> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.getprescience.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Payroll deductions > Deduct each employee's share of the premium through payroll. Employers choose, during Prescience setup, how much of each premium they cover: between 50% and 100% of the employee-only premium, and between 50% and 100% of the added premium for dependents. Employees pay the rest through payroll. If your platform runs payroll, you deduct that share. Everything you need is on two endpoints you already call: * **`GET /groups/{groupId}/members`**: each employee's coverage and `deduction`. * **`GET /groups/{groupId}/account`**: the plan, including the per-tier premium split (`plan.tiers`) and the employer's chosen percentages (`plan.employerContribution`). Both return `404 not_found` until the group is enrolled. ## One employee's deduction From `GET /groups/{groupId}/members`, for an employee covering a spouse and a child under a plan where the employer covers 100% of employee-only premium and 90% of the added premium for dependents: ```json theme={null} { "memberId": "mem_66ab029b5b1e", "externalId": "emp_0009", "email": "tom@northstarlabs.com", "status": "active", "coverage": { "status": "enrolled", "electionStatus": "active", "tier": "family", "coveredDependents": [ { "relationship": "spouse" }, { "relationship": "child" } ], "effectiveDate": "2026-09-01" }, "deduction": { "medical": { "employeeMonthlyCents": 12240, "employerMonthlyCents": 171360, "totalMonthlyCents": 183600 }, "dentalVision": null, "perPaycheck": { "frequency": "biweekly", "paychecksPerYear": 26, "employeeCents": 5649, "employerCents": 79089 }, "preTax": true, "reason": null, "billing": { "monthlyRateCents": 183600, "source": "quote_rate_schedule", "schedule": "quoted" }, "billingReason": null, "rateMismatch": false } } ``` * `deduction.medical.employeeMonthlyCents` is the employee's monthly medical share. It comes from the employer's approved plan terms, the same amount the employee saw when enrolling. * `deduction.dentalVision` is set when the employee has active dental or vision coverage with an employee contribution. * `deduction.perPaycheck.employeeCents` is what to deduct from each paycheck: the monthly total (medical plus dental and vision) converted with the payroll calendar Prescience has on file: monthly × 12 ÷ 52 for `weekly`, × 12 ÷ 26 for `biweekly`, and divided by the pay days in a month for `days_of_month`. `perPaycheck` is `null` when no payroll calendar is on file; use the monthly amounts with your own calendar instead. * `deduction.perPaycheck.employerCents` is the company's medical contribution per paycheck (`medical.employerMonthlyCents`, converted and rounded the same way). Post it as the employer contribution for the pay period, for example as `company_contribution_amount` on the employee's Check benefit. It is `0` for a waiver. * `deduction.perPaycheck.paychecksPerYear` is the number of pay runs a year on that calendar (52, 26, or 12 × the pay days in a month). `employeeCents × paychecksPerYear ÷ 12` matches the monthly total to within rounding; see [Rounding](#rounding). * `deduction.preTax` is `true` when the employer runs a Section 125 premium-only plan, so the deduction is pre-tax. * `deduction.billing` is what the employer is billed each month for this household, from Prescience's verified rate schedule. It is there so both sides can reconcile; don't deduct from it. `deduction.rateMismatch` is `true` when it differs from `medical.totalMonthlyCents` by more than \$1. The deduction still applies, but tell Prescience. When there's no billed rate, `billing` is `null` and `billingReason` says why (`no_rate_schedule`, `billing_baseline_pending` or `household_not_billable`). Both are `null` for members who aren't enrolled. ## Rounding Each per-paycheck amount is rounded once, to whole cents: `round(monthly ÷ paychecks per month)`, where paychecks per month is 52/12 for `weekly`, 26/12 for `biweekly`, or the pay days in a month for `days_of_month`. The same amount applies to every paycheck, so a year of paychecks can differ from 12 × the monthly amount by a few cents. For Tom above, 26 × $56.49 = $1,468.74 against 12 × $122.40 = $1,468.80, six cents short. The monthly amounts (`medical`, `dentalVision`) are the source of truth. Pick one: * **Accept the drift.** At most half a cent per paycheck, so under \$0.27 a year on a weekly calendar. Prescience does not reconcile employee deductions against the monthly amount. * **True up on the last paycheck of the plan year.