FAR and DFARS › FAR Part 32: Contract Financing › Subpart 32.5
FAR 32.503-10 Establishing alternate liquidation rates.
The codified text (eCFR, as of 2026-10-02). Under the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul ↗, agencies follow class deviations with new text for many parts while the formal rules go through the Federal Register: check the solicitation and your contract's clauses, which rule.
In plain English
This section tells the contracting officer how to set the liquidation rate for progress payments, ensuring the Government recoups payments on each billing. It provides a formula for the minimum rate and requires documentation in the contract file. Contractors should understand that this rate affects how much is deducted from each payment.
Applies to: Contracting officers administering progress payments
What it requires
- Ensure the liquidation rate is high enough to recoup applicable progress payments on each billing.
- Support the rate with documentation in the administration office contract file.
- Compute the minimum liquidation rate as expected progress payments divided by contract price.
- Compute expected progress payments by multiplying estimated cost by the progress payment rate.
Key terms: liquidation rate · progress payments · contract price · estimated cost · progress payment rate
Written by AI from this section's text. A guide, not legal advice: the text below rules.
The text
(a) The contracting officer must ensure that the liquidation rate is—
(1) High enough to result in Government recoupment of the applicable progress payments on each billing; and
(2) Supported by documentation included in the administration office contract file.
(b) The minimum liquidation rate is the expected progress payments divided by the contract price. Each of these factors is discussed below:
(1) The contracting officer must compute the expected progress payments by multiplying the estimated cost of performing the contract by the progress payment rate.
(2) For purposes of computing the liquidation rate, the contracting officer may adjust the estimated cost and the contract price to include the estimated value of any work authorized but not yet priced and any projected economic adjustments; however, the contracting officer's adjustment must not exceed the Government's estimate of the price of all authorized work or the funds obligated for the contract.
(3) The following are examples of the computation. Assuming an estimated price of $2,200,000 and total estimated costs eligible for progress payments of $2,000,000:
(i) If the progress payment rate is 80 percent, the minimum liquidation rate should be 72.7 percent, computed as follows:
(ii) If the progress payment rate is 85 percent, the minimum liquidation rate should be 77.3 percent, computed as follows:
(4) Minimum liquidation rates will generally be expressed to tenths of a percent. Decimals between tenths will be rounded up to the next highest tenth (not necessarily the nearest tenth), since rounding down would produce a rate below the minimum rate calculated.
Sections that refer to it
- 32.110 Payment of subcontractors under cost-reimbursement prime contracts.
← 32.503-9 Liquidation rates—alternate method. · 32.503-11 Adjustments for price reduction. →
Rule changes for FAR Part 32
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Inflation Adjustment of Acquisition-Related Thresholds ↗ · final rule 2025-08-27 · effective 2025-10-01
- Federal Acquisition Regulation; Technical Amendments ↗ · final rule 2025-08-07 · effective 2025-08-07
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Inflation Adjustment of Acquisition-Related Thresholds ↗ · proposed 2024-11-29 · comments due 2025-01-28
Source: eCFR, 48 CFR chapters 1 and 2 (GPO GovInfo bulk data) ↗. Plain words for the terms: glossary.