Why your estimate can differ from your cheque

Paycheq uses CRA's payroll formulas and your province's or contract's rules, but it can't see your employer's payroll system. Small differences are normal.

The usual causes

• Rounding: payroll systems round rates and hours in different orders.

• Pay period cutoffs: your employer may close the pay period before its last day, moving some hours to the next cheque.

• Punch rounding and automatic break deductions at work.

• Year-to-date totals from before you started using Paycheq. Add them in Jobs, under Earlier this year.

• Benefits and pension deductions that aren't entered in Paycheq.

• How your employer works out tax: CRA's formulas or its tables.

• TD1 changes you've made at work.

• Retroactive pay for a raise.

Let Paycheq learn your usual difference (Pro)

1. On Pay, open a pay period that's finished and paid.

2. On the Your actual cheque card, tap Enter cheque stub.

3. Copy the numbers from your stub: gross pay, federal tax, provincial tax, CPP, CPP2, EI, other deductions and net pay. Leave CPP and EI blank to keep Paycheq's estimates.

4. Tap Save.

The card then shows your actual net, the estimated net and the difference. Once you've entered a stub, the Net estimate card adds a line, Based on your past cheques: the estimate adjusted by how far off your cheques usually are. The more stubs you enter, the better it gets.

The CPP and EI you enter also replace the estimates in your year-to-date totals, which makes later cheques more accurate.

Suggested image: the Your actual cheque card with the Enter cheque stub button.

If it's off by a lot

Work through "My figures don't match my cheque." Big differences usually come from a rule or rate that isn't set up yet.

Estimates only. Not legal or tax advice.