Retainage calculator
Work out how much retainage is held on this pay app and what you should be paid this period.
| Total completed and stored | |
| Retainage held | |
| Total earned less retainage | |
| Current payment due |
How retainage works on a pay app
Retainage (or retention) is the part of each payment the GC holds back until the job, or your part of it, is finished. It's usually a percentage of the work completed to date, and sometimes a different percentage of materials stored on site.
Each month: total completed and stored to date, minus retainage held, gives total earned less retainage. Subtract what you've already been certified for and you have this month's payment due.
The rate comes from your contract, and state law can limit it. For example, North Carolina allows no retainage on public projects under $150,000 total cost and caps it at 5% above that (G.S. 143-134.1(b1)), and South Carolina caps it at 3.5% on state construction (S.C. Code ยง 11-35-3030(4)). See our North Carolina and South Carolina guides.
General information, not legal advice. This calculator only does the arithmetic. Check your contract and the law that applies to your project.
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