Micro-purchase threshold (MPT)
Also called: MPT, micro-purchase, micro purchase, government purchase card buys
The micro-purchase threshold is the dollar limit, set in FAR 2.101, below which an agency may buy without competition, without a synopsis and usually with a government purchase card.
Micro-purchases follow FAR 13.2: the cardholder only has to consider the price reasonable and distribute buys equitably among suppliers, with no requirement to post on SAM.gov or to set the buy aside. That is why these purchases never show up in a bid search and why they are won by being known to the office, not by bidding. The threshold is higher for some construction, R&D and contingency buys and is adjusted for inflation under FAR 1.109.
What to check: the current figure in FAR 2.101, whether your product or service is the kind an office buys on a card, and whether your firm accepts card payment. A short capability statement sent to the purchase card holders and small business specialists at a nearby installation does more at this level than any registration.
What it is not: a set-aside program. Small business preference does not apply below the micro-purchase threshold, so a large firm with a convenient storefront competes on equal terms.
See also: Simplified acquisition threshold (SAT), Capability statement, SAM.gov, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)
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