WH-347 Certified Payroll Checker
Enter the lines of one weekly certified payroll and check them before the Statement of Compliance is signed: daily hours against the weekly total, overtime against the hours over 40, the basic rate and fringe against the wage determination, then gross and net. Every finding names the line, the rule and the amounts.
Payroll lines
One line per worker and classification, for one workweek. No Social Security number or worker ID is needed: label each line with initials or a reference. The check runs in your browser and the figures you type are not sent to us.
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.
See prevailing wage compliance
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What goes in each column of the WH-347, and what the checker tests
| Column | What it holds | What this checker does |
|---|---|---|
| Name and individual identifying number | Each worker; the last four digits of the Social Security number are enough, never the full number | Not checked: label the line with initials or a reference |
| Work classification | The classification from the wage determination for the work actually performed | Not checked: a person confirms the classification against the work |
| Hours worked each day, straight time and overtime | The hours on this project, day by day, split by type | Added up and compared with the weekly totals; hours over 40 tested against the overtime hours entered |
| Total hours | The weekly total of each type | Compared with the sum of the days |
| Rate of pay, including fringe | The basic hourly rate paid, with cash paid in lieu of fringe shown separately | Basic rate and fringe compared with the wage determination, singly and as a total |
| Gross amount earned | For this project, with the week's total gross for all work where it differs | Recomputed from hours and rates, to the cent |
| Deductions | FICA, withholding and other permitted deductions, itemised | Subtracted from gross; whether each deduction is permitted is for a person |
| Net wages paid for week | Gross minus deductions | Compared with gross minus the deductions entered |
| Statement of Compliance | Signed by the contractor or an authorised officer, with the fringe benefits section completed | Not checked: the signature is the compliance officer's |
How the arithmetic is done
- Daily hours. The straight time and overtime entered for each day are added up and compared with the weekly totals, when you enter them. The rest of the check uses the daily hours.
- Overtime hours. Hours over 40 in the workweek are due at one and a half times the basic rate (29 CFR 5.5(b)(1)). If fewer hours are recorded as overtime, the missing premium is the missing hours x 0.5 x the overtime basis. More overtime than hours over 40 is marked for review, not as an error: an agreement or a state rule can require it.
- Overtime basis. The basic rate actually paid, but never less than the wage determination's basic rate. Fringe paid to plans and cash paid in lieu of fringe stay out of it (29 CFR 5.32).
- Rates. The basic rate and the fringe (cash in lieu plus plans) are compared with the wage determination one by one, then as a total: basic rate + cash in lieu + plans must be at least the determination's basic rate + fringe (29 CFR 5.31). A shortfall is priced on every hour, overtime hours included, since fringe is owed at straight time on each of them.
- Gross. Straight-time hours x (basic rate + cash in lieu), plus overtime hours x (1.5 x overtime basis + cash in lieu). Plan contributions are not part of the gross.
- Net. Gross minus the deductions entered.
Money is compared to the cent, and a difference of one cent is treated as rounding. Hours are compared to within 0.005 of an hour.
Worked example, invented figures
A laborer works 10, 10, 10, 10 and 4 hours, all recorded as straight time, with the weekly total typed as 40. Paid $28.75 plus $4.00 in cash in lieu of fringe, against a determination of $28.75 plus $5.10. The checker reports four discrepancies: the days add up to 44 hours, not 40; 4 hours over 40 are not paid as overtime, a missing premium of 4 x 0.5 x $28.75 = $57.50; the fringe is $1.10 an hour short; and the total package is $1.10 x 44 = $48.40 short for the week. The gross, 44 x $32.75 = $1,441.00, and the net still add up. Load the example above to see it line by line.
Limits and assumptions
- It checks arithmetic and wage-rate consistency only. It does not validate classifications, apprentice or trainee ratios and rates, the Statement of Compliance, whether each deduction is permitted, or which wage determination applies to the contract.
- It sees only the hours on this payroll. A worker who also worked on other projects in the same workweek can be owed overtime over 40 hours across all of them; add those hours yourself.
- One line is one worker in one classification. A worker split across two classifications is checked line by line, so the 40-hour test has to be done on the combined hours.
