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Spotlight PEPPOL BIS Billing 3.0 The EU e-invoicing mandate is here — France Sept 2026, Belgium Jan 2026, Germany 2025.

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X12 256 — Periodic Compensation

The 256 transmits the periodic compensation due to an insurance producer: commissions on premiums, overrides, bonuses, withholdings.

Purpose

The 256 documents the monthly or quarterly commission statement sent by the insurer to its producers and MGAs. It carries detail per policy, net premium, commission rate, gross amount, withholdings (charge-backs, taxes), net payable.

It feeds the producer's accounting system (book-of-business) and triggers payment via 820. Acknowledged by 997. Distinct from the 820 itself, which carries the payment instruction.

Envelope structure

The 256 travels within the three X12 envelope levels (ISA/IEA, GS/GE with functional group PE, and ST/SE). Didactic example in release 004010:

x12 example-256.x12 
ISA*00*          *00*          *ZZ*LIFECARRIER   *ZZ*BROKERFIRM    *260515*1300*U*00401*000000256*0*P*>~
GS*PE*LIFECARRIER*BROKERFIRM*20260515*1300*1*X*004010~
ST*256*0001~
BGN*00*COMM-2026-Q1*20260515~
N1*IN*ACME LIFE INSURANCE*24*EIN-CARRIER~
N1*PE*MILLER BROKER FIRM*24*EIN-BROKER~
REF*ZZ*NPN-12345678~
DTM*RT*20260101~
DTM*RT*20260331~
LX*1~
REF*0F*POLICY-1099-2024~
AMT*GT*1850.00~
AMT*RA*462.50~
SE*11*0001~
GE*1*1~
IEA*1*000000256~

Common segments

  • Header — ST, BGN.
  • Carrier / Producer — N1*IN, N1*PE (Payee), REF*ZZ for NPN.
  • Period — DTM*RT (start / end).
  • Per-policy detail — LX loop: REF*0F (policy number), AMT*GT (gross), AMT*RA (commission), AMT*ZZ (charge-back).
  • Summary — SE (often with TDS or global totals).

Common pitfalls

  • Retroactive charge-back: a policy that lapses within 12 months triggers a charge-back; the 256 must separate first-year and renewal commissions, otherwise the charge-back hits the wrong period.
  • Tax withholding: for non-US producers, the carrier withholds W-8BEN; the 256 must carry AMT*ZZ for the explicit withholding.
  • Statement vs payment: the 256 states what is owed; an 820 states what is wired; reconcile both monthly, otherwise producers dispute.

Documentation

The code 256 and the name Periodic Compensation are public and listed on x12.org/products/transaction-sets. The complete structure of loops, qualifiers and code lists is distributed by DISA via the proprietary Implementation Guides (TR3). ediverse.io covers only public concepts, the envelope and didactic examples.