Davis-Bacon Prevailing Wage Calculator

How It Works

1. Enter Wage Determination Rows

   Input the basic hourly rate and fringe benefit row from the wage determination or contract record you are reviewing. The calculator does not look up, select, or certify a wage determination.

2. Select a Fringe Prompt

   Choose a benefit, cash-in-lieu, or combination prompt to compare editable employer-tax assumptions. Bona fide benefit credit and taxable wage treatment still require payroll, tax, and source review.

3. Enter Displayed Hours

   Input straight-time and overtime hours for the arithmetic calculator. The app applies the local overtime prompt to the base row and keeps the fringe row flat, but CWHSSA/FLSA/state/CBA facts control actual pay.

4. Add Apprentice Prompt If Needed

   If reviewing an apprentice row, enter the progression percentage from the registered program or contract records. Registration, ratio, daily supervision, reciprocity, and fringe provisions remain source gaps.

5. Review the Source Boundary

   Use the output as a documented arithmetic reference only. Verify wage determination, classification, certified payroll, WH-347 or equivalent records, tax, and legal requirements before use.

Built For

• Certified payroll staff documenting arithmetic prompts before WH-347 or equivalent payroll review
• Estimators pricing labor on prevailing wage bids with documented fringe assumptions before review
• Contractors comparing benefit, cash-in-lieu, and combination prompts before payroll/tax review
• Apprentice coordinators screening progression-percent assumptions before registered-program review
• Compliance teams reviewing subcontractor payroll arithmetic with source gaps visible
• Union or owner representatives using a documented prompt before independent wage-determination review

Features & Capabilities

Flat Fringe Review Row

Screens the DBRA-style pattern where the base row receives the overtime premium and the fringe row stays flat. Verify the wage determination and payroll facts.

Cash vs Benefits Prompt

Screens editable employer-tax assumptions for cash-in-lieu, benefits, and combination rows while taxable wage and bona fide benefit gaps remain visible.

Apprentice Prompt Table

Screens apprentice wage percentages as local prompts only. Registered-program progression, ratio, locality, and fringe provisions control actual use.

Annualized Fringe Prompt

Divides entered annual benefit costs by entered annual hours and reports the gap against the entered fringe row; DOL annualization eligibility and records remain outside the app.

PDF Source-Boundary Export

Export the arithmetic calculator with source pointers and residual gaps for review. It is not a WH-347 form or certified payroll document.

Assumptions

• DBRA-style flat fringe treatment is screened only; wage determination, classification, cash-in-lieu treatment, and CWHSSA/FLSA review decide actual payroll.
• Cash-in-lieu fringe rows are screened as taxable wages for the editable employer-tax prompt; payroll facts, wage bases, and qualified review control actual treatment.
• Benefit rows are screened as plan-credit prompts; bona fide benefit status, annualization, tax treatment, and records are not validated by the app.
• Apprentice rates are expressed as an entered percentage of the journeyman base row; registered program, ratio, locality, and fringe provisions control actual use.
• Wage determination rows are user-entered source records - the user must verify the correct determination for project, trade, location, and contract revision.

Limitations

• Does not look up wage determinations automatically - the user must enter base and fringe rates from the applicable determination at sam.gov.
• Does not handle split-classification workers who perform work in multiple wage determination categories during the same workweek.
• Apprentice ratio compliance (maximum apprentice-to-journeyman ratio on the job) is not calculated - this must be verified against the registered program standards.
• State prevailing wage laws may have different OT fringe treatment than federal Davis-Bacon - only the local DBRA-style prompt is screened.
• Does not generate WH-347 certified payroll forms - the output is a calculation reference, not a compliance document.

References

• Davis-Bacon Act (40 U.S.C. Sections 3141-3148) - federal prevailing wage requirements for government construction contracts.
• DOL Wage and Hour Division - Davis-Bacon Compliance Principles and Fact Sheet 66E fringe-benefit context.
• 29 CFR Part 5 - labor standards provisions, apprentice clauses, fringe-benefit interpretations, and overtime context.
• DOL WH-347 instructions - certified payroll form and statement-of-compliance context.
• SAM.gov Wage Determinations - official federal wage determination lookup source.
• IRS Publications 15 and 15-B - employer payroll-tax and fringe-benefit tax treatment context.

Frequently Asked Questions