Single Audit Threshold 2026: 3 Steps to Check Your Status

By Aoba Works · Published October 23, 2026 · 17 min read

How this guide was made: drafted with AI assistance from the official sources linked below, then passed an automated editorial check before publishing. Our process

• Uniform Guidance
• 2 Cfr 200
• Federal Grants

For 2026, the single audit threshold is $1,000,000 in federal awards expended during your fiscal year. Under 2 CFR 200.501, a non-federal entity that expends $1,000,000 or more must get a single audit, or in limited cases a program-specific audit. That figure has applied to fiscal years beginning on or after October 1, 2024, when OMB's 2024 Uniform Guidance revision raised it from $750,000 (FAC submission guide). To check your own status, add up the federal money you actually spent in the year, compare the total to the threshold for the year your fiscal period began, and confirm that your entity type is covered.

Which option is right for you?

Your first move depends on how much federal money you spend and what kind of organization you are. Find your row below and open the page listed in it.

What Is the Single Audit Threshold?

The single audit threshold is the amount of federal awards you can expend in one fiscal year before a single audit becomes mandatory. It is currently $1,000,000. The rule is in 2 CFR 200.501(a): "A non-Federal entity that expends $1,000,000 or more during the non-Federal entity's fiscal year in Federal awards must have a single or program-specific audit conducted."

Three parts of that sentence decide most cases.

First, it says "expends." Receiving cash or signing an award doesn't count toward the threshold. Spending does. 2 CFR 200.502 bases the timing on "when the activity related to the Federal award occurs." That covers expenditure transactions, disbursements to subrecipients, loan proceeds, property received and program income.

Second, it covers all your federal awards combined. Direct grants, cooperative agreements, subawards from a state, federal loans and some non-cash assistance all go into one total. Non-cash assistance such as donated federal property is valued at fair market value at the time you receive it, or at the value the agency assigns (2 CFR 200.502).

Third, it is measured over your fiscal year, not the federal fiscal year, unless the two happen to match.

Here's an example. Say a community health nonprofit has a July–June fiscal year. In FY2026 it spends $640,000 from an HHS grant and $410,000 from a subaward passed through its state. Its federal awards expended total $1,050,000, so it needs a single audit, even though neither award reaches $1M by itself.

Entities below the line are not exempt from oversight. Under 2 CFR 200.501, their records "must be available for review or audit by appropriate officials of the Federal agency, pass-through entity, and the Government Accountability Office (GAO)."

What Is the Single Audit Threshold for 2026?

For fiscal years that begin in 2026, and for any fiscal year beginning on or after October 1, 2024, the threshold is $1,000,000. As of October 2026, no further increase has been adopted. OMB published a proposed rewrite of 2 CFR Part 200 on May 29, 2026 (document 2026-10817). Accounting firm commentary on that proposal reports that "the single audit threshold remains $1,000,000" (Pease Bell). The proposal targets grant administration and award terms. OMB aimed for an October 1, 2026 effective date, but as of the latest updates reviewed, a final rule had not been confirmed as published (CASRAI). Check eCFR 2 CFR 200.501 before you rely on any figure.

The date your fiscal year began is what matters. The Federal Audit Clearinghouse uses the same split in its eligibility screen: "$750,000 in federal awards for fiscal years beginning before October 1, 2024" and "$1,000,000 in federal awards for fiscal years beginning on or after October 1, 2024" (FAC).

A few mistakes come up often:

• Using the date your award was signed. Your audit year depends on your fiscal year, not on when the grant agreement was signed.
• Assuming a year that ends in 2025 always gets $1M. A July 2024 – June 2025 year began before October 1, 2024, so the $750,000 threshold still applies to it.
• Waiting for the 2026 Compliance Supplement before deciding. The Supplement tells auditors what to test. It doesn't set the threshold. The final 2026 Supplement was delayed, and a draft went to the AICPA's audit quality center for planning only (Baker Tilly; BPM). Your threshold test doesn't depend on it.

What Is the Audit Threshold (General, Non-Federal)?

"Audit threshold" can also mean a state law, funder or lender trigger for a financial statement audit. Those triggers are separate from the federal $1,000,000 single audit rule. A single audit tests how you spend federal money. Other audits come from other rules and can still apply when you are under $1M in federal spending.

