OMB has finalized increases in the threshold for micro-purchases under federal financial assistance awards to $10,000, and the threshold for simplified acquisitions to $250,000.
The micropurchase threshold refers to purchases of supplies or services using simplified acquisition procedures below a designated amount, while the simplified acquisition threshold refers to purchases of property or services using small purchase methods below another designated amount.
Memo M-18-18 carries out increases ordered by the 2017 and 2018 DoD authorization laws. The 2017 law increased the micropurchase threshold from $3,500 to $10,000 for certain universities, nonprofits and research institutes; the 2018 law extended that increase to all recipients while increasing the simplified acquisition threshold from $100,000 to $250,000 for all recipients.
“Agencies are required to implement these changes in the terms and conditions of their awards, and recipients of existing federal financial assistance awards may implement them in their internal controls,” the memo says.
It further implements an approval process for certain institutions that want to request micro-purchase thresholds higher than $10,000.
