GovCon Intelligence

The TINA compliance threshold rose to $2.5M on October 1, 2025, and jumps to $10M for contracts after June 30, 2026. This guide maps all three active thresholds, explains the four exceptions, and delivers the seven-step pre-certification sweep that protects contractors from defective pricing claims.

The OBBBA Section 174A catch-up election lets eligible small federal contractors recover unamortized 2022-2024 domestic R&D before the July 6, 2026 deadline. The §481(a) catch-up adjustment also lands on FAR 31.205-18 indirect cost pool reporting, which most general-practice CPAs miss.

DCAA audits the incurred cost submission. DCMA negotiates the final indirect rate agreement. This guide covers Form 1 response, quick-closeout thresholds under FAR 42.708 and DFARS 242.708, penalty waiver mechanics, and the dispute escalation path to ASBCA for GovCon contractors reaching post-audit settlement.

FAR 31.205-18 lets you recover every reasonable dollar of bid and proposal effort through your indirect rates. This guide covers the allowability test, the B&P vs. marketing decision boundary, CAS 9904.420 project-level accumulation, and the DFARS 231.205-18 major-contractor reporting threshold that most small contractors never see coming.

DCAA defective pricing audits arrive years after contract award. Learn the three-prong test auditors use, what triggers a TINA sweep, and the pre-certification checklist that protects your pricing position.

A 5-point reduction in your overhead rate on a $3M direct labor base saves $150,000 per year. Most small contractors carry 10-30 points of excess rate from bookkeeping problems, not business problems. Seven DCAA-compliant strategies to lower your rates and win more contracts.

Phase I lets you operate with a basic bookkeeping system. Phase II demands DCAA-compliant accounting, daily timekeeping, documented indirect rates, and a system that passes an SF 1408 pre-award survey. The financial leap between phases catches most first-time awardees off guard.

In 2026, SBA suspended 1,091 firms that couldn’t produce three years of records in 30 days. The contractors who shipped documents in 48 hours had a monthly compliance workflow. Here is that workflow: a 12-month checklist that makes annual reviews and data calls a non-event.

You filed your incurred cost submission by the deadline. Now what? DCAA has a defined process for reviewing your submission, selecting it for audit, and finalizing your indirect rates. Here is every step, from adequacy review to final rate agreement.

You won the contract. Now you have 90 days to build an accounting system that survives a DCAA audit. This week-by-week checklist covers every step, from chart of accounts to your first incurred cost reconciliation.