Is waterproofing the same class code as painting in California?

It is a separate sub-classification of the same dual-wage pair. Painting or wallpaper installation is 5474(1)/5482(1), waterproofing is 5474(2)/5482(2), and painting of water, oil or gasoline storage tanks is 5474(3)/5482(3). All three move from $32.00 to $36.00 on September 1, 2026, but the sub-class is what appears on the policy and what the auditor tests the work against.

Why does the painting threshold increase matter so much?

Because painting starts from one of the lowest thresholds in the California table, the $4.00 increase sits directly inside the wage band where most production painters are actually paid. A trade whose threshold is above or below the entire crew produces a predictable outcome; painting's new $36.00 cliff lands in the middle of the crew, which means the payroll split has to be reported correctly every period and will be tested at audit.

Does the painting threshold apply per employee or to the crew?

Per employee, individually, and as a cliff. A painter at $35.99 has all of their payroll assigned to the low-wage code and one at $36.00 has all of it assigned to the high-wage code. There is no blending, no proration, and no crew or company average. Overtime premium, bonuses and per diem generally do not count toward regular hourly wage.

California Painting Class Codes 5474 vs 5482 — Painting, Waterproofing, and Tank Work at $36

Q: What is the California painting dual-wage threshold for 2026?

For policies incepting on or after September 1, 2026, the painting threshold rises from $32.00 to $36.00 per hour. Payroll for a painter whose regular hourly wage equals or exceeds $36.00 is assigned to the high-wage code 5482(1); below that, it goes to the low-wage code 5474(1). The waterproofing and storage-tank painting sub-classifications carry the same $36.00 figure.

Evan Swan

Aug 19

5 min read

Updated: Sep 7

Quick answer

California painting is a dual-wage pair written 5474/5482 — 5474 is the low-wage code, 5482 the high-wage and cheaper one. The threshold rises from $32.00 to $36.00 for policies incepting on or after September 1, 2026. Three sub-classifications share it: painting or wallpaper installation 5474(1)/5482(1), waterproofing 5474(2)/5482(2), and painting of water, oil or gasoline storage tanks 5474(3)/5482(3).

Source: WCIRB September 1, 2026 Regulatory Filing Quick Reference Guide and WCIRB classification search.

Will we write it? Tell us the operation, the state, and roughly where the mod sits — we'll come back within one business day with a straight answer: yes, no, or what we'd need to see. No ACORD, no loss runs, no obligation. Agents and business owners both welcome. Run it past us here.

The lowest threshold in the table — and why that is not good news

Painting shares the bottom of the California dual-wage table. At $32.00 it sat below every other trade except roofing, and even after the $4.00 move to $36.00 it remains near the floor — well under carpentry and steel framing at $46.00 or the earthwork classes at $45.00.

A low threshold sounds like an advantage. It is the opposite, because it puts the cliff right inside the wage band where production painters are actually paid. A trade whose threshold sits above the entire crew produces a single predictable answer: everybody is low-wage, price it and move on. A trade whose threshold sits inside the crew produces a payroll split that has to be reported correctly every single period, defended with wage records, and re-tested at audit. Painting is squarely in the second category, and the September move pushes the cliff further into the crew rather than out of it.

Three sub-classifications, one pair

Published tables usually show "painting" as one row. The filing carries three sub-classes, and the sub-class is what appears on the policy:

5474(1) / 5482(1) — Painting or wallpaper installation. Threshold $32 → $36.
5474(2) / 5482(2) — Waterproofing. Threshold $32 → $36.
5474(3) / 5482(3) — Painting of water, oil or gasoline storage tanks. Threshold $32 → $36.

Tank painting deserves a flag on its own. It is a confined-space, coatings, and height exposure that has almost nothing in common with repainting a tract house, and a painting contractor that picks up tank or industrial coatings work has materially changed its risk profile even though the pair and the threshold look identical on paper. Underwriters price that sub-class differently, and a submission that describes the operation as "commercial and residential painting" while the crew is doing tank interiors will not survive contact with an inspection.

Painting contractors also drift into neighbouring pairs. Plastering or stucco work is 5484/5485 at a $42.00 threshold from September 1; wallboard installation is 5446/5447 at $45.00. A drywall-and-paint outfit is in at least two pairs with a nine-dollar threshold gap between them.

Three mechanics that decide the outcome

It is a cliff, not a slope. A painter at $35.99 is entirely low-wage payroll; at $36.00, entirely high-wage.
It applies employee by employee. Painting crews turn over faster than most trades, so the roster tested at audit is often not the roster quoted at inception. Report the split as it actually runs, not as it looked in month one.
"Regular hourly wage" is a defined term. Overtime premium, bonuses, and per diem generally do not count — and piece or per-unit pay, common in production painting, has to be converted to an hourly figure the plan will accept rather than the one the owner uses.

Raise or reclassify? Run it per employee

List every painter earning between $32.00 and $35.99. On a production crew that is often most of the roster.
Cost of the raise = ($36.00 − current wage) × annual hours, plus payroll tax and benefit load.
Cost of reclassification = annual payroll ÷ 100 × the rate difference between 5474 and 5482 × the experience mod.
Compare. The mod multiplies the reclassification cost but not the wage cost.

One caution specific to painting: because the crew is often bunched just below the threshold, a decision to raise is rarely about one employee — it is a wage-scale decision across the whole production crew, with retention and competitive-pay consequences beyond the premium. Run the numbers, then treat it as a business decision rather than an insurance one. The math across ten trades is in our break-even-by-trade guide.

What else lands on the same renewal

September 1, 2026 also brings a 10.4% advisory pure premium increase and Experience Rating Plan amendments, on top of California's DIR assessments. Every current threshold is kept in the dual-wage tracker.

The burden of proof sits with the employer

Assignment to a high-wage classification is subject to verification at final audit, and payroll not shown to meet the threshold is assigned to the low-wage code by default. With high turnover and piece-based pay, painting contractors carry more of this risk than most — the wage records have to survive a calculation the employer did not perform. Our audit disputes handbook covers the dispute path when it comes back wrong.

Painting dual-wage FAQ

What is the California painting dual-wage threshold for 2026?

$36.00, up from $32.00, for policies incepting on or after September 1, 2026. At or above $36.00 the payroll goes to 5482; below it, to 5474. All three painting sub-classes carry the same figure.

Is waterproofing the same class code as painting?

It is a separate sub-classification of the same pair — 5474(2)/5482(2) — alongside painting or wallpaper at 5474(1)/5482(1) and storage-tank painting at 5474(3)/5482(3). Same threshold, different sub-class on the policy.

Why does the painting increase matter so much?

Because painting starts from one of the lowest thresholds in the table, the $4.00 move lands directly inside the wage band where production painters are actually paid — so it splits the crew rather than clearing it.

Does the threshold apply per employee or to the crew?

Per employee, individually, and as a cliff. $35.99 is entirely low-wage payroll; $36.00 is entirely high-wage. Overtime premium, bonuses and per diem generally do not count toward regular hourly wage.

Placing a California painting contractor

CPR Business Solutions is a wholesale workers' comp MGA placing hard California construction risk since 2021 — including painting accounts with elevated mods, high turnover, or industrial coatings exposure. Send the ACORD 130, five years of loss runs, the mod worksheet, and a wage report, or submit the account.

Call 714-928-3858 or email proposals@cprbrokers.com to talk through a California account.