Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA): How to Prepare One

The schedule of expenditures of federal awards, usually called the SEFA, is the part of a single audit that the auditee builds and the auditor tests. It lists every federal program the organization spent money under during its fiscal year, and the auditor reports whether it is fairly stated in relation to the financial statements.

A SEFA is a schedule that lists each federal program an auditee expended money under in its fiscal year, with the program's Assistance Listing number, the amount expended, the pass-through details for subawards and the amount passed on to subrecipients. Most of the work lies in deciding what counts as expended and in tying the total to the ledger. The audit around it is covered in the guide to single audit requirements.

Quick Answer: What Is a Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards?

A schedule of expenditures of federal awards lists each federal program by agency and Assistance Listing number with the total expended in the fiscal year, the pass-through entity and its identifying number for subawards, and the amount passed to subrecipients. It covers the same period as the financial statements, and notes explain accounting policies and any de minimis election.

Free download: SEFA workbook (schedule, tie-out, notes and ALN list tabs) as Excel .xlsx. No email address required.

What Goes on a SEFA: The Required Fields

The required content is set out in six numbered paragraphs of 2 CFR 200.510(b) (eCFR, current as of October 2026). The auditee must prepare the schedule for the period covered by its financial statements, and the schedule must include the total federal awards expended under the expended rule in 2 CFR 200.502.

The rule adds that an auditee may include extra information that funders or pass-through entities request, and gives one example: when a program has several award years, the auditee may list the amount expended for each year separately (2 CFR 200.510(b), eCFR, current as of October 2026).

SEFA Instructions: The Order to Work In

Preparing the schedule goes fastest in a fixed order. First, list every federal award active during the fiscal year, including awards received as a subrecipient. Second, determine what was expended on each in the year. Third, add the program number and pass-through details to each line. Fourth, group programs that belong to a cluster. Fifth, total the schedule and compare it to the ledger. Sixth, write the notes.

What Counts as Expended

A federal award is expended when the activity related to it occurs, not when cash arrives (2 CFR 200.502, eCFR, current as of October 2026). The rule lists the events: expenditures on grants and cooperative agreements, disbursements to subrecipients, use of loan proceeds, receipt of property, receipt or use of program income, and distribution of food commodities, among others.

Several categories have their own rules.

The table paraphrases 2 CFR 200.502(b) through (i) (eCFR, current as of October 2026). Payments received as a contractor for goods or services under a federal award are outside the audit rules altogether (2 CFR 200.501(g), eCFR, current as of October 2026), so they do not belong on the schedule.

The practical consequence is that the schedule follows spending, not award letters. An award of $500,000 with $140,000 of activity in the year puts $140,000 on this year's schedule, and the rest appears in the years it is spent.

Illustrative figures, not data from a real organization.

SEFA Example: A Worked Schedule

This example covers a fiscal year ended December 31, 2026 for a composite county (illustrative figures). It has two direct programs, a cluster of two programs, a pass-through award and a loan program. The Assistance Listing numbers are invented, so they do not match real programs.

Illustrative figures, not data from a real organization.

The arithmetic ties: the cluster rows add to $275,500, and $412,000 plus $236,500 plus $275,500 plus $310,000 plus $150,000 equals $1,384,000; subrecipients received $120,000 plus $40,000, or $160,000. The loan line shows $150,000 because the county began the year with a $150,000 loan balance that still carries continuing federal requirements, and no new loans were made or received during the year, which is how the loan rule in 2 CFR 200.502(b) counts it (eCFR, current as of October 2026).

Example Notes to the Schedule

The notes carry what the numbers cannot. For this composite county, they would say that the schedule uses the expended basis and the county's regular accounting policies; that the county has a negotiated indirect cost rate and did not elect the de minimis rate of up to 15 percent (2 CFR 200.414(f), eCFR, current as of October 2026); and that the balance of the Program D1 loan outstanding at year end was $138,000. The last item is required by 2 CFR 200.510(b)(5), because a loan balance belongs in the notes as well as in the amount expended.

Assistance Listing Numbers, Clusters and Research Awards

An Assistance Listing number is the identifier for a federal assistance program, and the schedule groups programs by agency using it. Assistance Listings are the public listing of federal assistance programs run by the General Services Administration at SAM.gov (2 CFR 200.1, eCFR, current as of October 2026), and SAM.gov's Assistance Listings page describes them as public descriptions of federal programs that provide grants, loans, scholarships, insurance and other assistance (SAM.gov, read October 2026).

