Staff Fringe Benefits

Staff benefits must be determined or estimated for sponsored project accounts. Explore these resources to help determine staff benefits on a real cost basis or using benefit estimators.

On this page

Staff benefits must be determined or estimated for sponsored project accounts. Depending on the mix of personnel assigned to the project, the staff benefit rate may show significant variation. While it may be possible to apply an average benefit rate (30%), it may be more appropriate in some situations to calculate the staff benefits on an employee-by-employee basis. The following resources can help in determining or estimating staff benefit costs in proposals.

Determining staff benefits on a real cost basis

Fringe Benefits as a Percentage of Salary: This spreadsheet (sometimes called the “Final Fringe Report”) shows the costs of benefits as a percentage of salary based on a range of salaries. It is updated each year in June/July by U-M Benefits. View Benefits as a Percentage of Salary Report for Fiscal Year 2026 (DropBox) and find historical Final Fringe reports below. 

Staff Fringe Benefits Table for the Current Calendar Year: This spreadsheet helps determine appropriate staff benefits to be included in sponsored proposals. For various salary categories, it presents the maximum levels of staff benefits chargeable to federally sponsored accounts. It displays these levels as flat costs and is updated each January by U-M Benefits. View the Maximum Fringe Benefits Report as of 2026 (U-M only access) and historical versions below.

Determining costs using benefit estimators

In the proposal stage, it may not be possible to determine the actual configuration of staff benefits for a particular research project. Therefore, an estimator often is used based on an average percentage of salaries committed to the project. However, if the mix of salaries for faculty and staff is distributed over a broad range (e.g., from $25,000 to $180,000), it may be appropriate to use several estimators to ensure adequate funds for staff benefits are provided in the proposal budget.

Benefits percentages vary widely – from 25% for salaries of $180,000 to almost 81% for salaries of $24,000. One estimator often used in the past, 30%, had been the midpoint in previous ranges. Units are encouraged to examine recent benefit expenditures to determine if a different estimator or several estimators should be used.