For Federal Founders

Free SBIR Phase I Budget Calculator (DoD/NIH/NSF)

Build a FAR-compliant Phase I cost volume for DoD, NIH, or NSF. Direct labor, subcontractors, materials, indirect, and fee — with ceiling checks and CSV/Markdown export.

Agency & ProjectCeiling auto-loads. Override only if your topic specifies a different cap.

Agency
Topic / Project name

Direct LaborHourly rates are loaded labor (salary + fringe). PI rate must be defensible against your last 3 years of W-2 history.

Role / Name
Hours
$/hr

Subcontractors / ConsultantsPhase I subcontracting limit: 33% of total award (DoD); 33% NIH/NSF Phase I per SBA rules.

Materials, Travel, Other Direct Costs

Materials & supplies
Travel (conference, kickoff)
Cloud / compute / software
Other direct (tooling, IP)

Indirect Rate & FeeNo NICRA? Use 20-40% indirect. Fee is capped at 7% of (direct + indirect) per FAR 15.404-4.

Indirect rate (%)
Indirect base
Fee (%) — max 7%

Phase I Budget Summary

Direct labor$0
Subcontractors$0
Materials & ODC$0
Total direct cost$0
Indirect (25%)$0
Subtotal (DC + IDC)$0
Fee (7%)$0
Total Phase I$0

How this SBIR Phase I budget calculator works

Phase I SBIR cost volumes follow a standard FAR-compliant structure: direct labor (PI, co-PI, engineers), subcontractors and consultants, materials and other direct costs (ODC), indirect costs (overhead and G&A), and fee. The calculator auto-loads agency ceilings: DoD $140K, NIH $240K, and NSF $305K (verify your specific topic, since some DoD components like AFWERX use $250K Direct-to-Phase-II ceilings and NIH HEAL/SBIR variants run higher).

Indirect rate handling: if your firm has no Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA), DCAA generally accepts 20-40% on Phase I as long as your basis is documented. Fee is capped at 7% of total direct plus indirect under FAR 15.404-4(c)(4)(i)(C). The calculator enforces the cap and warns if you exceed the agency ceiling so you can rebalance hours, subs, or ODC before submission.

Export your budget as CSV (for spreadsheet ingestion into the DoD SBIR Volume 3 itemized template, NIH SF424 R&R Budget, or NSF Fastlane) or as a Markdown table you can paste into a draft. Nothing leaves your browser — this tool is 100% client-side.