Prevailing Wage Calculator
Combine base hourly rate and fringe benefits to estimate Davis-Bacon prevailing wage pay, overtime, and certified payroll compliance.
Prevailing Wage Calculator
Wage Determination Base Rate
The basic hourly rate (BHR) listed for your trade classification on the project wage determination.
Wage Determination Fringe Rate
The fringe benefit amount listed alongside the base rate on the wage determination.
Cash Base Rate Paid
The actual cash hourly rate paid to the worker, before any fringe.
How Fringes Are Paid
Straight-Time Hours Worked
Overtime Hours Worked
Hours beyond 40 in the workweek. The CWHSSA overtime threshold for Davis-Bacon work is 40 hours.
Overtime Multiplier
Estimates only, not tax or legal advice. Prevailing wage determinations vary by project, trade classification, and locality. Always verify against the official wage determination on the contract.
Track Prevailing Wage Hours Without Spreadsheets
Timeclock44 logs every shift and applies the right rate, so straight-time, overtime, and fringe hours line up cleanly when certified payroll is due. Download the app to get started.
How prevailing wage is calculated under the Davis-Bacon Act
The prevailing wage on a federally funded construction job is two numbers added together: the basic hourly rate (BHR) and the fringe benefit amount. That sum is the minimum total compensation the contractor must pay for each hour worked. DOL Fact Sheet #66E puts it plainly: under Davis-Bacon, the prevailing wage is the basic hourly rate plus any fringe benefits.
Those numbers do not come from the contractor. They come from a wage determination issued by the Department of Labor and published on SAM.gov. A wage determination is tied to a county (or group of counties) and lists separate rates for each trade classification: electrician, carpenter, laborer, operator, and so on. The applicable determination is attached to the contract, so a worker can check the exact required base rate and fringe amount for their classification and locality.
The calculator above does the core math. The required prevailing wage rate is the wage determination base rate plus the wage determination fringe rate. Everything else (compliance, overtime, total fringe due) builds on that single figure.
Cash wages vs. fringe benefit contributions
Davis-Bacon gives contractors two ways to satisfy the fringe portion of the obligation. The first is to pay the entire fringe amount as additional cash wages. The second is to make bona fide contributions to qualifying benefit plans: health insurance, pension or retirement, life insurance, or apprenticeship and training programs. A combination of both is also allowed, with part of the fringe paid in cash and the rest funded through plan contributions.
What counts as a bona fide fringe benefit matters. The contribution has to be irrevocable, paid to a third-party trustee or plan, and provide a real benefit to the worker. General overhead, payroll taxes, and workers' compensation premiums do not count, because those are costs the employer owes regardless.
Benefit plan credits offset the cash fringe requirement dollar for dollar, but only up to the fringe amount on the wage determination. If a contractor contributes more to benefit plans than the determination requires, the excess does not reduce the required cash base rate. The calculator caps the fringe credit at the wage determination fringe amount for the compliance check while still showing the actual total compensation.
Calculating overtime on prevailing wage jobs
Overtime on Davis-Bacon work is governed by the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA), which sets the threshold at 40 hours in a workweek. The premium, usually time-and-a-half, applies only to the basic hourly rate. The fringe benefit amount is paid at its straight-time value for every hour, and it is not multiplied.
An example makes the rule concrete. With a $30.00 base rate and an $8.50 fringe, an overtime hour at 1.5x is paid as $45.00 of base ($30.00 times 1.5) plus the unchanged $8.50 of fringe. Fringe benefits must still be paid for all hours worked, including overtime hours, under 29 CFR Part 5, Subpart B.
There is one helpful wrinkle. When the fringe obligation is met through bona fide benefit contributions, cash paid in lieu of a fringe contribution can be left out of the overtime half-time premium calculation. In other words, the additional half-time does not have to be computed on the cash-in-lieu fringe portion. The calculator keeps the fringe portion at straight time across all modes, consistent with this treatment.