2 CFR 200.501 says entities under the threshold are exempt from federal audit requirements "for that year." It doesn't override state law or private contracts.

Two mistakes to watch for:

• A nonprofit spends $400,000 in federal funds and decides it needs no audit at all. Its state or its biggest foundation may still require audited financial statements. Check both.
• A for-profit company assumes the federal rule covers it. Subpart F "does not apply to for-profit organizations." For for-profit subrecipients, "the pass-through entity is responsible for establishing requirements to ensure compliance" (2 CFR 200.501). That means your subaward or Notice of Award can contain its own audit clause. If you're a small business applying for federal money, the small business grants guide explains where those terms appear.

How to Run the 3-Step Single Audit Status Check

The check has three steps: total your federal awards expended for the fiscal year, compare the total to the right threshold, and confirm your entity type. If you're over, begin lining up a Yellow Book auditor. Plan on 30 to 60 minutes if your accounting system tags federal funds. Plan on more time if it doesn't.

Step 1: Total federal awards expended (not received)

1. Pull your general ledger for the full fiscal year, using the fiscal period start and end dates exactly as they appear in your bylaws or charter.
2. List every federal award, including subawards from a state, county, university or other nonprofit that are funded with federal money. Each one should come with an Assistance Listing number (formerly CFDA). If a subaward agreement doesn't show one, ask the pass-through entity.
3. For each award, add up the expenses incurred in the year. Use the activity date, not the date the reimbursement arrived (2 CFR 200.502).
4. Add federal loans: new loans made in the year, plus prior-year balances that still carry compliance requirements, plus any interest subsidy received (2 CFR 200.502).
5. Add non-cash federal assistance, such as donated property, at fair market value.
6. Leave out payments you received as a contractor (vendor). Under 2 CFR 200.501, payments for contractor services aren't subject to these audit requirements. If you can't tell whether an agreement is a subaward or a contract, the grant vs cooperative agreement guide covers how federal instruments are labeled.

Step 2: Compare to the correct threshold

1. Look up when your fiscal year began. If it began on or after October 1, 2024, use $1,000,000. If it began earlier, use $750,000.
2. If your total equals or exceeds the threshold, you're in. The rule says "$1,000,000 or more," so exactly $1,000,000 counts.
3. If you're within roughly 10% of the line, have your accountant review the subaward-versus-contract calls and the loan figures, because those are the items that most often move the total.

Step 3: Confirm entity type and next action

1. The FAC submission process is for "non-profits, state and local governments, institutions of higher education, and Indian tribes or Tribal organizations" (FAC eligibility). If you're one of those and over the threshold, you need a single audit. The alternative is a program-specific audit, but that's only available when you expend under a single federal program and no financial statement audit is required, or for R&D with prior agency approval (2 CFR 200.501).
2. If you're a for-profit, go back to your award terms (see the section above).
3. Contact auditors early. The audit must follow Government Auditing Standards, so ask each firm to confirm it performs single audits under GAGAS. The AICPA publishes its GAQC membership directory by state as one place to start.

Here's an example of all three steps. A tribal housing organization's fiscal year runs Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2026. It spends $720,000 under a HUD program and $310,000 under a USDA subaward from its state. It also receives $150,000 under a contract to provide services to a federal agency. The first two count: $1,030,000. The contract payment is vendor income, so it's excluded. The fiscal year began after October 1, 2024, so the threshold is $1,000,000. The organization is a tribal organization and has two programs, so it needs a single audit.

What Is the Single Audit Major Program Threshold?

The major program threshold, called the Type A threshold, decides which of your federal programs auditors test in depth. It isn't the same thing as the single audit trigger. For entities expending between $1,000,000 and $34 million, the Type A threshold is also $1,000,000, which is why people mix up the two numbers.

Once you're in a single audit, the auditor sorts your programs. Programs at or above the Type A threshold are Type A. Smaller ones are Type B. Type A programs are assessed for risk, and the auditor only has to risk-assess Type B programs that exceed 25% of the Type A threshold (2 CFR 200.518). Here is the full table from 2 CFR 200.518(b)(1):

Coverage rules also apply. The major programs the auditor selects must together cover at least 40% of total federal awards expended, or 20% if you qualify as a low-risk auditee (2 CFR 200.518).

