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Administrator Guide
Last Updated: 2025-09-19
Define Cost Allocations for a Worker

Define Cost Allocations for a Worker

Workday processes costing allocations for a worker when you calculate payroll using the
Run Pay Calculation
 task.
You can specify default allocations for 1 or all of a worker's earnings across:
  • Cost Centers.
  • Projects.
  • Grants.
  • Other organization types.
  • Locations.
For Payroll for Canada, Payroll for the UK, and Payroll for the U.S., if you enable the multiple jobs functionality from the
Position Setup Options
 field on the
Edit Tenant Setup - HCM
 task, workers can have cost allocations that differ by position.
You can view the costing allocations you defined by accessing the
All Workers Costing Allocations
 report. See: View Worker Cost Allocations.
For Payroll for the U.S., if you enable Salary Over the Cap and assign a Grant worktag subject to a Sponsor Salary Cap to a costing allocation, Workday evaluates earnings in the pay component group to determine the covered amount. When a portion of the earning exceeds the cap, Workday displays an action button in the Salary Over the Cap column.
You can’t rescind an assigned costing allocation once it has been used in a journal calculated after 09-20-2025 and with a status of Created, Error, or Posted. If you want to make changes to an existing costing allocation that you can no longer rescind, you can update the allocation from the
Proposed Costing Allocations
 tab.
  1. Access the
    Assign Costing Allocation
     task.
  2. In the
    Include Existing Costing Allocations
     section, select the
    From
     and
    To
     dates.
  3. As you complete the
    Worker Costing
     section, consider:
    Option
    Description
    Position
    Applies the allocation instructions only to the selected position. You can select a past, present, or future position. When you enable
    Require Position
     on the
    Edit Tenant Setup - Payroll
     task, Workday displays:
    • The worker's processing position for workers in Canada and the U.S.
    • The worker's primary position for workers in Australia, France, and the UK.
    Earning
    Applies the allocation instructions only to the selected earning. You can select from all earnings or earnings associated with the worker (or position) compensation plans.
    When you leave Earning blank, the allocation instructions apply to all earnings for the worker or their position.
  4. Click
    OK
    .
  5. As you complete the task, consider:
    Option
    Description
    Copy Costing Allocation
    Workday doesn't copy attachments when copying a costing allocation.
    Start Date
    End Date
    Dates can't overlap past or future costing allocation intervals.
    Default (As of Start Date)
    When you don't enter
    Costing Override
     values, Workday uses the worktag values for the worker's assigned organizations to allocate costs for their earnings.
    Required with no Default (Must have Costing Override)
    When a worktag is
    Required
     under
    Payroll Costing Allocation
     on the
    Maintain Worktag Usage
     task but a worker has no organization default, you must select a
    Costing Override
     value from the Additional Worktags field.
    Costing Company
    Enter a costing company to assign costing allocations. The
    Costing Company
     column is only available when you select the
    Intercompany Accounting - Enable
     check box in the
    Payroll Accounting
     section on the
    Edit Tenant Setup - Payroll
     task.
    Worktags
    Select a value for each worktag listed in the
    Required with no Default (Must have Costing Override)
     field. Example: If business unit and program are the required worktags, you must select values for both.
    You can also select values for:
    • Worktags listed in the
      Default (As of Start Date)
       column. When you select a value, Workday removes the default value from the display field.
    • Any worktag that's enabled for payroll costing.
    If you have set up related worktags, Workday adds the one you select and its related worktags. You can remove any you don't want.
    You can only select 1 of these worktags as an override:
    Project
    ,
    Project Plan Phase
    , or
    Project Plan Task
    .
    Distribution Percent
    You can add rows to split the costing allocation for the salary over cap portion. The sum of all rows must equal 100%.
  6. (Optional) For Payroll for the U.S., if the action button appears in the Salary Over the Cap column, click the action button to access the salary over cap suballocation amount and organizational defaults. As you complete the grid, consider:
    Option
    Description
    Costing Company
    Enter a costing company to assign costing allocations. The
    Costing Company
     column is only available when you select the
    Intercompany Accounting - Enable
     check box in the
    Payroll Accounting
     section on the
    Edit Tenant Setup - Payroll
     task.
    Worktags
    You can edit the worker's organizational default worktags on the salary over cap suballocation. You can't edit the Grant worktag associated with the salary over cap award.
    Distribution Percent
    You can add rows to split the costing allocation for the salary over cap portion. The sum of all rows must equal 100%.
Allocations for a Worker
Enter cost allocations for Ben:
  • To allocate 34% of his earnings to his default cost center.
  • To split the rest evenly between cost centers 0002 and 0003.
Default (As of Start Date)
Costing Override
Distribution Percent
Cost Center: 0001
No entry
34
Cost Center: 0002
33
Cost Center: 0003
33
Allocations for a Worker with Multiple Positions (CAN, USA)
Jean has 2 positions, each belonging to a different cost center:
  • Researcher, cost center 0001
  • Professor, cost center 0002
You want to allocate 50% of her earnings to cost center 0003.
Access the
Assign Costing Allocation
 task for her researcher position and enter:
Default (As of Start Date)
Costing Override
Distribution Percent
Cost Center: 0001
No entry
50
Cost Center: 0003
50
Now, access the
Assign Costing Allocation
 task for her professor position and enter:
Default (As of Start Date)
Costing Override
Distribution Percent
Cost Center: 0002
No entry
50
Cost Center: 0003
50
For her researcher position:
  • 50% of her earnings will go to cost center 0001.
  • 50% of her earnings will go to cost center 0003.
For her professor position:
  • 50% of her earnings will go to cost center 0002.
  • 50% of her earnings will go to cost center 0003.