Davis-Bacon Wage Calculator
For one worker and one workweek: what the wage determination requires, how much of the fringe your plan contributions cover once annualized, what overtime is owed and on which rate, and any shortfall, per hour and for the week.
The week
Enter 0 if the determination lists none.
Leave blank to use the hours over 40. Enter more if an agreement pays daily overtime.
Straight time, without any cash paid in lieu of fringe.
You checked one worker. Mirage checks every certified payroll.
Mirage cross-references certified payroll against your project's wage determination and flags classification or rate discrepancies. Send us a past payroll and we send back a plan, no commitment.
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How it is calculated
- Prevailing wage. The determination's basic rate plus its fringe. The two parts are interchangeable: cash, bona fide plan contributions, cash in lieu of fringe, or any mix whose total reaches the sum (29 CFR 5.31).
- Plan credit. Entered per hour, or annualized: contributions for the period / hours the worker worked in that period on all work, covered and private (29 CFR 5.25(c)(1)).
- Shortfall per hour. Prevailing wage minus (basic cash rate + cash in lieu + plan credit), when positive. It is owed on every hour, overtime hours included.
- Overtime. Hours over 40 in the workweek, at one and a half times the basic cash rate actually paid, never less than the determination's basic rate. Plan contributions and cash in lieu of fringe stay out of that rate and are paid on overtime hours at straight time (29 CFR 5.32).
- Total due. Straight-time hours x (basic cash + cash in lieu + shortfall) + overtime hours x (1.5 x overtime rate + cash in lieu + any fringe gap), plus plan credit x all hours.
- Shortfall for the week. The difference between that and the week paid as entered, with overtime at one and a half times the basic cash rate.
The Department of Labor's own example
An electrician with a determination of $35.00 plus $15.00 fringe works 44 hours. 44 x $35.00 = $1,540.00 in cash wages, 44 x $15.00 = $660.00 in fringe, and 4 x 0.5 x $35.00 = $70.00 of overtime premium: $2,270.00. Enter 35, 15, 44, 35 and 15 an hour of plan contributions to get the same figures.
Annualization, invented figures
A $6,240 yearly health premium for a worker who works 2,080 hours in the year, 1,040 of them on Davis-Bacon jobs, is worth $6,240 / 2,080 = $3.00 an hour of credit. Dividing by the 1,040 covered hours alone would claim $6.00, and the $3.00 difference on every covered hour would be an underpayment.
Limits and assumptions
- One worker, one classification, one workweek. A worker in two classifications needs one calculation per classification, and the 40-hour test on the combined hours.
- It takes the plan contributions as bona fide and creditable. It does not check that a plan qualifies, nor that an exception from annualization applies: contributions to a defined contribution pension plan with immediate participation and vesting within the first 500 hours are excepted (29 CFR 5.25(c)(2)), other plans only on a request granted by the Wage and Hour Division.
- It does not know which wage determination applies to the contract, nor whether the classification fits the work performed.
- It does not handle apprentice or trainee rates.
- Hours on other work in the same workweek count toward the 40-hour threshold when the Fair Labor Standards Act applies; include them in the hours worked.
- According to the Department of Labor, the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act covers Davis-Bacon contracts over $150,000 procured under the Federal Acquisition Regulation, and federally assisted contracts over $100,000; the Fair Labor Standards Act can apply as well. The calculator assumes overtime is owed.
Sources
Checked on .
- 29 CFR 5.25, rate of contribution or cost for fringe benefits (eCFR, current as of 29 September 2026): (c)(1) annualization: contributions divided by all hours worked, private and Davis-Bacon, in the period; (c)(2) and (c)(3) the exceptions
- 29 CFR 5.31, meeting wage determination obligations: cash, bona fide fringe benefits, cash in lieu of fringe, or a combination totalling basic rate plus fringe
- 29 CFR 5.32, overtime payments: fringe and cash in lieu of fringe excluded from the overtime rate; the rate is the basic cash wage actually paid and never below the wage determination's basic rate
- 29 CFR 5.5(b)(1), overtime requirements: one and one half times the basic rate of pay for hours over 40 in the workweek
- U.S. Department of Labor, Prevailing Wage Resource Book: Overtime Pay on Government Contracts: fringe owed on every hour at straight time; the $35.00 + $15.00, 44-hour example ($2,270.00); contract thresholds for the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act
- U.S. Department of Labor, Prevailing Wage Resource Book: Davis-Bacon Compliance Principles: basic rate and fringe are interchangeable; wages above the basic rate offset the fringe, and vice versa
- U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #66E (October 2023): cash above the basic rate may offset the fringe; no half-time premium on cash paid in lieu of fringe
- U.S. Department of Labor, Prevailing Wage Resource Book: Davis-Bacon Wage Determinations: SAM.gov is the official site for general wage determinations since 14 June 2019
This calculator is not legal, payroll or compliance advice and does not replace a review by your compliance officer, counsel or the contracting agency.
Questions
How is overtime calculated under Davis-Bacon?
Hours over 40 in the workweek are paid at one and a half times the basic rate, and the fringe is paid on those hours at straight time. The Department of Labor's own example: an electrician at $35.00 plus $15.00 fringe who works 44 hours is owed 44 x $35.00 = $1,540.00, plus 44 x $15.00 = $660.00 in fringe, plus 4 x 0.5 x $35.00 = $70.00 of overtime premium, $2,270.00 in all.
What does annualization of fringe benefits mean?
The hourly credit a contractor takes for plan contributions is the total contribution divided by all the hours the worker worked in the period, on private and Davis-Bacon work alike (29 CFR 5.25(c)). A $6,240 yearly health premium over 2,080 hours is worth $3.00 an hour of credit, even if only half of those hours were on covered work.
Which plans are excepted from annualization?
Contributions to a defined contribution pension plan are excepted without a request when the plan provides immediate participation and essentially immediate vesting, within the first 500 hours worked, and the conditions of 29 CFR 5.25(c)(3) are met. Other plans can be excepted only on a request to the Wage and Hour Division that meets the same conditions.
Can the fringe be paid in cash instead of to a plan?
Yes. 29 CFR 5.31 allows the fringe to be paid as cash in lieu of benefits, or as a mix of cash and plan contributions. Cash paid in lieu of fringe is left out of the overtime rate, so no half-time premium is owed on it.
Can a basic rate above the wage determination cover the fringe?
Yes. The Department of Labor states that cash wages above the basic hourly rate may offset the fringe portion, and the reverse. The higher cash rate then becomes the rate overtime is computed on (29 CFR 5.32(c)(2)).
What if the basic cash rate is below the wage determination?
A larger fringe can make up the total, since the two parts are interchangeable, but overtime is still owed on at least the wage determination's basic rate (29 CFR 5.32(a) and (c)(3)). The calculator shows the gap when overtime was paid at one and a half times the lower cash rate.
Where do I find the basic rate and fringe for a classification?
In the wage determination incorporated in the contract. General wage determinations are published on SAM.gov, which became their official site on 14 June 2019, according to the Department of Labor.
Every certified payroll, checked against its wage determination
This calculator works one worker and one week at a time. Mirage deploys agents that read each certified payroll as it is filed, compare every classification and rate with the applicable wage determination, and send the discrepancies to your compliance officer, who decides what happens next.