Tax & Fringes

Tax & Fringes are used to track costs or benefits that are incurred in addition to the base cost of labor or materials. These may include:

• Employment-related expenses such as payroll taxes, pension contributions, or welfare program fees.
• Resource-based charges, for example daily equipment or usage fees.
• Employee allowances including holiday pay, sick leave, or similar entitlements.
• Add-on costs like sales tax applied to materials.

Fringe benefits may also be subject to limits or caps. For example, a project may define a maximum compensation threshold after which certain fringe benefits no longer apply.

The Tax & Fringe screen in Element Manager is initially populated based on the selections made during Budget Builder setup. After the budget is created, you can add, edit, and manage Tax & Fringes directly from this screen.

Working with Tax & Fringes

Once a Tax & Fringe has been added to the Tax & Fringe element table, it can be applied to lines in the budget in several ways.

• Sidebar → Tax & Fringe Modal — Select a line or group of lines in the detail level of the budget and apply individual or grouped fringes.
• Rate Entry Tool — Apply groups of fringes to specific positions or departments in the budget. Learn more about the Rate Entry tool.
• Batch Fringe Tool — Apply individual or grouped fringes to Major or Minor departments in the budget. Learn more about the Batch Fringe tool.

Figure: Example of Tax and Fringe application in the Sidebar

No Tax and Fringes are included by default in a budget.

• You can import existing Fringe Groups or individual Fringes from your Element Library.

---

Group Manager

The Group Manager lets you organize elements into custom groups for better structure and reuse. You can save groups to your Element Library, and import individual elements or entire groups from the library into your budget as needed.

---

Tax and Fringe Table

Taxes and Fringes can be created, edited, or removed directly from the Tax & Fringe table.

Adding a New Tax/Fringe

To create a new Tax & Fringe, follow these steps:

1. Click the Add button at the bottom of the table.
2. A new Tax/Fringe is automatically assigned a default name (e.g., TAXFRINGE1). Additional custom Tax/Fringes follow the same pattern: TAXFRINGE2, TAXFRINGE3, etc.
3. Update the new Tax/Fringe with a custom Name.
4. Enter a Description (optional).
5. Enter a Fringe Account Category — defaults to the standard fringe account 99. Additional categories can be defined in Preferences → Core Data.
6. Enter a Rate for the Tax/Fringe.
7. Enter a Unit for the Tax/Fringe.
8. Define a Floor and/or Ceiling (optional).
9. Mark whether the Tax/Fringe is Incentivizable by checking the box in the Incentivize column (optional).

Editing a Tax/Fringe

• Click into any field to update the data. Changes are saved automatically when you click out of the cell.
• System default Tax/Fringes cannot be edited.

