SAM.gov registration is one of the top reasons Grants.gov rejects applications outright.¹

Your Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and an active SAM.gov entity registration. Registrations expire every 365 days, so confirm yours is current well before the deadline.²
The Assistance Listing Number (ALN) for the program you are applying to. This is the two-part code (like 93.564) that used to be called the CFDA number, and the Notice of Funding Opportunity lists it.³
Current payroll data, fringe benefit rates, travel cost estimates, contractual agreements, and your organization’s capitalization policy for equipment. These feed Section B.
Your Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) if you have one. If you do not, you can elect the de minimis rate. Organizations that have never had a negotiated rate must submit their first indirect cost proposal to their cognizant federal agency within 90 days of receiving a cost-reimbursable award.⁴

The form is cataloged under OMB Control Number 4040-0006 and is available inside the Grants.gov Workspace when you start a new application.⁵

Section A: Budget Summary

Section A is the top-level snapshot that ties your budget to the specific federal program.

Lines 1 through 4 each represent a grant program, function, or activity. For a straightforward single-program application, you only use Line 1. Column (a) takes the Assistance Listing Title, NOFO number, or Program Code. Column (b) takes the Assistance Listing Number in the ##.### format.⁵

Columns (c) and (d) are for continuation or renewal applications only. They capture estimated unobligated balances of federal and non-federal funds remaining at the end of the current period, so leave both blank for a new application.⁵ Column (e) is the federal funds you are requesting. Column (f) is the non-federal share. Column (g) is the total. Line 5 sums everything.

The totals here must match Section B. A mismatch triggers a validation error when you try to submit.

Section B: Budget Categories

This is the detailed part of the form. Lines 6a through 6k break your total budget into object class categories, and each column corresponds to a grant program or activity listed in Section A.⁶

Personnel and Fringe Benefits (Lines 6a–6b)

Line 6a covers salaries and wages for employees on your organization’s payroll. Consultants and outside contractors do not go here; they go on Line 6f. For each position, your budget narrative should show the annual salary, the percentage of time devoted to the project, and the resulting cost. Someone earning $80,000 who spends 50 percent of their time on the grant would be budgeted at $40,000.

Line 6b is fringe benefits, meaning your organization’s contributions to health insurance, retirement, Social Security, Medicare, workers’ compensation, and similar costs. Most organizations apply a composite rate to the salary total. A 30 percent fringe rate on $40,000 in salary produces $12,000 on line 6b. Use your organization’s actual rates.

Travel, Equipment, and Supplies (Lines 6c–6e)

Line 6c is project-related travel. The narrative should break it down by trip purpose, number of trips, airfare or mileage, per diem, and lodging.

Line 6d is equipment, defined under federal rules as tangible personal property with a useful life of more than one year and a per-unit cost of $5,000 or more, or your organization’s capitalization threshold, whichever is lower.⁷ Anything below that threshold goes on Line 6e as supplies. If your organization capitalizes items at $3,000, a $4,000 laptop is equipment for you even though it falls under the federal $5,000 mark.

Contractual, Construction, and Other (Lines 6f–6h)

Line 6f captures work performed by outside contractors and subrecipients. Identify each proposed contract in the narrative with its purpose and estimated cost.

Line 6g is construction, and on the SF-424A this line should always be zero. Construction projects use the separate SF-424C form.⁸

Line 6h (“Other”) is a catch-all for allowable costs that do not fit elsewhere, such as participant stipends, printing, or conference registration fees.

Direct and Indirect Totals (Lines 6i–6k)

Line 6i sums lines 6a through 6h — your total direct charges. Line 6j is indirect costs. If you have a NICRA, enter the amount produced by applying your negotiated rate to the approved base. Without a negotiated rate, you may elect a de minimis rate of up to 15 percent of modified total direct costs.⁹ Once elected, the de minimis rate must be used consistently across all federal awards until you negotiate an actual rate. Line 6k is the grand total, meaning the sum of 6i and 6j, and it must match the corresponding column total in Section A.

Section C: Non-Federal Resources

Section C documents the cash and in-kind contributions making up your non-federal share. Each line corresponds to a program listed in Section A, with columns for the applicant, the state, other sources, and a total.

Under 2 CFR 200.306, cost-sharing contributions count only if they are verifiable in your records, are not counted as match for any other federal award, are necessary and reasonable for the project, and are not paid with other federal funds.¹⁰ Volunteer time qualifies as an in-kind contribution if you can document the hours and assign a rate consistent with what you would pay an employee in a similar role.

If the NOFO does not require cost sharing, do not volunteer it. Federal agencies are discouraged from treating voluntary cost sharing as a review factor on most applications, so offering it creates accountability obligations without improving your score.

Section D: Forecasted Cash Needs

Section D estimates how much money you will need, quarter by quarter, during the first year of the grant. Line 13 covers federal cash needs, Line 14 covers non-federal, and Line 15 is the total.⁶ The awarding agency uses this forecast to plan its disbursements.

Front-loading your cash needs in the first quarter when most spending happens later in the project raises questions. Align the quarterly breakdown with your actual project timeline.

