The single audit: threshold, scope and deadlines
Grantable compliance team · Figures checked against the eCFR text on October 4, 2026
A non-federal entity that expends $1,000,000 or more in federal awards during its fiscal year must have a single audit for that year (2 CFR 200.501). The threshold was $750,000 before the 2024 revision. The audit package is due to the Federal Audit Clearinghouse 30 days after you receive the auditor’s report or nine months after year end, whichever is earlier.
- Threshold
- $1,000,000 expended a year (was $750,000) · 200.501
- Due
- 30 days after the report or 9 months after year end · 200.512
- Below the threshold
- Exempt, but records must stay available · 200.501(e)
Do you need one?
Count what you expended, not what you were awarded, across every federal source in your fiscal year: direct awards and money received as a subrecipient through a state or another organization. Expenditure is based on when the activity related to the award happens (§ 200.502). Payments you receive as a contractor for goods or services are not federal awards expended (§ 200.501(g)).
Below $1,000,000 you are exempt from federal audit requirements for that year, but your records must stay available to the agency, the pass-through entity and GAO. A pass-through entity or your own board may still ask for a financial statement audit.
What the audit covers
- Your financial statements and the schedule of expenditures of federal awards (SEFA), which you prepare (§ 200.510).
- Internal control over compliance and compliance with federal requirements for your major programs, which the auditor picks with a risk-based method. Programs above the Type A threshold, $1,000,000 for auditees expending up to $34 million, are assessed first (§ 200.518).
- The auditor tests against OMB’s annual Compliance Supplement (Appendix XI to Part 200).
- If you spend federal money under only one program (other than R&D), you may be able to elect a program-specific audit instead (§ 200.501(c)).
Your responsibilities as the auditee
Under § 200.508 and § 200.511 you must:
- Arrange the audit and make sure it is submitted on time.
- Prepare the financial statements and the SEFA.
- Prepare a summary schedule of prior audit findings and a corrective action plan for current findings, using the auditor’s reference numbers.
- Submit the reporting package and data collection form to the Federal Audit Clearinghouse within 30 days of the auditor’s report or nine months after year end, whichever comes first (§ 200.512). A due date on a weekend or federal holiday moves to the next business day.
How to make it go smoothly
- Keep a running SEFA by Assistance Listing number all year, not just at year end.
- Have written procedures for the areas auditors test most: procurement, time and effort, subrecipient monitoring, internal controls and equipment.
- Close out prior findings with evidence. Two clean years can make you a low-risk auditee with reduced audit coverage (§ 200.520).
Ask how this applies to your award
Upload your funding notice, budget or award terms and ask. Grantable answers from its compliance database of federal, agency and state rules, with citations.
The regulation, section by section
- 2 CFR 200.501 Audit requirements
- 2 CFR 200.502 Basis for determining Federal awards expended
- 2 CFR 200.510 Financial statements
- 2 CFR 200.512 Report submission
- 2 CFR 200.511 Audit findings follow-up
Questions
What is the single audit threshold?
$1,000,000 of federal awards expended in your fiscal year, under 2 CFR 200.501 as revised in 2024. It was $750,000 for fiscal years before the revision took effect.
Do for-profit organizations need a single audit?
No. Subpart F does not apply to for-profit organizations. A pass-through entity must set its own requirements for for-profit subrecipients, such as pre-award or post-award audits.
When is the single audit due?
Within 30 calendar days after you receive the auditor’s report, or nine months after the end of your fiscal year, whichever is earlier (2 CFR 200.512). Your cognizant or oversight agency for audit can grant an extension.
Sources
How we check: every figure on this page is compared with the current eCFR text and re-checked when the regulation changes. Last checked October 4, 2026. Plain-English summaries for information only, not legal advice. Always check the regulation text, your award terms and your agency’s guidance.