Assistance Listing Number on a SEFA: Where to Find It

Look on the award document first, then search SAM.gov by program name or number. The Federal Audit Clearinghouse tells filers that the number was formerly called the CFDA, that its first two digits are the agency prefix, and that when you are unsure which number applies, you should contact the federal awarding agency (FAC Section 1 workbook instructions, read October 2026).

When no number can be found, the rule lets the schedule carry another identifying number (2 CFR 200.510(b)(3), eCFR, current as of October 2026). The FAC's workbook handles this with a "U" followed by two digits for an unknown number, and requires additional award identification on that line (FAC Section 1 workbook instructions, read October 2026).

Clusters and Research Awards

A cluster of programs is a grouping of closely related programs that share common compliance requirements. The types are research and development, student financial aid and other clusters that OMB or a state defines, and a cluster counts as one program when major programs are chosen (2 CFR 200.1, eCFR, current as of October 2026). On the schedule you give the cluster name, list its programs and show the cluster total.

For research and development, total expended must be shown either by individual federal award or by federal agency and major subdivision within the agency. The rule's own example is that the National Institutes of Health is a major subdivision within the Department of Health and Human Services (2 CFR 200.510(b)(1), eCFR, current as of October 2026). In the FAC workbook, a research cluster program whose three-character number extension is unknown is entered as "RD", again with additional award identification (FAC Section 1 workbook instructions, read October 2026).

Pass-Through Awards on a SEFA

When your federal money comes through a state, county, university or other organization, the schedule names that pass-through entity and the identifying number it assigned. The FAC's workbook asks first whether the award came directly from a federal agency, and for an indirect award requires the pass-through entity's name and its number when assigned (FAC Section 1 workbook instructions, read October 2026). Look for the pass-through entity's number on the subaward agreement, and ask the pass-through entity if it is not there. The duties on the other side of that agreement are covered in the guide to pass-through grant management.

If you pass money to subrecipients yourself, show the total provided from each program. The FAC adds that transfers between your own departments are not subawards (FAC Section 1 workbook instructions, read October 2026).

Reconcile the Schedule to the Ledger and the Financial Statements

The schedule must cover the same period as the financial statements, and the auditor decides whether it is fairly stated in relation to them (2 CFR 200.514, eCFR, current as of October 2026). That opinion matters beyond the audit: a low-risk auditee needs an unmodified opinion on the schedule in each of the two preceding periods (2 CFR 200.520, eCFR, current as of October 2026), and low-risk status lowers the share of federal spending the auditor must cover.

Reconciliation means the schedule total agrees with federal expenditures in the general ledger, line by line where possible. These checks follow from the rules already cited and are the ones to run before sending the schedule to the auditor.

One check involves the filing form rather than the rule. The FAC's notes workbook asks whether the auditee used the de minimis cost rate and, when read in October 2026, still described that rate as 10 percent of modified total direct costs, while the regulation now allows up to 15 percent (FAC Section 2 workbook instructions, read October 2026; 2 CFR 200.414(f), eCFR, current as of October 2026). Answer by whether the de minimis rate was elected, state the percentage actually used in the notes to the schedule, and confirm the wording with your auditor.

Who Prepares the SEFA, When, and Where It Fits

The auditee prepares the schedule, not the auditor. The rule lists preparing financial statements "including the schedule of expenditures of Federal awards" among the auditee's responsibilities, and the auditee must give the auditor access to the records behind it (2 CFR 200.508, eCFR, current as of October 2026). Because the auditor tests the schedule as part of the audit, have it ready before fieldwork starts.

The schedule is the first item of the reporting package, together with the financial statements, followed by the summary schedule of prior findings, the auditor's reports and the corrective action plan (2 CFR 200.512(c), eCFR, current as of October 2026). In the FAC submission, the schedule's lines go into the Section 1 federal awards workbook and its notes into the Section 2 notes workbook (FAC SF-SAC workbooks, read October 2026). The Section 1 amounts are rounded to the nearest whole dollar, and a negative expenditure is entered as a negative number (FAC Section 1 workbook instructions, read October 2026).