Back to the tribal housing example, with $1,030,000 expended. Its Type A threshold is $1,000,000, so neither the $720,000 HUD program nor the $310,000 USDA program is Type A. Both are Type B. Each is above $250,000 (25% of $1M), so both are candidates for risk assessment, and whatever the auditor picks has to reach the 40% coverage floor of $412,000. The auditor makes the final selection. The table shows you how the logic works, but it doesn't let you pick your own major programs.

Low-risk status reduces coverage to 20%. To qualify under 2 CFR 200.520, you need two consecutive years of timely single audits, unmodified opinions, no material weaknesses, no going-concern doubt, and no Type A program with material weaknesses, modified opinions or questioned costs over 5% of that program's expenditures. A first-time auditee can't qualify. Expect the 40% floor in your first year.

What Are Single Audit Standards?

A single audit is conducted under Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS, also called the Yellow Book) and the Uniform Guidance compliance rules. A standard financial statement audit done only under GAAS doesn't satisfy the requirement.

The standards stack in layers:

• AICPA auditing standards (GAAS) for the financial statement opinion.
• GAO's Government Auditing Standards. The 2024 revision is effective for financial audits of periods beginning on or after December 15, 2025, and it requires audit organizations to have a system of quality management in place by that date (GRF CPAs; Wolters Kluwer). If your fiscal year begins January 1, 2026, your audit falls under the 2024 Yellow Book.
• 2 CFR 200 Subpart F, which defines the reports, major program selection and auditee duties.
• The OMB Compliance Supplement, which tells auditors which compliance requirements to test for each program. The 2026 edition covers audits of fiscal years beginning after June 30, 2025 (Baker Tilly).

What this means if you're hiring:

• A firm that only does GAAS audits may not meet the Yellow Book's independence and continuing-education requirements. Ask each firm directly whether it performs GAGAS single audits, and when its last peer review was. The AICPA Peer Review Public File shows peer review enrollment and whether a firm is a GAQC member.
• If your bookkeeper or a consultant prepared your financial statements or SEFA, that can raise Yellow Book independence questions for the firm doing the audit. Tell candidate firms up front who is doing what.

What Are the Single Audit Requirements for 2026?

Crossing $1,000,000 means you have to hire a qualified auditor, prepare a reporting package and submit it with the data collection form to the Federal Audit Clearinghouse. The deadline is 30 days after you receive the auditor's report or nine months after fiscal year-end, whichever is earlier (2 CFR 200.512(a)).

The reporting package has four parts (2 CFR 200.512(c)):

1. Financial statements and the schedule of expenditures of Federal awards (SEFA)
2. Summary schedule of prior audit findings
3. Auditor's report(s)
4. Corrective action plan

The data collection form (SF-SAC) includes a statement signed by a senior-level representative confirming the information is accurate and authorizing public posting on the FAC (2 CFR 200.512(b)). Audits submitted to the FAC are posted publicly, so write findings responses as though anyone could read them.

Submitting on FAC.gov: exact screens

The FAC submission guide walks through these screens:

1. Click Submit an audit and sign in with Login.gov. Old Census FAC credentials no longer work.
2. On Auditee information, enter your UEI (the 12-character ID from SAM.gov) and your fiscal period start date and end date.
3. On the FAC submission eligibility page, answer one multiple-choice question about entity type and three true/false questions. The screen states both thresholds: $750,000 and $1,000,000.
4. On the Audit submission access page, add email addresses for the Auditee certifying official, Auditor certifying official, auditee contacts and auditor contacts. The emails must match each person's Login.gov email.
5. Complete the SF-SAC workbooks from the FAC's audit resources page, upload the reporting package, and have both certifying officials certify before final submission.

Example deadline: if your fiscal year ends June 30, 2026, the outer limit is March 31, 2027. If your auditor delivers the report on November 15, 2026, the 30-day clock runs out first, on December 15, 2026.

Common mistakes and fixes

Single audit costs are allowable for entities that are required to have one, as "a reasonably proportionate share" (2 CFR 200.425). How you recover them depends on your indirect cost setup. The de minimis 15% election guide covers that choice.

Single Audit Limit 2026 vs Prior Years: What Changed?

