8(a) STARS III Pricing

This page contains the following pricing resources for the 8(a) STARS III GWAC:

8(a) STARS III Pricing Tool 

Contract Pricing and Competition Guidance

Guidance for Work Performed Outside the US

8(a) STARS III Pricing Tool

GSA's 8(a) STARS III Pricing Tool allows users to view maximum labor hour ceiling rates for 8(a) STARS III industry partners. This self-service tool allows acquisition personnel to quickly perform market research to make better business decisions. Users have the ability to:

• Filter search results by:
  • Scope or scope sub-area;
  • Industry partner; 
  • Labor category;
  • Work site (Government or Contractor); or
  • Contract year
• Select price statistics; and
• Download results to Excel and save/print.

The maximum hourly labor rates in the 8(a) STARS III Pricing Tool:

• Include all direct and indirect costs (e.g. profit, fringe benefits, salary, indirect rates) for work performed in the continental United States and non-foreign work areas. See section B.12 of the contract for pricing work in foreign work areas;
• Apply to work which includes U.S. Government personnel or facility security clearances up to the Secret level;
• Apply only to time and materials and labor-hour orders; and
• Do not include the contract access fee (CAF). A separate CAF CLIN is required per section B.8 of the contract.

The description for each 8(a) STARS III labor category can be found within attachment J-2 of the 8(a) STARS III Contract. Locality differentials for work performed outside the Washington-Baltimore- Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA area is available at Attachment J-3.

Contract Pricing and Competition Guidance

Refer to FAR 15.4 and apply the proposal analysis techniques from FAR 15.404-1 befitting the acquisition plan for your order. If you provide for adequate price competition for competed orders, generally you do not need any more price or cost detail to determine pricing resulting from a competition from comparable offerors for the same requirements to be fair and reasonable.

All 8(a) STARS III contracts provide for an annual price escalation of 2.06%; so awarded labor rates beyond contract year 5 can be calculated using that rate. Before exercising the Master Contract option, the Government will calculate and apply an updated annual escalation rate for contract years 6 through 13 as allowed by section B.13 of the master contract and labor rates published in the 8(a) STARS III Pricing Tool will be updated accordingly. Agency contracting officers are not required to perform re-determinations or apply escalated rates retroactively to task orders awarded before July 1, 2026 unless the terms and conditions of the task order specifically provide for such retroactive actions.

Guidance for Work Performed Outside the US

The Department of State's Office of Allowances publishes reports that will help you price work to be performed abroad, including:

• Cost of living;
• Per diem rate maximums;
• Quarters allowances;
• Hardship differentials; and
• Danger pay allowances.