NIH RPPR Estimated Unobligated Balance
In accordance with Section 8.1.1.1 of the NIH Grants Policy Statement, recipients of NIH grant awards under the SNAP mechanism are required to report, as part of the grant’s progress report, whether the estimated unobligated balance (including prior-year carryover) is expected to be greater than 25 percent of the current year’s total approved budget.
The “total approved budget” includes the amount awarded for the current year and any carryover from the previous budget period. If the unobligated balance is greater than 25 percent of the total approved budget, the recipient must provide an explanation and a plan for expenditure of those funds in the next budget period.
To assist with consistent calculation of the unobligated balance, please refer to the instructions below, and use the “Calculator for Unobligated Balance NIH RPPR” provided.
Note: The calculator is designed to ensure a consistent method of calculating the unobligated balance and is an effective tool under typical circumstances. Because the calculator estimates future expenditures based on actual expenditures to date, there may be cases where an unusual pattern of spending skews the estimated expenditures calculation.
When the calculation for estimated expenditures does not accurately capture your planned spending, contact your GO to discuss an alternative method of estimating. The alternative method will require documentation of all ongoing and planned expenditures.
Last Updated on March 17, 2021