Prevailing wage fringe credit calculator
Enter each worker's required fringe per hour from the wage determination, the yearly cost of the fringe benefit plans the employer pays for that worker, and the hours the worker worked in the plan year on all jobs. The calculator works out the hourly plan credit, the cash fringe per hour still owed, and the cash fringe for the hours on this job, then checks every row and total a second way.
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Workers and classifications
One row for each worker in each classification. Amounts in dollars and cents; hours with two decimal places at most, like 37.25. A row left blank is ignored.
| Worker | Classification | Required fringe per hour | Yearly plan cost | Hours worked in the plan year, all work | Hours on this job | Plan credit per hour | Cash fringe per hour | Credit above required, not used | Cash fringe owed |
|---|
How the numbers are worked out: plan credit per hour = yearly plan cost ÷ hours worked in the plan year, rounded down to the whole cent, so rounding never makes the credit larger. Cash fringe per hour = required fringe − plan credit, never below $0.00. A plan credit above the required fringe is shown as excess and is not used anywhere. Cash fringe owed = cash fringe per hour × hours on this job, rounded to the nearest cent, with half a cent rounding up. Totals add the rounded row amounts.
The hours divisor is the one entered; the calculator does not choose it. Annualization has exceptions, which the calculator does not apply or decide. They are written in 29 CFR 5.25(c)(2) and (c)(3), and in the Caltrans Labor Compliance Manual, section 13-4-2(a), both linked at the foot of the calculator.
How each row is worked out
Totals
Where the method is written
Mathproven is not affiliated with the California Department of Transportation or the US Department of Labor. The links go to their own pages.
What gets checked
- On every row, the plan credit per hour times the hours divisor is not more than the yearly plan cost, because the credit is rounded down to the whole cent, never up.
- On every row where the plan credit is below the required fringe, the plan credit plus the cash fringe per hour equals the required fringe exactly. Where the credit is higher, the cash fringe is $0.00 and the credit equals the required fringe plus the excess.
- The hours on this job are never more than the hours divisor, since the year's hours include them; a divisor smaller than the hours on the job is refused.
- The rows add up to the totals: hours on this job and cash fringe owed.
- Every row and both totals are worked a second time with separate whole-number arithmetic, and both results must agree to the cent.
- Warnings, not failures: a plan credit above the required fringe (the excess is shown and not used), an hours divisor below a full-time year of 2,080 hours, a row with no hours on this job, and a worker listed twice with a different plan cost or divisor.
How it works
- Add a row for each worker and classification. A worker who worked in two classifications gets two rows, with the same plan cost and hours divisor on each. Type the required fringe per hour for the classification from the wage determination.
- Enter the yearly plan cost. The employer's cost for the plan year of the worker's fringe benefit plans, such as health coverage and pension contributions. For a plan paid monthly, that is the monthly cost times 12.
- Enter the hours divisor. The hours the plan cost is spread over. The federal rule divides by every hour the worker worked in the year, or the shorter period the cost covers, on covered and non-covered jobs alike; the Caltrans manual's example divides by 2,080 hours. The calculator divides by the hours entered and does not choose them.
- Enter the hours on this job. The hours worked on the covered job in the payroll period. The cash fringe owed is the cash fringe per hour times these hours.
- Read the results and the certificate. Each row shows the plan credit per hour, the cash fringe per hour, any credit above the required fringe, and the cash fringe owed, with the arithmetic written out. Download Excel or CSV, print, or save the certificate.
Worked example
A made-up subcontractor's payroll week on a public job. Dana Reyes worked as a laborer and as an operator, so Dana has a row for each classification with the same plan cost and hours divisor. Each plan cost is the employer's yearly cost of that worker's health and pension plans, and each divisor is the worker's hours on all jobs in the plan year.
| Worker | Classification | Required fringe per hour | Yearly plan cost | Hours in the plan year | Hours on this job | Plan credit per hour | Cash fringe per hour | Credit above required | Cash fringe owed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dana Reyes | Laborer | $25.36 | $10,200.00 | 2,184.00 | 38.50 | $4.67 | $20.69 | $796.57 | |
| Dana Reyes | Operator | $29.83 | $10,200.00 | 2,184.00 | 6.00 | $4.67 | $25.16 | $150.96 | |
| Sam Okafor | Cement mason | $18.90 | $14,300.00 | 2,080.00 | 40.00 | $6.87 | $12.03 | $481.20 | |
| Lee Park | Truck driver | $7.75 | $19,500.00 | 2,250.00 | 32.00 | $8.66 | $0.00 | $0.91 | $0.00 |
| Total | 116.50 | $1,428.73 |
The rows come to 116.50 hours on this job and $1,428.73 of cash fringe owed. Dana Reyes's plan credit is $10,200.00 ÷ 2,184.00 hours = $4.6703… an hour, rounded down to $4.67, and Sam Okafor's is exactly $6.875, also rounded down, to $6.87. Dana's laborer row is $20.69 × 38.50 hours = $796.565, rounded to $796.57. Lee Park's plan credit is $0.91 an hour more than the required fringe: the cash fringe is $0.00, the $0.91 is shown as excess and not used, and the result carries one warning.
The example uses made-up names and numbers.
Questions
How is the hourly fringe credit worked out?
The yearly plan cost is divided by the hours divisor and rounded down to the whole cent, so rounding never makes the credit larger than what the plan pays for the hours. In the Caltrans manual's example, $200.00 a month is $2,400.00 a year, and $2,400.00 ÷ 2,080 hours = $1.1538…, a credit of $1.15; the $19.28 required fringe less $1.15 leaves $18.13 an hour in cash. This calculator gives the same figures.
Which hours go in the divisor?
The federal rule for Davis-Bacon and related work, 29 CFR 5.25(c)(1), divides the contribution by the total hours worked in the period the cost covers, on covered and non-covered work alike, worker by worker when contributions differ. The Caltrans Labor Compliance Manual's Figure 13-E divides a yearly cost by 2,080 hours (40 hours × 52 weeks). The calculator divides by the hours entered and does not choose them. A divisor below 2,080 hours gets a warning, not an error: a part year or a shorter period can be right.
Does the rule have exceptions?
Yes. The federal rule lists exceptions in 29 CFR 5.25(c)(2) and (c)(3), and the Caltrans manual lists its exceptions in section 13-4-2(a); links to both are under the calculator. The calculator does not decide whether a plan may be credited or whether an exception applies. It does the arithmetic on the numbers entered.
What happens when the plan credit is more than the required fringe?
The cash fringe per hour is $0.00, the difference is shown as credit above the required fringe, and a warning says so. The excess is not used anywhere on this worksheet: it does not lower the cash fringe on another row or the basic hourly rate. Whether it counts toward anything else depends on the rules for the job, and the calculator does not decide that.
How is the cash fringe owed rounded?
The cash fringe per hour times the hours on this job is rounded to the nearest cent, with half a cent rounding up: $20.69 × 38.50 hours = $796.565, shown as $796.57. The totals add the rounded row amounts. Hours can have two decimal places, like 37.25.
How is a worker in two classifications entered?
As two rows, one for each classification, with the same yearly plan cost and hours divisor on each, so the plan credit per hour is the same on both. If the plan cost or the divisor differs between the rows, or the hours on this job on both rows together are more than the divisor, a warning says so.
Is anything uploaded?
No. The numbers are kept in this browser on your device and are never sent to a server.
This tool calculates and checks numbers. It is not legal, tax, or medical advice.