Staying compliant with certified payroll
Contractors on Davis-Bacon projects file a certified payroll report every week, typically on the WH-347 form. The report lists each worker, their classification, hours worked, rates paid, and how the fringe obligation was met. Fringe has to be recorded consistently from week to week, whether it is paid in cash or through plan contributions.
A shortfall, paying less than the wage determination total, triggers back wages owed on every affected hour. Repeated or willful violations can bring monetary penalties and debarment, which bars the contractor from federal contracts for up to three years. The shortfall-per-hour figure in the calculator helps catch a gap before payroll is certified.
If you are tracking your own hours across a prevailing wage job, the figures only stay clean when straight-time and overtime hours are logged accurately as they happen. The disclaimer is worth repeating: this tool gives estimates only and is not tax or legal advice. Prevailing wage determinations vary by project, trade, and locality, so always verify against the official wage determination on the contract.
Authoritative Sources
- DOL Fact Sheet #66E (DBRA Compliance with Fringe Benefit Requirements)
- DOL Wage and Hour Division (Davis-Bacon Overtime presentation)
- 29 CFR Part 5, Subpart B (Fringe Benefits Provisions of the Davis-Bacon Act)
- SAM.gov (Davis-Bacon and Service Contract Act wage determinations)
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about prevailing wage calculator
What is a prevailing wage and how is it calculated?
A prevailing wage is the minimum hourly pay (basic hourly rate plus fringe benefits) that contractors must pay workers on federally funded construction projects covered by the Davis-Bacon Act. It is set per trade classification and locality. The required total is the basic hourly rate plus the fringe benefit amount listed on the project wage determination. Use the calculator above to combine those two figures and check your pay against them.
How do fringe benefits factor into the Davis-Bacon prevailing wage?
The wage determination lists a fringe amount alongside the basic hourly rate. Contractors can satisfy that fringe obligation by paying it as extra cash wages, by making bona fide contributions to qualifying benefit plans (health, pension, training), or by a combination of both. Cash plus benefit contributions together must equal or exceed the required total. DOL Fact Sheet #66E covers the fringe benefit rules.
How is overtime calculated on a Davis-Bacon prevailing wage job?
Overtime under the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act applies after 40 hours in a workweek. The time-and-a-half premium is computed on the basic hourly rate only. The fringe benefit amount is paid at its straight-time value for every hour worked, including overtime hours, but it is not multiplied. Our /tools/overtime-calculator/ handles standard FLSA overtime if your job is not prevailing wage.
Do I have to pay fringe benefits on overtime hours?
Yes. Fringe benefits must be paid for all hours worked, including overtime hours (29 CFR Part 5, Subpart B). The fringe amount stays at its straight-time value, so the overtime multiplier does not increase it, but it still applies to every overtime hour.
Can I pay the fringe benefit portion as cash instead of benefits?
Yes. Davis-Bacon lets the fringe obligation be met entirely in cash, entirely through bona fide benefit plan contributions, or through a combination. Cash paid in lieu of a fringe contribution is treated as wages. One advantage of bona fide benefit contributions is that the cash-in-lieu fringe can be excluded from the overtime half-time premium calculation.
What happens if my total pay falls short of the prevailing wage determination?
A shortfall means the contractor owes back wages for the difference on every hour worked. Repeated or willful violations can bring monetary penalties and debarment from future federal contracts. The calculator shows a shortfall-per-hour figure so you can spot a gap before certified payroll is filed.
What is the difference between the base hourly rate and the prevailing wage?
The basic hourly rate (BHR) is the cash wage portion only. The prevailing wage is the full required compensation: basic hourly rate plus the fringe benefit amount. A worker can be paid a base rate below the determination's BHR and still comply under Davis-Bacon if fringe credit brings the total up, though some state prevailing wage laws require the base rate itself be met.
Where do I find the prevailing wage determination for my project?
Wage determinations for Davis-Bacon and Service Contract Act projects are published on SAM.gov under wage determinations. The applicable determination is also attached to the contract. It lists the required basic hourly rate and fringe amount for each trade classification in the project county.