NIH Salary Cap Updated for FY 2026

Published January 30, 2026, via Research News

Salary Limitation for Grants and Cooperative Agreements FY 2026

On January 28,2026, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced an increase to the salary cap for Executive Level II, raising the limit to $228,000, effective January 11, 2026. This change applies to NIH grants, cooperative agreements, extramural research and development contracts, and Other Transaction awards.

For active awards, including awards that have been issued in Federal Fiscal Year 2026 (including new and continuation award), Workday will begin applying the new salary cap with the February payroll.

SPA will revise the NIH Salary Cap Policies and Procedures accordingly.

Please see NIH notice: NOT-OD-26-034 for more information.

If you have any questions about this, please contact Krystina Gross kgross@wustl.edu.