In-Depth Instructions For The US Department of Labor WH-347/348 Certified Payroll Report Form

Who uses the DOL WH-347 / WH-348 Forms

All contractors (whether the general/original/direct or a subcontractor) use these forms on certified payroll projects that are governed by the Feds - as opposed to projects governed by individual states.

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An image of the WH-347 form with reference numbers assigned to the sections (the WH-348 will be next)… :o)



And now for an explanation of the sections for the WH-347…

Section 1 & 2

This is a 'Page ___ of ___'. The numbers that go in these spots will be the pages of the payroll, eg. 1 of 1 or 1 of 2 or 1 of 3 etc.
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Section 3

Check the box for whichever type of contractor is submitting this form (Sub or General/Direct).

Under that type in the company's name - the name of the company that is submitting this document, not the name of the company that it's being submitted to.
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Section 4

The easiest way for the higher-up's to keep track of these forms is to indicate which payroll number it is.

I always started at 001 and went from there for every week, just upping it by a number.

They're not looking for any type of internal information in this field, they just want your payroll numbered in order from week to week.
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Section 5

This will be the last date of the pay period for the week you're filling in the form for.
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Section 6

This is the address of the company filling in the form.
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Section 7

You'll enter the project name and location in this field - typically that information will be provided by your customer.
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Section 8

These projects always have a project or contract number. This is the field where that information belongs - and just like the project name and location, your customer will provide you with this number.
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Section 9

You can see that S, M, T, W, T, F, S have already been entered into the form. That section is editable so if your payroll runs on a different time frame you can easily change the letters around so that it works for your pay schedule. :)

Below those letters are empty boxes. Those are where the corresponding dates get entered.
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Sections 10, 11, & 12

These sections are where you'll enter any deductions from your employee(s) paycheck that aren't covered under the other deduction headings.

If you do have to enter numbers into those fields the title of two of the fields (which are currently blank) can be filled in.

The third says simply 'Other'.

If you have amounts to enter into any of those three sections you'll need to explain it on the 348 portion of the form, the certification.
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Section 13

FINALLY… The government seems to be getting hip to the fact that we don't want to provide the social security numbers of our employees and so now the Feds no longer require it. [Hopefully individual states will come to the same conclusion]

So the Feds, instead of asking for the employee(s) social security number, ask for the employee's name and identifying information (and they state that using the last 4 digits of the employee's SS# will suffice).
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Section 14

You'll enter the employee's withholding information here (e.g. Single and 1).
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Section 15

This is where you'll enter your employee's work classification (e.g. Journeyman).
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Sections 16 & 17

This is where you'll enter your employee(s) hours. The straight time hours go in the bottom row and the overtime hours go in the top row.
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Section 18

This box will automatically fill in with the total overtime hours. As you enter the overtime hours for each day they'll add up to the total and populate that field.
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Section 19

Here you'll enter the overtime rate for each employee.
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Section 20

This box will automatically fill in with the total straight-time hours. As you enter the straight-time hours for each day they'll add up to the total and populate that field.
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Section 21

This is where you'll enter the employee(s) straight-time hourly wage.
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Section 22

This is where fringe benefits are entered. The numbers must be broken down in such a way that when multiplied by the number of hours worked the fringe benefits will total up correctly.
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Section 23

This field will fill in automatically - the total will be what the employee earned on THIS particular job for this particular week.
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Section 24

This field is for wages earned on "ALL jobs this week".

That field will have to be filled in manually - if left blank the form will not calculate correctly.

The reason it has to be filled in manually is because this form records only the time that the employee spent on that particular project. If the employee worked on any additional projects that week the form doesn't know that - as odd as that sounds. ;o)

So you have to tell the government via that field on the form the total amount your employee(s) earned that week "on ALL jobs" including the project that the form is for.

If the earnings on ALL jobs is the same as the earnings for

as Section 23 because the employee didn't work on any other projects that week then manually enter that same amount into Section 24.

Again, if you leave this box blank the form will not calculate correctly.
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Sections 25 thru 29

This section is strictly for deductions, nothing that is added to the employee's check (e.g. vacation) gets entered in this section. That's what Section 22 is for. :o)
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Section 30

This field will automatically calculate and populate for you as you fill in the various deductions from the employee's check.
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Section 31

This field will automatically fill in as well. If it doesn't populate please make certain that Section 24 is filled in.

Repeat sections 13 through 31 for each employee.
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Now an image of the WH-348 form with reference numbers assigned to the sections

And now for an explanation of the sections for the WH-348…

Section 1

The date you're filling in the form.
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Section 2

The name of the signatory party goes into this field. That would be the name of the person who is signing the payroll form.
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Section 3

Enter the title of the signatory party.
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Section 4

Enter your company name here.
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Section 5

Enter a description of the building or work.
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Sections 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, & 11

These fields are for the beginning and ending dates of your payroll week for the form you're submitting.
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Section 12

Enter the same information that you entered in Section 4.
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Section 13

Enter the description of any deductions you took from your employee(s) paycheck.
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Section 14

If you paid benefits to an organization on behalf of the employee(s) then check that box (the first box that's in the lower left section of the form - the second box is at the top right section of the form).

If you paid the benefits straight to the employee then check the box for that choice, the second box.
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Section 15

Here is where you'll enter any exceptions in regard to paying the employee in full - both wages and fringes.
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Section 16

Here you'll enter remarks in relation to any exceptions listed above.
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Section 17

Enter the name and title of the signatory party, which would be the same that you entered in Sections 2 & 3.
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Section 18

This is where the signatory party signs.

For anyone who might wonder what a 'signatory party' is… It's simply the person signing the form. :o)
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Of all the forms that I sell it seems that these ones cause some of the greatest anxiety

When I first had to fill out these forms I was lost. I had no idea what I was doing. It made prevailing wage projects a pain in the rear!

So I *totally* understand if you are concerned about how to use this form.

But I found that they're actually very easy to do once you know what goes where.

And when using these forms you'll be able to save master copies for every project so that you won't be filling in redundant information every time you have to submit a new form.

I've included instructions in the download package about how to do that.

If you're at all nervous about these forms *please* don't be. I have no doubt that you'll have it down quicker than I did myself! :o)

And please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions or concerns. I'm here to help. :o)
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