** Deduct `12 × monthly − employeeCents × (paychecksPerYear − 1)` on the final paycheck before `plan.coverageEnd`, and do the same for `employerCents` against `medical.employerMonthlyCents`. ## Coverage tiers The plan prices three tiers. `coverage.tier` on `/members` and `plan.tiers[].tier` on `/account` use the same three values, set by how many dependents the employee covers: | Covered dependents | `tier` | | ------------------ | ------------------- | | 0 | `employee_only` | | 1 | `employee_plus_one` | | 2 or more | `family` | A spouse, domestic partner and child each count as one dependent. Quotes and the census count four household shapes (`employeeOnly`, `employeeSpouse`, `employeeChildren`, `family`); on the plan, "employee + spouse" and "employee + one child" are both `employee_plus_one`, and an employee with two or more children and no spouse is `family`. To find what an employee pays, match `coverage.tier` to the `plan.tiers` entry with the same `tier`, or read the employee's own `deduction` directly. ## When there's nothing to deduct, or no amount yet `coverage.status` and `deduction.reason` tell you why. | `coverage.status` | Deduction | `deduction.reason` | | -------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------- | | `enrolled` | The employee's share. | `null` | | `waived` | `0`: the employee waived medical coverage. | `null` | | `pending_election` | `null`. Deduct nothing yet, including for employees who were added at enrollment but haven't submitted an election. | `election_pending` | | `enrolled` without approved terms | `null` until Prescience approves the plan terms. | `plan_terms_not_approved` | | `enrolled`, employee waived but dependents covered | `null`. Prescience reviews dependent-only coverage. | `dependent_only_coverage_needs_review` | | `enrolled`, a tier rate missing | `null` | `rate_missing` | | `ineligible` | `null` | `ineligible` | | `terminated` | `null`. Stop deducting. | `terminated` | | `cobra` | `null`. COBRA continuants pay Prescience directly, not through payroll. | `cobra_paid_directly` | Never treat `null` as zero. ## The plan-level split `plan.tiers` on `GET /groups/{groupId}/account` gives the monthly split, deductible and out-of-pocket maximum for every tier, which is what you show the employer. For the same synthetic plan: ```json theme={null} [ { "tier": "employee_only", "label": "Employee only", "totalMonthlyCents": 61200, "employerMonthlyCents": 61200, "employeeMonthlyCents": 0, "dentalVisionEmployeeMonthlyCents": 0, "deductibleCents": 0, "outOfPocketMaxCents": 100000 }, { "tier": "employee_plus_one", "label": "Employee + 1", "totalMonthlyCents": 122400, "employerMonthlyCents": 116280, "employeeMonthlyCents": 6120, "dentalVisionEmployeeMonthlyCents": 0, "deductibleCents": 0, "outOfPocketMaxCents": 210000 }, { "tier": "family", "label": "Family", "totalMonthlyCents": 183600, "employerMonthlyCents": 171360, "employeeMonthlyCents": 12240, "dentalVisionEmployeeMonthlyCents": 0, "deductibleCents": 0, "outOfPocketMaxCents": 250000 } ] ``` `plan.employerContribution` holds the percentages the employer chose (`employeePct`, `dependentPct`) and the allowed range. `policyMismatch` is `true` when the approved per-tier amounts differ from what those percentages imply by more than \$1; the approved amounts still apply, but tell Prescience. ## HSA elections Each employee chooses in Prescience how much of their pay goes into their HSA, pre-tax, for the rest of the tax year. `GET /groups/{groupId}/members` returns that choice as `hsaElection`. Add it to their payroll: ```json theme={null} "hsaElection": { "status": "saved", "version": "2026-09-01T16:20:00.000Z", "contributionYear": 2026, "effectiveDate": "2026-09-01", "targetCents": 300000, "contributionLimit": "family" } ``` * `targetCents` is the total to withhold from `effectiveDate` through December 31 of `contributionYear`. Split it across the employee's remaining paychecks on your calendar: you know the real pay dates, locked payrolls, missed checks and terminations. * `contributionLimit` is Check's `hsa_contribution_limit` (`single` or `family`) for the employee's `hsa` benefit. * `version` changes whenever the employee saves a new election. Apply each version once; when it changes, recompute the split from the new `effectiveDate`. * `hsaElection` is `null` when the employee hasn't made an election. `targetCents: 0` means they elected nothing. Don't treat the two the same. * It is the **saved election only**. It doesn't say what was withheld or deposited, and reading it doesn't authorize Prescience to collect anything. Who does what: | Step | Who | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------- | | Employee saves the election; Prescience enforces the contribution limits | Prescience | | Split `targetCents` across your paychecks and withhold it pre-tax (Check `hsa` benefit) | You | | Report what was actually withheld on each completed payroll | You | | Deposit the withheld money into the employee's HSA | Prescience | Check records the deduction and lowers take-home pay; it doesn't deposit the money. Prescience deposits only what you report as withheld. How those results reach Prescience is agreed during onboarding. ## Keeping deductions current Sync `GET /groups/{groupId}/members` daily and before each payroll run. A deduction changes when an employee enrolls, waives, adds or removes a dependent, or when Prescience approves new plan terms (`plan.termsRevision` on `/account` increases). New hires and terminations still originate in your platform and reach Prescience through [census sync](/guides/census-sync).