Fringe Benefits

Fringe Benefits rates are a direct cost item and represent the pooled cost of employee benefits divided by the total salaries in each University employee class.  Proposals should be budgeted using only approved fringe rates rather than basing outyears on projected rates. 

Effective for FY24 (beginning July 1, 2023), Harvard has received approval from the Federal government to consolidate our 6 fringe benefit rates into 3 rates as shown below:   

  FY24
DHHS Approval Date  3/31/2023
Academic (obj. codes 6010, 6020, 6030, 6040, 6150) 21.5%
Staff* (obj. codes 6050, 6051, 6070, 6071, 6080)   41.3%
Other (obj. codes 6152, 6090, 6120) 9.8%
Postdoc Stipendee (obj. code 6450) Flat rate:
$9,563 / year+ 
$797 / month

The Office for Sponsored Programs Fringe Benefits Rates page contains more information about Fringe Benefits, details rates for appointment types beyond those listed above, and posts copies of recent and current Fringe Rate agreements. 

Additional details about the specific components that comprise the Fringe Rates and the Postdoc Stipendee Flat Rate may be found here:

*Staff fringe rate is inclusive of the Vacation Fringe Assessment: 31.7% “regular” fringe + 9.6% vacation fringe 

+ FY24 Postdoc Stipendee rate and FY24 Rate Breakdown documents are pending as of late April 2023.  When budgeting for Postdoc Stipendees, continue to use the FY23 rate until the new rate is published. 

For guidance on calculating vacation fringe on professional staff salaries, see Personnel: Professional Staff
For policy information related to vacation fringe, see the Absence Management Policy (OSP)