Sections E and F: Future Funding and Additional Details

Section E applies to multi-year projects. Lines 16 through 19 mirror the grant programs in Section A, and columns (b) through (e) let you project federal funding needs for up to four additional years beyond the current budget period. These fields are optional, but if the project spans multiple years, filling them in signals you have thought through the full arc of costs.⁵ Ground the estimates in realistic expectations. A flat five percent increase across the board looks like a guess.

Section F has three open fields. Field 21 (Direct Charges) is space to explain unusual direct cost items. Field 22 (Indirect Charges) is where you identify your indirect cost rate type (provisional, predetermined, final, or fixed) along with the base amount and total indirect expense. If you are using the de minimis rate, state that here. Field 23 (Remarks) is a general comment area for anything that did not fit elsewhere.⁵

Making the Numbers Reconcile With the Budget Narrative

The SF-424A collects numbers. The budget narrative explains them. Nearly every federal grant application requires both, and the narrative must walk through each object class in the same order the line items appear on the form.¹¹ The dollar amounts in the narrative must match the SF-424A exactly, and both must match the total on the SF-424 cover sheet.

For personnel, list each position by title, annual salary, percentage of time on the project, and resulting cost. For fringe benefits, show the rate and its components. For travel, break out the purpose, number of trips, airfare or mileage, per diem, and lodging. For equipment, identify each item with its unit cost and quantity. For contractual costs, describe each proposed contract and its estimated cost. For indirect costs, state your rate type, the base, and the calculated amount, and attach a copy of your NICRA if you have one.¹¹ For multi-year awards, provide a separate narrative for each year.

A vague narrative that says “travel — $8,000” without explaining where, how often, or why is the kind of thing that gets flagged during review.

Costs You Cannot Put on the Form

The Uniform Guidance at 2 CFR Part 200, Subpart E lists categories of costs that are unallowable on a federal grant. Including any of them on the SF-424A can get your application returned or trigger repayment demands during a later audit.

Alcoholic beverages. Always unallowable, no exceptions.
Entertainment, meaning amusement, social activities, and similar costs, unless the NOFO specifically authorizes them for programmatic purposes with prior written approval.
Fundraising and lobbying, including financial campaigns, soliciting gifts, or influencing legislation.
Fines and penalties from legal violations.
Contributions and donations charged to the award.
Contingency provisions built in as a cushion for undefined future costs.

Construction costs are also unallowable on the SF-424A specifically, because non-construction programs use this form. Line 6g should always show zero. When you are unsure about a particular expense, check the specific cost principle in Subpart E before including it.

Submitting Through Grants.gov

Once the form is complete, upload it into the Grants.gov Workspace with the rest of your application package.

Click the Check Application button on the Forms tab. The system flags missing fields, math mismatches, and format errors. Fix everything it catches before moving on.¹²
If you are not the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR), click Complete and Notify AOR. Only someone with an AOR role can submit.
The AOR clicks Sign and Submit. That button does not appear unless the application passed the check process and your SAM.gov registration is active.¹²

If Grants.gov rejects the application because of errors, you can correct and resubmit, but only before the deadline. Late resubmissions are not accepted.¹

The Errors That Cause Most Rejections

The most frequent cause of a Grants.gov rejection is an expired SAM.gov registration.¹ Since registrations expire every 365 days and renewals can take weeks to process, start the renewal well before your submission deadline. A missing or incorrect UEI number is another top rejection trigger.

Beyond system-level rejections, applications get returned or scored poorly for preventable budget errors:

Math that does not add up. Section A totals must equal Section B totals. The SF-424 cover sheet total must equal the Section A grand total. The narrative must match both. Reviewers catch discrepancies quickly.
Construction costs on a non-construction form. Any amount on line 6g signals the wrong form or a misunderstanding of the program.
Unallowable costs such as alcoholic beverages, entertainment, or lobbying expenses in the budget.
File problems. File names longer than 50 characters, special characters in file names, and unsupported file formats can all cause rejection at the Grants.gov level.¹

Work backward from the check: if the totals in Section A, Section B, the narrative, and the SF-424 all agree, line 6g is zero, your SAM.gov registration is current, and no unallowable costs are hiding in Line 6h, the form is ready to submit.

1
Health Resources & Services Administration. HRSA Application Guide
2
SAM.gov. Entity Registration
3
Grants.gov. Grant Terminology
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U.S. Department of Labor. Frequently Asked Questions – Cost Price Determination Division
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Grants.gov. SF-424A Budget Information Form Instructions
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Grants.gov. SF-424A Budget Information Form
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eCFR. 2 CFR 200.439 – Equipment and Other Capital Expenditures
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National Institutes of Health. G.360 – SF 424C Budget Information – Construction Programs
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eCFR. 2 CFR 200.414 – Indirect Costs
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eCFR. 2 CFR 200.306 – Cost Sharing
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U.S. Department of Labor. Instructions for Completing the Budget Narrative
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Grants.gov. Quick Start Guide for Applicants