Free Grant Budget Template (Excel & Google Sheets)

A grant budget tells the funder what the project costs and how you calculated each number. This free workbook gives you the structure and the formulas, so you can spend your time on the numbers and the justification.

Download the free grant budget template. The workbook has an Instructions sheet and four budget sheets: Budget, Personnel, Subawards, and Budget Justification. The sheets come with a fictional sample budget. If you use Google Sheets, upload the .xlsx file to Google Drive and open it with Google Sheets.

The template follows the federal cost categories and the modified total direct cost (MTDC) base in 2 CFR 200.1. It also works for foundation budgets. Delete the categories the funder does not use, and follow the funder's format when it has one.

What the template calculates

Sheet	What you enter	What the formulas do
Budget	The indirect cost rate, subaward cap, fringe rate, and the other cost categories by year	Total direct costs, the MTDC base, indirect costs, and the total request for each year
Personnel	Each position's annual salary, % effort, and months per year	Year 1 cost, and years 2 and 3 with an annual raise
Subawards	Each subaward's amount by year	The part of each subaward that enters the MTDC base, across all years
Budget Justification	One paragraph per category	Pulls each category total, and drafts the indirect cost paragraph

The defaults follow the 2024 Uniform Guidance: a 15% de minimis indirect cost rate, a $50,000 subaward cap, and a $10,000 equipment threshold. Awards made before October 1, 2024 may use the earlier values, which are 10%, $25,000, and $5,000. Check your award terms or funding notice before you set the rates.

How to fill in the template

1. Set the rates. On the Budget sheet, enter your indirect cost rate in B3, the subaward cap in B4, and your fringe benefit rate in B5. If you have a negotiated indirect cost rate agreement, use its rate and base.
2. Add personnel. On the Personnel sheet, enter each position, annual salary, percent of effort on this grant, and months worked per year. Enter the annual raise in B2. The Budget sheet takes salaries from this sheet and calculates fringe from them.
3. Add the other direct costs. On the Budget sheet, enter travel, supplies, contracts, and other costs for each year. Enter equipment, rental costs, and participant support costs in their own rows, because they are excluded from the MTDC base.
4. Add subawards. On the Subawards sheet, enter each subrecipient's amount by year. The sheet counts only the first $50,000 of each subaward in the base, across the whole award.
5. Check the totals. Read the Total direct costs, MTDC base, Indirect costs, and Total budget request rows. Compare the total with the funder's award ceiling.
6. Write the justification. On the Budget Justification sheet, write one short paragraph per category. Adapt the indirect cost paragraph in column D.

For a one-year budget, leave years 2 and 3 empty. To add rows, insert them inside the existing ranges, so the totals include them.

Worked example

The workbook's sample budget is fictional. It shows how the formulas treat each kind of cost in year 1.

Category	In MTDC base?	Year 1
Salaries and wages	Yes	$99,500.00
Fringe benefits (25%)	Yes	$24,875.00
Travel	Yes	$4,200.00
Materials and supplies	Yes	$6,000.00
Contracts for services	Yes	$12,000.00
Other direct costs	Yes	$3,000.00
Subawards	First part only	$30,000.00
Equipment	No	$18,500.00
Participant support costs	No	$15,000.00
Total direct costs		$213,075.00
MTDC base		$179,575.00
Indirect costs (15% of MTDC)		$26,936.25
Total budget request		$240,011.25

Salaries of $99,500 come from three positions. The Program Director earns $80,000 at 50% effort, which is $40,000. The Program Coordinator earns $52,000 at 100% effort. The Data Specialist earns $60,000 at 25% effort for 6 months, which is $7,500.

The MTDC base excludes the $18,500 of equipment and the $15,000 of participant support costs. The $30,000 subaward is all in the base in year 1, because it is under the $50,000 cap.

In year 2, the same subrecipient receives another $30,000. Only $20,000 of it enters the base, because $30,000 of the $50,000 cap was used in year 1. In year 3, none of the subaward enters the base. A common mistake is to reset the cap each year. That overstates the base and the indirect costs.

