How do I calculate fringe benefits for prevailing wage?

Start with the fringe rate on your project's wage determination (e.g. "$25.50 base + $8.75 fringe"). Add up what you actually contribute per hour to bona fide benefit plans: health insurance, pension, vacation, apprenticeship funds. That total is your fringe credit. If the credit covers the wage determination's fringe rate, you pay the base rate in cash. If it falls short, you owe the difference as additional cash on the paycheck (cash in lieu of fringe). This calculator does that math and shows the worksheet.

How do I calculate fringe benefits for certified payroll?

The same fringe credit math drives your certified payroll report. On the January 2025 WH-347, column 6B shows your total fringe benefit credit for plan contributions and column 6C shows any payment in lieu of fringe (cash on the check). On page 2, the fifth certification checkbox covers fringes, and any amount in column 6B also requires completing the Hourly Credit for Fringe Benefits table, listing each plan, whether it is funded or unfunded, and the hourly credit per worker. Run your numbers in the calculator above, and the shortfall line is exactly what belongs in column 6C each week.

What counts as a bona fide fringe benefit?

Under 29 CFR 5.29, bona fide fringe benefits include health and life insurance, pension or retirement contributions, vacation and holiday pay, and apprenticeship training funds, paid to a third-party plan, fund, or program, or provided under an unfunded plan that meets 29 CFR 5.28 and has been approved by DOL (40 U.S.C. 3141(2)(B)(ii)). Payments required by law (employer FICA, workers comp, unemployment insurance) do NOT count as fringe benefits; they're payroll taxes you owe regardless.

Can I just pay the fringe amount as cash instead of benefits?

Yes. The Davis-Bacon Act lets you satisfy the fringe obligation entirely in cash wages, entirely through bona fide plans, or any combination. On the January 2025 WH-347, cash paid in lieu of fringe goes in column 6C and plan contributions go in column 6B, with the fifth certification checkbox on page 2 covering how fringes were handled. The only thing you can't do is pay less than base + fringe in total.

How do I convert a monthly insurance premium into an hourly credit?

Divide the employer's monthly contribution by the hours the employee works in a month (about 173 hours for a full-time, 40-hour-a-week worker). That monthly division approximates DOL's annual computation in 29 CFR 5.25(c)(1): total annual contributions divided by total annual hours worked. Important: under DOL annualization principles, contributions for benefits like health insurance generally must be spread across ALL hours an employee works in the year, including private, non-prevailing-wage jobs, not just the government project hours. If your crew splits time between covered and private work, dividing by covered hours only will overstate your credit. One exception: defined-contribution pension plans that provide for immediate participation and immediate or essentially immediate vesting (full vesting within 500 hours of work) are exempt from annualization under 29 CFR 5.25(c)(2), provided the plan also meets the other conditions in 29 CFR 5.25(c)(3).

What if my wage determination lists $0.00 fringe?

Some classifications genuinely carry a $0.00 fringe rate on the wage determination. In that case there is no fringe obligation: you owe the base rate, and your certified payroll should reflect actual fringe of zero rather than inventing a number.

Does the fringe rate get multiplied for overtime hours?

No. Under CWHSSA (contracts over $100,000) and the FLSA, overtime is one and one half times the basic hourly rate (the wage determination base, or your actual cash rate if higher); the fringe amount stays at the straight rate for every hour, including overtime hours. Paying 1.5x on (base + fringe) overpays; paying 1.5x on base but skipping fringe on OT hours underpays. Note that some state prevailing wage laws calculate overtime differently.

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Prevailing Wage Fringe Benefit Calculator

Your wage determination says base + fringe. You already pay for benefits. This calculator works out your Davis-Bacon fringe credit and exactly how much cash still belongs on the paycheck.

1. Rates from your wage determination

Base hourly rate ($)

Fringe rate ($/hr)

Both numbers come straight from the wage determination for your county and classification. Find yours with the free wage lookup.

2. What you pay into benefit plans (monthly, per employee)

Hours worked per month

~173 for full-time. Include ALL hours worked (covered and private jobs); see the annualization note below.

Already-hourly contributions ($/hr)

e.g. union fund contributions already stated per hour

Your fringe credit worksheet

Required total rate (base + fringe)	$39.50/hr
Monthly plan contributions	$570.00/mo
÷ 173 hours =	$3.29/hr
+ hourly contributions	$0.00/hr
Your fringe credit	$3.29/hr
Wage determination fringe	$9.50/hr
Shortfall: cash in lieu of fringe (WH-347 col. 6C)	$6.21/hr
Minimum cash paycheck rate	$36.21/hr
Overtime total compensation (1.5x base + fringe at straight rate)	$54.50/hr

The $3.29/hr plan credit above is reported as an hourly credit, not cash. Read how plan credits go in column 6B so the worksheet and your WH-347 agree.

Footnote: dividing monthly contributions by monthly hours is a shortcut that approximates DOL's annual computation under 29 CFR 5.25(c)(1), which divides total annual contributions by total annual hours worked.

Annualization: for benefits like health insurance, the DOL generally requires spreading contributions across all hours an employee works in the year, including private jobs, not just prevailing-wage hours (29 CFR 5.25(c)(1)). If your crew splits time between covered and private work, use total hours in the field above or your credit will be overstated. Exception: defined-contribution pension plans that provide for immediate participation and immediate or essentially immediate vesting (full vesting within 500 hours of work) are exempt from annualization (29 CFR 5.25(c)(2)), provided the plan also meets the other conditions in 29 CFR 5.25(c)(3).

Filing this week? Review the fringe items on the WH-347 checklist before you submit.

Your crew needs $6.21/hr of cash in lieu of fringe on every paycheck.

CertifiedPayrollPro applies this credit per classification and fills columns 6B and 6C on your WH-347 automatically.

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The Davis-Bacon fringe benefit calculation worksheet, explained

Every Davis-Bacon wage determination lists two numbers for each work classification: a base hourly rate and a fringe benefit rate. Under 29 CFR 5.5, you must pay workers no less than the sum of both. The fringe portion is flexible: bona fide benefit plan contributions (29 CFR 5.29), cash on the paycheck, or a mix of both.

The worksheet above follows the same three steps a DOL investigator would: (1) convert your monthly plan contributions to an hourly figure, (2) compare that credit to the wage determination's fringe rate, and (3) pay any shortfall as cash in lieu of fringe, reported in column 6C of your WH-347, with the matching attestation checked on page 2.

State rules differ. California's DIR, for example, has its own fringe and training fund rules and its own certified payroll form. See our California certified payroll guide and the complete DIR walkthrough before applying federal math to a state-funded job.

Pricing a whole crew for a bid instead? Use the prevailing wage calculator for fully-burdened labor cost. For the rules in depth, read our guides to cash vs. bona fide plans and calculating fringe benefits on prevailing wage projects. When it is time to fill out the form, the figure you just calculated belongs in WH-347 column 6b, the fringe benefit credit.

Fringe benefit calculation FAQ

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CertifiedPayrollPro imports your wage determination, applies the base/fringe split per classification, and generates your WH-347 with columns 6B and 6C filled in correctly.

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Already tracking benefits in payroll? Import your Gusto or ADP benefit deductions instead of re-keying them.

This tool provides estimates for planning purposes and is not legal advice. Fringe credit rules, especially annualization and what qualifies as a bona fide plan, have project-specific nuances. Confirm your approach against the DOL's guidance or a compliance professional.