Final payment and closing the grant

The last payment (payment of the balance) differs from interim ones in that it is not another instalment but a settlement. The granting authority recalculates the whole grant from the start and compares the result with what it has already transferred to the consortium. Until that moment the money in the account formally remains an advance.

How the final amount is calculated

1. Accepted contribution. The funding rate is applied to each beneficiary's accepted costs for all periods. This step also takes in the cap for a missing CFS and any grant reduction for improper implementation or breach of obligations.
2. Ceiling. The result cannot exceed the maximum grant amount in the agreement, even if costs were higher.
3. No-profit rule, if the Data Sheet provides for it: the grant together with the project's revenues must not exceed the eligible costs.
4. Balance. Pre-financing and interim payments are deducted from the final amount.

Interim payments together with pre-financing are capped at 90% of the maximum amount, so at least a tenth of the grant reaches the consortium only after the final report is approved. That gap has to be financed from your own funds.

Deadlines, mutual insurance and recoveries

The final periodic report, with the financial statements of all participants, is submitted within 60 days of the end of the last period. The granting authority has 90 days from receipt of the report to pay, but that deadline is suspended while questions and corrections are pending.

Horizon Europe uses the Mutual Insurance Mechanism (MIM) provided for in the programme regulation. A contribution, 5–8% of the maximum grant amount in the model agreement, is retained from the first pre-financing and transferred to a fund that covers participants' debts to the EU budget. At the final payment the contribution is released and returned to the consortium. If the balance is negative, the debt is first set off against this contribution.

If more was received than the final grant amount, the granting authority sends a pre-information letter with the calculation. There are 30 days for observations, after which the amount is confirmed and claimed. In Horizon Europe each beneficiary is liable only for its own debt. Recovery is also possible after closure if a later audit rejects costs. Any payment may be offset, without the beneficiary's consent, against its debt to the granting authority.

What continues after closure

• Record-keeping: 5 years after the final payment, 3 years for grants of up to EUR 60,000.
• Reviews and audits: in Horizon Europe they can be started within 2 years of the final payment.
• Exploitation of results: best efforts for up to 4 years after the end of the action. If results are not exploited within a year, they go on the Horizon Results Platform.
• Confidentiality and taking part in the programme's impact evaluation: 5 years.
• Obligations on open access to publications arising from the project.

Why the payment gets delayed

• A partner has not submitted its financial statement, or the CFS is not ready in time.
• Deliverables are still outstanding or milestones are left open in continuous reporting.
• The granting authority asks for clarifications and the payment deadline is suspended.
• The coordinator's bank details have changed and have not been validated.
• The coordinator is slow to distribute what it received among the partners.

How other donors do it

Most donors likewise hold back the last instalment until the final report is approved and ask for any unspent balance to be returned. In Ukrainian state funds settlements are tied to the budget year, so the project usually has to be closed and reported before it ends. Check the exact deadlines in your own contract.