Over three years, the sample budget has $613,530.69 of direct costs, an MTDC base of $510,030.69, and $76,504.61 of indirect costs. The total request is $690,035.30. The workbook rounds indirect costs to the cent for each year and then adds the years.

To check one budget quickly without a spreadsheet, use the free indirect cost calculator. It applies the same MTDC rules.

Writing the budget justification

The budget justification explains each number. Reviewers look for three things: the cost is necessary for the project, the amount is reasonable, and you can show how you calculated it.

Category	What to explain
Salaries and wages	Each position, annual salary, % effort, months, and the basis for raises
Fringe benefits	The rate, what it covers, and whether it is a negotiated or actual rate
Travel	The trips, travelers, destinations, and the cost basis, such as per diem rates
Supplies	Items below the equipment threshold, and how you estimated the cost
Contracts for services	Each contractor or service, the deliverable, and how you will procure it
Subawards	Each subrecipient, its role, and its budget
Equipment	Each item at or above the equipment threshold, and why the project needs it
Participant support costs	Stipends, travel, or fees paid to participants, not to employees
Indirect costs	The rate, the base, and the source of the rate

The template drafts the indirect cost paragraph from your numbers. For the sample budget, the draft reads:

Indirect costs of $76,505 are calculated at 15.0% of modified total direct costs (MTDC) of $510,031. MTDC excludes equipment, capital expenditures, rental costs, participant support costs, tuition remission, scholarships and fellowships, patient care, and the portion of each subaward above $50,000.

If you use a negotiated rate, name the agreement, its date, and the base it defines. If you use the de minimis rate, say so.

Common grant budget mistakes

• Applying the indirect rate to all direct costs. The de minimis rate applies to the MTDC base, not to total direct costs. In the sample, applying 15% to total direct costs instead of MTDC would request $15,525 too much over three years.
• Resetting the subaward cap each year. The first $50,000 of each subaward enters the base once, across the whole award.
• Putting equipment in supplies. Items at or above the equipment threshold go in the equipment row, which is excluded from MTDC.
• Paying staff from participant support. Participant support costs are for participants, not employees.
• Leaving out raises and fringe in later years. Multi-year budgets need the cost in each year, not year 1 copied forward.
• Mismatched totals. The budget form, the justification, and any narrative must use the same numbers.

After the award: track budget versus actual

The proposal budget becomes the approved budget. After the award, you compare it with actual spending, usually by category, for each reporting period. Federal awards can also require prior approval for some budget changes. See federal budget revisions and prior approval.

To track spending in a spreadsheet, use the free grant tracking workbook. It has budget, expense, and reporting calendar sheets. If your books are in QuickBooks Online, see grant budget versus actual in QuickBooks.

Frequently asked questions

Is this grant budget template free?

Yes. The download needs no email or account. It is one Excel (.xlsx) file that also opens in Google Sheets.

Does the template work for foundation grants?

Yes. Use the categories the foundation asks for and delete the others. Many foundations set their own indirect cost limit, so follow the funder's guidelines for the rate.

What indirect cost rate should I use?

Use your negotiated indirect cost rate if you have one. If you do not, federal awards made on or after October 1, 2024 can use the 15% de minimis rate on MTDC. Earlier awards used 10%. Check your award terms.

Which costs are excluded from MTDC?

MTDC excludes equipment, capital expenditures, rental costs, participant support costs, tuition remission, scholarships and fellowships, patient care, and the part of each subaward above $50,000. See the MTDC guide for details.

Can I use the template for a one-year budget?

Yes. Leave years 2 and 3 empty. The totals and the indirect cost calculation still work.

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Download the free grant budget template for Excel and Google Sheets and replace the sample budget with your own.

How GrantLink supports this today

After you win the grant, GrantLink keeps its budget connected to your QuickBooks Online data. You enter the approved budget by category, link the grant's QuickBooks records, and GrantLink compares the budget with actual spending. You can split shared expenses and payroll across grants, and prepare funder reports that trace back to the source QuickBooks transactions. QuickBooks Online remains your accounting system, and GrantLink is read-only toward QuickBooks by default.