SEFA Template: The Free Workbook

The free workbook has a Read Me tab and four working tabs. The SEFA tab is the schedule, with one row per program and columns for agency, Assistance Listing number, another identifying number when there is none, program name, cluster, direct or pass-through, pass-through entity and number, amount expended, amount passed to subrecipients, a loan flag and the end-of-period loan balance. A row check column flags a missing agency, number, amount, pass-through name or loan balance, and a total row sums the schedule. The Tie-out tab compares that total with the general ledger figure you enter, counts the rows that still need attention and totals each cluster, which the finished schedule must show. The Notes tab lists six common note topics with sample wording and the rule behind each, and the ALN list tab holds your own program numbers and titles so the schedule can look them up. The sample rows are the composite county from the worked example, and the Assistance Listing numbers in them are invented. The workbook is a starting layout to adapt with your auditor, not accounting advice.

The workbook fills fastest when the award details already sit in one list. In GrantCue, every plan, Free included, keeps each award in a pipeline with its tasks, comments and post-award budget, and CSV and Excel export moves that list of awards into a spreadsheet like this one (grantcue.com pricing page, October 2026). GrantCue does not prepare the schedule, file with the FAC or perform the audit. Government teams can read more on the public sector solutions page.

FAQ

What is a SEFA?

A SEFA is the schedule of expenditures of federal awards: a list of each federal program an auditee spent money under in its fiscal year, with Assistance Listing numbers, amounts expended, pass-through details and amounts passed to subrecipients, plus notes (2 CFR 200.510(b), eCFR, current as of October 2026). It is part of the single audit reporting package.

Who prepares the schedule of expenditures of federal awards?

The auditee prepares it, alongside its financial statements (2 CFR 200.508(b), eCFR, current as of October 2026). The auditor then tests whether the schedule is fairly stated in relation to the financial statements as a whole and gives an opinion on that point (2 CFR 200.514(b), eCFR, current as of October 2026).

What is the difference between a SEFA and a financial statement?

Financial statements report an entity's financial position, results of operations or changes in net assets, and cash flows where appropriate (2 CFR 200.510(a), eCFR, current as of October 2026). The SEFA reports only federal awards expended, by program. Both cover the same period and the auditor ties one to the other.

How do you show a pass-through award on a SEFA?

Show the program under its federal agency and Assistance Listing number, then add the name of the pass-through entity and the identifying number it assigned (2 CFR 200.510(b)(2), eCFR, current as of October 2026). The number is normally on the subaward agreement. If you pass funds onward, also show the amount provided to subrecipients.

Where do you find the Assistance Listing number for an award?

Check the award or subaward document first, then search SAM.gov's Assistance Listings by program name or number (SAM.gov, read October 2026). If you cannot tell which number applies, the FAC advises contacting the federal awarding agency (FAC Section 1 workbook instructions, read October 2026).

Does a nonprofit need a SEFA?

A nonprofit needs one if it expends $1,000,000 or more in federal awards in its fiscal year, because it then must have a single audit (2 CFR 200.501(a), eCFR, current as of October 2026). Under that amount the federal audit rules do not require one for the year, though a funder or pass-through entity may still ask for similar information. The financial statement question is covered in audited financials required for grants.

Quarterly Steps That Keep the Schedule Ready

A schedule built in the audit month depends on memory. A schedule built each quarter is a report on records that already exist.

Each quarter, add every new federal award and subaward to the register with its Assistance Listing number, award number and pass-through details. Pull the expended amounts for each program from the ledger and compare them with the running schedule total. Update the amount passed to subrecipients for each program, and record any loan activity and the end-of-period balance. For a tracking structure behind those quarterly pulls, the grant expenditure tracking spreadsheet guide covers one tab per award, and the federal grant compliance checklist covers the other duties by award phase.

The schedule rules quoted here are the text in force since October 1, 2024 (eCFR, current as of October 2026). OMB's proposed rewrite of Part 200, published May 29, 2026, is not final and, as read in October 2026, does not change 2 CFR 200.502 or 200.510 (91 FR 32198, Federal Register, May 29, 2026); the wider rulebook is in the Uniform Guidance overview. At year end, write the notes, confirm the de minimis election against your current indirect cost rate agreement, and hand the auditor a schedule that already ties to the ledger.