The cost of equipment should be allocated to each funding source that will use the equipment at the time of purchase. The costs do not need to be re-allocated throughout the Award period or life of the equipment, if actual usage changes.

Federal regulations allow for other use of the equipment in the following order of preference:  

  • Award under which the equipment was purchased
  • Awards funded by the same Awarding agency (e.g., if the original Award is NIH, then the equipment could be used on other NIH awards)
  • Other projects/programs supported by the Federal Government
  • Other non-federal projects/programs

2 CFR 200.313 Equipment has more information.

Re-allocation of the cost of the equipment to other Awards is not necessary for these reasons:

  • Increases administrative burden
  • Creates an audit risk
  • May result in over-allocation