- Overtime is assumed to be paid at one and a half times the overtime basis. Double time or an agreement rate shows up as a gross higher than recomputed, marked for review.
- The fringe paid to plans is taken as the creditable hourly amount. If contributions have to be annualized, compute that rate first with the Davis-Bacon wage calculator.
- Gross, deductions and net are assumed to cover this project only. On the WH-347, deductions and net pay are reported for all work in the week.
The WH-347 form itself is optional; the payroll information it carries is required, in any format (29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(ii)(B)).
Sources
Checked on .
- U.S. Department of Labor, WH-347 form and instructions: use of the form is optional, the weekly payroll information is required; what each column holds, including the hourly rate entered without cash paid in lieu of fringe
- U.S. Department of Labor, annotated guide to the WH-347 (form rev. January 2025): the information may be submitted on the optional form or in any other format
- 29 CFR 5.5, contract provisions (eCFR, current as of 29 September 2026): (a)(1)(i) basic wages and fringe at not less than the wage determination; (a)(3)(ii) certified payroll content, no full Social Security numbers, Statement of Compliance; (b)(1) one and one half times the basic rate over 40 hours in the workweek
- 29 CFR 5.31, meeting wage determination obligations: cash, bona fide fringe benefits, 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, which is never below the wage determination's basic rate
- U.S. Department of Labor, Prevailing Wage Resource Book: Overtime Pay on Government Contracts: fringe owed on every hour at straight time; worked example; hours on other work in the same week
- U.S. Department of Labor, Prevailing Wage Resource Book: Davis-Bacon Compliance Principles: wages above the basic rate offset the fringe obligation, and vice versa
- 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 checker is not legal, payroll or compliance advice and does not replace a review by your compliance officer, counsel or the contracting agency.
Questions
How do you check a WH-347 before signing the Statement of Compliance?
Line by line: add the daily hours and compare them with the weekly totals; test the hours over 40 against the overtime recorded; compare the basic rate and the fringe, singly and as a total, with the wage determination incorporated in the contract; recompute the gross from the hours and rates and the net from the deductions; then confirm by hand what no arithmetic can, that each classification matches the work performed and each deduction is permitted. This checker does the arithmetic half.
Is the WH-347 form mandatory?
No. The form is optional, the information is not. Under 29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(ii)(B) the weekly certified payroll information may be submitted on Optional Form WH-347 or in any other format, and the Department of Labor's WH-347 page says the same. Each weekly payroll still has to be accompanied by a signed Statement of Compliance.
How is overtime calculated on a Davis-Bacon job?
At one and a half times the basic rate for hours over 40 in the workweek. Fringe benefits, including cash paid in lieu of them, are left out of the overtime calculation, but they are still owed on every hour, overtime hours included, at the straight-time amount. The rate overtime is computed on is the basic rate actually paid, and never lower than the wage determination's basic rate (29 CFR 5.32).
Can a higher fringe make up for a basic rate below the wage determination?
The regulations let the prevailing wage be met by any combination of cash and bona fide fringe benefits whose total is not less than the basic rate plus the fringe (29 CFR 5.31), and the Department of Labor says the offset works in both directions. Overtime is then still computed on at least the wage determination's basic rate. The checker marks such a line for review rather than as a discrepancy, since whether the benefits are bona fide is for a person to confirm.
Does the gross include fringe benefits?
Cash paid in lieu of fringe is part of what the worker earns, so it is in the gross. Contributions paid to plans are not: they go on the WH-347 as a separate fringe credit. The Department of Labor's instructions also ask for the hourly rate to be entered without the cash paid in lieu of fringe, which is why the checker asks for the two separately.
What should I put in the worker column?
Initials or a line reference. The checker needs no Social Security number or other identifier. The certified payroll itself must not carry full Social Security numbers either: an individually identifying number, such as the last four digits, is enough under 29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(ii)(B).
Does it check that the classification and the wage determination are right?
No. It compares the figures you enter with the rates you enter. Whether each classification matches the work actually performed, and whether the rates come from the wage determination incorporated in the contract, needs a person with the contract and the wage determination in hand.
Where do I find the wage determination rates?
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 page checks one payroll you type in. 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.