The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently announced the 2026 DHHS Level II salary rate limitation of $228,000 effective January 11, 2026. The equivalent Academic 10-month salary limitation is now $171,000.
NIH: Notice Number: NOT-OD-26-034
This salary limitation applies to the institutional base salary rate of pay. Therefore, the salary limits are applied relative to the FTE and effort percentage charged to an award. For more information, please refer to IU’s NIH Salary Limitation Policy (SPA-11-008).
ORA recommends proposals begin using the new salary cap level if possible and will continue to accept both the 2025 and 2026 salary limitations until February 17th. For proposals due on or after February 17, 2026, only the 2026 salary limitation will be accepted.
For active awards, units may begin using the new monthly salary rate as of February 1st. New awards will be established at the 2026 salary limitation.
Please visit the Salary Cap webpage for additional tools and information and email ora@iu.edu with any questions.