Program Income

Procedure Date: November 2019
Revision: 2
Last Review: July 2022

Program income can be described as income earned by the University of Nevada, Reno (University) that is directly generated by a sponsored activity or earned as a result of a sponsored award. The following are some examples of program income:

• Conference registration fees when a grant funds the conference
• Funds generated through the sale of research materials such as tissue cultures or research animals
• Sale, rental or usage fees of laboratory equipment purchased with grant funds
• License fees

The University complies with the federal guidelines for program income which exist in the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, 2 CFR 200, §200.307.

Accrual of Program Income

The accrual of program income requires prior sponsor approval, with the discussion of program income normally occurring in the budget justification of the proposal. Additionally, anticipated program income should be declared on the internal Transmittal form as part of the InfoEd proposal development process.

Because the University is required by sponsoring agencies to keep program income and award funds separate for accounting purposes, a separate program income grant worktag will be established for the collection, spending and accounting of earned program income. The separate program income grant worktag will aid the Sponsored Projects post-award grant accountant in reporting the accrued program income.

Treatment of Program Income

Award terms and conditions typically dictate for what purpose the program income is to be used and whether the program income will be added to or deducted from the overall award amount. For awards made to institutions of higher education and nonprofit research institutions, the addition method will apply (unless the sponsoring agency specifies how program income is to be used), and earned program income will be added to the award amount thereby increasing the overall award. If the sponsoring agency specifies that program income is to be deductive, the earned program income will be deducted from the award amount thereby reducing the overall award amount by the amount of program income.

Use of Program Income

Program income must be used as stipulated in the award terms and conditions and must be spent within the award period of performance. Residual program income at the end of the period of performance may not be transferred to any other spending worktag, and instruction must be obtained from the sponsor regarding the treatment of unspent program income.