The employee master file is a permanent record that contains the static data necessary to process payroll and maintain compliance. This includes total compensation rates, the frequency of payment, and specific withholding instructions from Form W-4, such as additional withholding requested by the employee. However, " wages eligible for 401(k) " (Option C) is a calculated, transactional value rather than a static master file component. While the master file stores the employee ' s contribution percentage or flat dollar amount , the actual eligible wages for any given period must be determined by the system based on which earnings types are configured as " 401(k) eligible " . These calculated totals are stored in the payroll register or accumulators for each pay cycle rather than the core master file.