Skip to main content
Documentation
Documentation
Administrator Guide
Last Updated: 2025-09-19
Concept: Retro Payroll Input

Concept: Retro Payroll Input

You can run the
Retro Pay Calculation
 task to recalculate prior periods results in retro for workers when:
  • You enter payroll input for a prior period.
  • Workers have prior results for the period and run category.

What Workday Processes

When you run retro, Workday processes retro payroll inputs for the workers, including one-time payments.
Example: When you enter a retro payroll input in January that's only eligible for a bonus run category, Workday:
  • Processes the payroll input only when the worker has results in January for the bonus run category.
  • Ignores it when the worker has results in January only for the regular run category.
Deleting payroll inputs doesn't remove the associated workers' retro results. To adjust retro payroll inputs that you already included in retro results, cancel those results before loading the new payroll inputs and rerunning retro. Doing so ensures that Workday doesn't consider the retro period of the initial payroll input in the new retro pay calculation.

Pay Groups with Multiple Run Categories

Workday detects retro changes for all run categories associated with a pay group.

Earning and Deduction Calculations

When processing retro payroll input, Workday:
  • Recalculates deductions that have payroll input when they're set to
    Recalculate during Retro
    .
  • For Payroll for Canada, France, Ireland, the UK, and the U.S., recalculates earnings that have payroll input when they're not set to
    Do Not Recalculate during Retro
     or
    Always Gross Up
    .
    Workday reports payroll input for pay components not configured for retro as unprocessed retro events.
Workday only overrides earning and deduction eligibility requirements when payroll input exists for the worker in the current pay period.
Workday uses the rates in effect on the dates specified for the payroll input.

Worktags

Workday carries forward any worktags you enter on retro payroll input.
Example for Payroll for Canada and the U.S.: When you select a worktag for a different tax authority than in the original calculation, Workday uses the new worktag.
Example for Payroll for France: When you select a worktag for a different tax election than in the original calculation, Workday uses the new worktag.