Fringe benefit columns on the WH-347

Fringe benefits appear in two places on the Rev. January 2025 WH-347: columns 6B and 6C on page 1, and item 5 with its hourly-credit table on page 2. This guide explains how those pieces fit together, based on the form and the DOL instructions. It is not legal, payroll or tax advice. Fringe obligations depend on your wage determination, so check it and the instructions for your case.

Page 1: columns 6A, 6B and 6C

The key point for 6A: if you pay a worker extra cash instead of fringe benefits, that cash is not part of the 6A rate. It goes in 6C. Keeping the two apart makes it possible to see both the base rate and the fringe portion.

Page 2: item 5 and the hourly-credit table

Item 5 of the Statement of Compliance certifies that fringe benefits were paid in cash and/or to bona fide plans, funds or programs. Where you claim an hourly credit, you provide plan information and the credit per worker in the table headed "Hourly Credit for Fringe Benefits." The form says: if an amount is listed in 6B on the first page, enter the hourly credit claimed under each plan name, type and number for each worker, and check whether the plan is funded or unfunded.

The table has room for up to six plans, each with:

• FB name
• FB type
• Plan number
• Funded / Unfunded
• Hourly credit

and a total hourly credit per worker. More than six plans go on an addendum. That per-worker total is the hourly credit used for 6B.

Funded vs. unfunded plans

Each plan in the table is marked funded or unfunded. The DOL instructions say unfunded plans require prior DOL approval under 29 CFR 5.28. This page does not go into what qualifies a plan; if you are claiming credit for a plan you are unsure about, check the DOL instructions and regulations before you certify.

Three common cases

1. All fringe paid in cash. Check box 5 on page 2 but skip the hourly-credit table. Put the cash in 6C; 6B is not used for a plan credit.
2. All fringe paid to plans. Check box 5, fill the hourly-credit table for each worker, and enter the resulting credit in 6B.
3. Partly plan, partly cash. Check box 5. Plan amounts go in the hourly-credit table (and so into 6B), and the cash portion goes in 6C.

For how box 5 fits with the other page-2 boxes, see the Statement of Compliance guide for which boxes apply.

About the old 4(a) and 4(b)

If you remember fringe items "4(a)" and "4(b)" on page 2, those are from older editions, where item 4 had (a) for amounts paid to approved plans, funds or programs and (b) for amounts paid in cash. On the Rev. January 2025 form, fringe is item 5 plus the hourly-credit table and columns 6B and 6C. See what is on the Rev. January 2025 form.

What the WH-347 Layout Tool does with fringe

Very little, on purpose. The WH-347 Layout Tool does no fringe math. If your CSV or Excel export already has 6B and 6C amounts, you map those columns and they are printed as given. The tool does not compute credits, does not check them against a wage determination, and does not fill the page-2 hourly-credit table or the apprenticeship table. You complete those yourself or on an addendum before the payroll is signed.