Tax and Fringe Table Details

Column	Description	Data Type
Order	Drag the handle icon to reorder items in the table.	Draggable Icon
Use	Toggle this checkbox to enable or disable the selected Tax/Fringe. Disabled items remain visible in the budget but are excluded from total calculations.	Checkbox
Name	Set the name of the Tax/Fringe for use in the budget.	Text
Description	Provides a description for the Tax/Fringe. This field is optional.	Text
Category	Tax/Fringes can be assigned to different Fringe accounts in the budget, beyond the traditional 99 account. This field is optional.	Text
Rate	Sets the rate to be used for this Tax/Fringe (Required).	Numerical
Per Unit	Sets the Unit to be used for this Tax/Fringe. Defaults to Percentage (Required). % (Percent) The %-based unit applies the Rate as a percentage of the applied line’s Subtotal. Example: A 5% fringe on a Subtotal of 1000 adds 50 to the line’s fringe amount. %EP (Percent of Episode) The %EP-based unit applies the Rate as a percentage based on the number of Episodes assigned to the line via Sidebar > Episodes. This creates a per-episode total used in the %EP calculation. This Fringe works best when a Ceiling value is set and is particularly useful for SAG-AFTRA per-episode contributions. Example: For a cast member paid per episode, %EP ensures the proper floor and ceiling are applied to the per-episode rate. %Scale The %Scale-based unit applies a percentage from the Rate field of the Tax/Fringe. When used on a line, this percentage is calculated against the Scale Rate defined in the Cast or Crew header row and then multiplied by the line’s Amount field. This is useful for select taxes and contributions that are based on Scale Rates rather than the actual rate paid to a person, protecting over-scale rates from generating an erroneous Tax & Fringe amount. Example: A crew member has a Hire Rate of $1,500 per week and a defined Scale Rate of $1,400 per week. The line is set to 1 week with the Rate of $1,500 applied, so the subtotal shows $1,500. When a 10% %Scale fringe is applied, the system calculates 10% of the Scale Rate ($1,400) instead of the line’s Rate ($1,500), resulting in a fringe of $140 for that line. Hour The Hour-based unit applies a flat amount from the Rate field of the Tax/Fringe. When used on a line, this rate is multiplied by the line’s Phase Pay Hours. Example: A line item assigned to the Prep Phase has 12 Prep/Wrap Pay Hours. With an Hourly T&F rate of $7, the calculation applies $84 (12 × 7) to the line’s Tax & Fringe total. Day The Day-based unit applies a flat amount from the Rate field of the Tax/Fringe. When used on a line, this rate is applied per day, with line units such as Day, Week, or Month internally converted to the equivalent number of days. Example: A line item shows 5 Days, with a Day T&F rate of $7. The calculation applies $35 (5 × 7) to the line’s Tax & Fringe total. Week The Week-based unit applies a flat amount from the Rate field of the Tax/Fringe. When used on a line, this rate is applied per week, with line units such as Day, Week, or Month internally converted to the equivalent number of weeks. Example: A line item shows 5 Weeks, with a Week T&F rate of $200. The calculation applies $1,000 (5 × 200) to the line’s Tax & Fringe total. Month The Month-based unit applies a flat amount from the Rate field of the Tax/Fringe. When used on a line, this rate is applied per month, with line units such as Day, Week, or Month internally converted to the equivalent number of months. Example: A line item shows 1 Month, with a Month T&F rate of $1,000. The calculation applies $1,000 (1 × 1,000) to the line’s Tax & Fringe total. Episode The Episode-based unit applies a flat amount from the Rate field of the Tax/Fringe. When used on a line, this rate is applied per episode, based on the number of episodes assigned in the Episodes column. The line’s Tax & Fringe total is calculated by multiplying the rate by the number of episodes for that line. Example: A line item is associated with 3 of 8 episodes, with an Episode T&F rate of $500. The calculation applies $1,500 (3 × 500) to the line’s Tax & Fringe total. Flat The Flat-based unit applies a fixed amount from the Rate field of the Tax/Fringe. When used on a line, this rate is applied directly to the line’s Tax & Fringe total and is not modified or adjusted by any other line item data. Example: A line with a Flat T&F rate of $100 will apply $100 to the line’s Tax & Fringe total. Hour pD The Hour pD-based unit applies the amount from the Rate field of the Tax/Fringe. When used on a line, Hour pD is calculated based on the line item's total hours, determined by the Day Type T&F hours multiplied by the Amount field. A Day Type's T&F Hours are defined in Element Manager > Day Types. Example: A line with a Regular Day type is defined as having 12 T&F Hours, with an Hour pD rate of 7. The calculation applies $84 (12 × 7) to the line’s Tax & Fringe total. For more details and examples of Tax & Fringe Units and how they work in the budget, see Tax Fringe Unit Information.	Dropdown
Floor	Define a starting point for the Tax/Fringe to kick in. This field is optional. Example: A Floor of 1000 means the Tax/Fringe only applies after 1000 is reached in the subtotal field.	Text
Ceiling	Define a limit for the Tax/Fringe. This field is optional. Example: A Ceiling of 1000 caps the Tax/Fringe once 1000 is reached in the subtotal field.	Text
Incentivize	Defines if the Tax/Fringe can be Incentivized.	Checkbox
Total	Displays the overall real-time total value of all lines assigned to this Tax/Fringe in the budget.	Numerical
In Use Lines	Displays the number of budget lines assigned to this Tax/Fringe. Clicking the report icon generates a detailed breakdown.	Numerical
Options (Three-Dot Icon)	Opens a dropdown menu with additional actions for the selected Tax/Fringe, including renaming and deleting.	Dropdown

---

Options Menu

Clicking the three-dot icon in the Options menu reveals additional actions available for the selected element.

• Copy to Library - copies the selected Tax/Fringe to the Element Library.
• Rename - renames the selected Tax/Fringe.
• Delete - deletes the selected Tax/Fringe from the budget.

---

Deleting a Tax/Fringe

Rules: Tax & Fringe elements are fully deletable from the budget, even while in use.

• If the Tax/Fringe is in use, the user is prompted with a confirmation warning.
• The user may choose to proceed with deletion regardless by pressing Ok.
• If confirmed, the Tax & Fringe is removed from all applied lines, and the budget calculations are updated accordingly.
• When deleting a Tax/Fringe that is not in use on any lines in the budget, it is deleted immediately.