The limit went from $750,000 to $1,000,000, a 33% increase, for fiscal years beginning on or after October 1, 2024, and it's still $1,000,000 in 2026. Other numbers changed in the same 2024 revision, and some of them affect your SEFA and budgets:

If you spend between $750,000 and $999,999, the raise may take you out of single audit territory starting with your first fiscal year that began on or after October 1, 2024. You still have to finish and file any audit owed for an earlier year. Keep in mind that the raise has a ceiling. If your federal portfolio is growing, a single new award can push you back over.

Next steps

Today, you can do the following yourself:

1. Write down your fiscal year start date and identify which threshold applies, $750,000 or $1,000,000, using the table in the 2026 section.
2. Export a list of every federal award and subaward with its Assistance Listing number and year-to-date expenses, then run Steps 1–3.
3. If you're over the threshold or close to it, confirm your SAM.gov registration and UEI are active, since the FAC won't start a submission without a valid UEI (FAC).

If you'd rather not work through this yourself, the usual route is to hire a CPA firm that performs GAGAS single audits. The GAQC state-by-state directory and the AICPA Peer Review Public File are free ways to build a shortlist. There's no official price list. Fees are quoted per engagement and depend on how many programs you have and how clean your records are, so get written quotes from two or three firms (as of October 2026; check each firm's engagement letter). Hiring a firm makes sense if you're over the threshold, because the audit is required and the cost can be charged proportionately to your awards. It doesn't make sense if you're clearly under $1M and nothing else requires an audit: you'd be paying for something the rules don't ask for, and you couldn't charge it to your federal awards (2 CFR 200.425). One limitation to know about: a firm can't both keep your books and audit them without Yellow Book independence safeguards. If your outsourced bookkeeper also does audits, use a different firm for the audit.

Related guides on this site:

• How to Write Grants for Nonprofits: Federal Proposal Guide
• Grants for Nonprofits Without 501c3: 4 Paths Compared
• SF-424 Instructions: Field-by-Field Table and Steps (2026)

FAQ

What is the single audit threshold?

It's the amount of federal awards a non-federal entity can expend in one fiscal year before a single audit is required. It is currently $1,000,000 under 2 CFR 200.501. The test is based on money spent, not money received or awarded.

What is the single audit limit 2026?

$1,000,000 for any fiscal year beginning on or after October 1, 2024, which includes all fiscal years beginning in 2026. OMB's May 2026 proposed rewrite of 2 CFR 200 is reported to leave the threshold unchanged (Pease Bell). Check eCFR in case a final rule changes the text.

What is the single audit major program threshold?

It's the Type A threshold, which decides which programs get tested in depth once a single audit is required. For entities expending $1M to $34M, it is $1,000,000, and it scales up from there under 2 CFR 200.518. Major programs together have to cover at least 40% of expenditures, or 20% for low-risk auditees.

What is the federal single audit threshold 2026 for for-profit companies?

Subpart F doesn't apply to for-profit organizations, so the $1,000,000 rule doesn't automatically cover them (2 CFR 200.501). Pass-through entities and award terms can still impose audit requirements on for-profit recipients. Check your Notice of Award or subaward agreement.

Sources

• 2 CFR 200.501 – Audit requirements (Cornell LII)
• 2 CFR 200.501 on eCFR
• 2 CFR 200.502 – Basis for determining Federal awards expended
• 2 CFR 200.512 – Report submission
• 2 CFR 200.518 – Major program determination
• 2 CFR 200.520 – Criteria for a low-risk auditee
• 2 CFR 200.425 – Audit services
• FAC – Starting an audit
• FAC – Eligibility walkthrough
• FAC – Audit submission resources
• Federal Register – Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance (May 29, 2026)
• CASRAI – OMB 2 CFR 200 rewrite status
• Pease Bell – OMB's 2026 Single Audit and Uniform Guidance Overhaul
• Pease Bell – Single Audit Threshold Rises to $1 Million
• Baker Tilly – 2026 Compliance Supplement delay
• BPM – 2026 OMB Compliance Supplement Delay
• GAO – Yellow Book
• GRF CPAs – 2024 Yellow Book Updates
• Wolters Kluwer – GAO issues 2024 Yellow Book
• AICPA – GAQC membership directory by state
• AICPA – Peer Review Public File (For the public)
• Connecticut OPM – State Single Audit Compliance Manual
• North Carolina – 2026 State Compliance Supplements

Spotted something out of date or wrong? Tell us at shigoto.ai.note@gmail.com. Guides are re-checked against official sources on a rolling schedule.