What is the liquidation period on a federal grant, and when does it end?
For a US federal award the liquidation deadline is a date you can calculate today: 120 calendar days after the award's period of performance ends for a direct recipient, and 90 for a subrecipient, unless your agreement sets an earlier date. Here is how to find yours, count it and settle everything before it.
The method
- Find the date the period of performance ends. It is in the notice of award or agreement. Use that exact date, not the end of your fiscal year and not the date of your last expense.
- Work out whether you are a recipient or a subrecipient. As read on 2026-10-14, 2 CFR 200.344(c) gives a recipient 120 calendar days after the period of performance to liquidate all financial obligations. A subrecipient (paid through a pass-through entity) has 90 calendar days, or an earlier date agreed with the pass-through entity.
- Check the agreement for a different date. Agency terms and pass-through agreements can set a shorter window, and a foundation or state award sets its own. Search for "closeout", "liquidate", "obligations" and "final claim". The agreement controls. Also check which version of the Uniform Guidance it cites, since older agreements may cite an earlier edition with different wording.
- Count the calendar days and write the date down. Count calendar days, not business days and not months. Example: a period of performance ending 30 June 2027 gives 28 October 2027 for a recipient (120 days) and 28 September 2027 for a subrecipient (90 days). Put the result on a shared calendar with a reminder at least a month before.
- List every open obligation. Unpaid vendor invoices, purchase orders you have committed to, final payroll and benefits, contractor final bills, and anything received but not yet paid. In plain terms, liquidating means settling what you owe against the award. The regulation's own definition sits elsewhere in 2 CFR 200, which this page did not read.
- Pay or settle each one before the date, and keep the proof. Save the payment date and amount beside the invoice. If a cost cannot be settled in time, you need a decision from the funder rather than a late payment.
- If you will miss it, ask in writing before it passes. The section says the agency or pass-through entity may approve an extension when justified. Say what is open, why, the amount and the date you can finish.
- Submit the final reports inside the same window. Section 200.344(b), as read, sets the same 120 and 90 day limits for all financial, performance and other required reports. Reconcile first, because the final financial report needs every obligation settled.
- Refund what you were not authorised to keep. Under 200.344(e), unobligated funds that were paid to you and are not authorised to be retained must be promptly refunded.
- Keep the file after closeout. Section 200.345 says closeout does not stop the funder disallowing costs after a later audit or review, or end record retention duties. Archive the evidence and write the destroy-after date on it.
Your award agreement and your funder's instructions are the authority on every date and requirement. This page is a working method, not legal, audit or compliance advice.
A worked example (made-up award)
A small nonprofit holds a direct federal award with a period of performance that ends 30 June 2027. The notice of award is silent on closeout, so the Uniform Guidance default applies: 120 calendar days, which is 28 October 2027. In August the bookkeeper finds a printing invoice dated 25 June that is still unpaid, and a contractor's final bill that has not arrived. She pays the invoice, chases the contractor in writing, and on 1 October asks the program officer for a 30 day extension for that one bill. The approval is saved beside the invoice. The final financial report is submitted on 20 October, with the confirmation filed.
Liquidation, the final report and the end of the award are three clocks
- Period of performance end: when the work and the spending window close.
- Liquidation and reports (120 or 90 days later): when you must have paid what you owe and submitted every required report.
- Record retention: a longer clock that starts later. See how long to keep grant records.
For the full list of closeout steps, use the grant closeout checklist. For the report that lands in the same window, see SF-425 due dates.
What happens if you do not finish
As read, section 200.344(i) says that if a recipient does not comply with the closeout requirements, including submitting all final reports, the federal agency must report the recipient's material failure to comply in SAM.gov, and may pursue other enforcement actions. Closeout also stays open on the funder's side until the reports arrive. That is a reason to ask early, in writing, rather than go quiet.
Common mistakes
- Counting from the last expense. The count starts at the end of the period of performance.
- Counting months. 120 days is not four months.
- Treating a signed purchase order as not yet owed. A commitment is an obligation. List it.
- Assuming the default beats the agreement. A shorter date in the agreement wins.
- Asking for an extension after the date. Ask before.
The faster path, and what it does not do
GrantClose does not count a liquidation date for you. What it does is keep the surrounding work in one place: you add the award's reporting deliverables with their due dates and one owner each, reminders go to the owner at 30, 14, 7 and 1 days before and on the due date, and the final report's evidence sits beside it. If you add the closeout report as a deliverable with the date you worked out above, it gets the same reminders. At the end you can export one ZIP per award with an index of every deliverable and each evidence file with its SHA-256 checksum.
- It does not know your liquidation deadline, track your unpaid invoices or tell you what is still owed.
- It is not accounting software and holds only what you upload, up to 15 MB per file.
- It will not request an extension for you. It never contacts a funder.
- The free grant reporting schedule calculator works out report dates from an award's start and end dates in your browser, with no signup.
GrantClose gives every closeout report one owner and a reminder schedule, and exports a closeout ZIP when the award ends. GrantClose never submits anything to a funder, writes your reports or gives legal, audit or compliance advice. Extracted dates are suggestions you confirm. Free for 1 active award. Create a free account
Questions
What does liquidate mean on a federal grant?
In plain terms, settle the obligations you incurred under the award, such as unpaid invoices and committed purchases. The formal definition is in 2 CFR 200, and your agreement or program officer can confirm how your funder applies it.
How long is the liquidation period for a federal grant?
As read on 2026-10-14, 2 CFR 200.344(c) sets 120 calendar days after the period of performance for a recipient and 90 calendar days for a subrecipient, or an earlier date agreed with the pass-through entity. Your agreement may differ.
Can the liquidation period be extended?
The section says the federal agency or pass-through entity may approve an extension when justified. Ask in writing before the deadline and keep the answer.
Does the liquidation deadline apply to foundation grants?
Not as such. 2 CFR 200 governs federal awards and subawards. A foundation or state grant sets its own closeout terms in the agreement.
What happens to money I did not spend?
Under 200.344(e), as read, unobligated funds that were paid to you and are not authorised to be retained must be promptly refunded. Ask your funder about carryover before assuming you can keep it.
Sources read
- 2 CFR 200.344, closeout, read on 2026-10-14.
- 2 CFR 200.345, post-closeout adjustments and continuing responsibilities, read on 2026-10-14.