Check your pay stub
Find out how to access and interpret your pay stubs as a federal public service employee.
View your pay stub
The simplest way to view and download your pay stubs is through MyGCPay.
Alternatively, you can also access pay stubs through Phoenix self-service and Compensation Web Application. These applications are only accessible through a Government of Canada network and need your myKEY username and password.
Contact the Client Contact Centre if you need help accessing your pay stubs.
Understand your pay stub
Your pay stub contains pay codes and abbreviations in both Compensation Web Applications and Phoenix. Consult these lists of common earnings and deductions codes, abbreviations and acronyms to help you understand what they represent.
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Pay codes and abbreviations
Your pay stub contains numeric pay codes and abbreviations. Consult the following list to help you understand what they represent:
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Pay stubs with a $0 value
You may receive a $0 pay stub if any of the following 3 scenarios applies to you:
- you were overpaid an amount that exceeds your usual pay for a past pay period (twice your pay or more)
- you did not report any time worked in a given pay period (only applies to employees who usually complete and submit a timesheet)
- a past acting assignment is entered in the human resources systems or the pay system after the fact (“late acting”)
In the case of a late acting payment, the pay system first needs to recover your substantive pay for that past pay period. The system records that substantive pay as an overpayment, resulting in a $0 pay stub. Once the recovery is complete, the pay system will process the late acting payment. The following pay period, you will receive 2 pay stubs:
- current pay stub
- late acting pay stub (the difference between the overpayment and late acting pay owed)
To learn more on overpayments, you can read:
Understanding why you got a pay stub with a $0 value
You may check your Compensation Web Application (CWA) pay stub for a justification of the $0 amount
Once in CWA, select:
- "Entitlements and deductions"
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Annual salary
Your pay stub does not indicate your annual salary. To confirm your annual salary:
- check the rates of pay for the public service in your collective agreement
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Gross pay
Your gross pay is the combination of the following items processed in the same period of time:
- your regular pay earnings
- any one-time payments that are owed to you
- retroactive pay and earnings for any extra-duty hours (including overtime and other allowances, such as meal allowances)
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Pension deductions
Your pension deductions might include:
- superannuation (low rate)
- superannuation (high rate)
- retirement compensation arrangements
Your pension deduction (PSSA) is calculated at either a low or high rate. The low rate is used when your current annual salary is below a specific threshold. Once your annual salary exceeds this amount, your deduction changes to the high rate.
To learn more about pension deductions, you can read:
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Taxes and benefits
The calculation of benefits, contributions and allowances may vary each pay period. However, this will not affect the total sum payable each calendar year.
Learn more
How public service pay works provides details on direct deposit, pay days, and gross and net pay calculations.
Compare earnings and deductions in CWA vs Phoenix
Your earnings and deductions amounts are the same on the CWA pay stub as they are in Phoenix. However, differences between CWA terminology and Phoenix terminology affects how these amounts appear on the pay stub.
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Comparison table of pay stubs in CWA vs in Phoenix
This table highlights where the terminology and display methods on each pay stub differ and explains how.
Table: Comparison of pay stubs in CWA vs in Phoenix Features
Pay stub in Compensation Web Applications (CWA)
Pay stub in Phoenix
Sample pay stub
You can view:
You can view:
Gross
In CWA, this is your total salary and additional earnings including:
- overtime
- allowances
- and retroactive earnings (if applicable)
Phoenix displays this gross amount under Earnings (Total).
Taxable gross
In CWA, this is your taxable earnings amount, which is your gross pay before tax deductions and benefit deductions.
Phoenix divides this amount and displays it in 2 fields:
- Paycheque summary (Canadian income tax, or CIT taxable gross)
- Before-tax deductions (Total for the year-to-date, or YTD)
Total taxes and deductions
In CWA, this is a summary of the statutory taxes and deductions withheld from your payment for the current pay period and year-to-date, or YTD.
Phoenix displays this amount under Paycheque summary (Total taxes and total deductions).
Net
In CWA, this is your total payment amount, equal to gross pay less all taxes and deductions.
Phoenix displays this amount under Paycheque summary (Net pay).
Federal tax
In CWA, this is the amount the federal government deducts from your pay according to the prescribed rate for your salary bracket.
Phoenix displays this amount under Taxes (CIT, or Canadian income tax).
Provincial tax
In CWA, this is the amount the government of Québec deducts from your pay if you work in the province, or if you live in this province and requested the deduction.
Phoenix displays this amount under Taxes (QIT, or Québec income tax).
Superannuation
In CWA, this is your Public Service Pension Plan deduction.
Phoenix breaks this deduction down into 3 parts under Before-tax deductions:
- PSSA low
- PSSA high
- RCA
CPP / QPP
In CWA, this is your Canada Pension Plan (CPP) deduction or your Québec Pension Plan (QPP) deduction, whichever applies.
Phoenix displays this deduction under Taxes (CPP or QPP).
EI
In CWA, this is your Employment Insurance (EI) deduction.
Phoenix displays this deduction under Taxes (EI).
QPIP
In CWA, this is your Québec Parental Insurance Plan deduction. It displays as PPIP (provincial parental insurance plan) in CWA.
Phoenix displays this deduction under Taxes (QPIP).
Credit union
In CWA , these are your deductions for:
- loan payments
- registered retirement savings plans
- savings
- or other such deductions, if applicable
Phoenix displays this deduction under After-tax deductions (Credit union deduction).
Associations dues
In CWA, these are deductions for your association or union dues.
Phoenix displays these deductions under Before-tax deductions (Dues).
Death benefits
In CWA, this is the amount deducted for your Supplementary Death Benefit plan coverage.
Phoenix displays this deduction under After-tax deductions (Supplementary Death Benefit).
Health insurance
In CWA, this is the amount deducted for your Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP), if applicable.
Phoenix displays this deduction under After-tax deductions (PSHCP)
Retroactive pay and overtime pay
In CWA, this information is broken down by period of work and the number of hours per earning type.
Phoenix breaks this information down into 3 parts under Deduction and Earnings codes:
- earnings description
- code
- amount paid
Compare year-to-date amounts on CWA pay stub with Phoenix tax slips
Your year-to-date (YTD) amounts are the same on the last CWA pay stub for the calendar year as they are on the Phoenix tax slip. However, if a cheque is cancelled or an overpayment is created after the last pay of the year, tax slips will be adjusted but the amounts on the CWA pay stub will not change.
Comparison table of CWA pay stub vs Phoenix tax slips
This table highlights which YTD amounts on the last pay stub for the year to use to compare them to your tax slips.
| Features | Pay stub in Compensation Web Applications (CWA) | T4 in Phoenix | RL-1 in Phoenix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sample pay stub and tax slips |
You can view: |
You can view: |
You can view: |
| Taxable gross | In CWA, this is your gross amount that is taxable. It includes taxable earnings and benefits. Use the year to date amount to compare to your tax slip. |
On your T4, this is Box 14 Employment income. Note: Add together all Box 14 amounts if you received multiple T4 slips. |
On your RL-1, this is Box A Revenus d’emploi, less any Quebec taxable benefit amounts in Box J Régime privé d’ass. maladie and Box L Autres avantages. |
| Federal tax | In CWA, this is the amount of federal tax deducted from your pay. Use the year to date amount to compare to your T4 slip. | On your T4, this is Box 22 Income tax deducted. | Not applicable (see Provincial tax). |
| Provincial tax | In CWA, this is the amount of Quebec provincial tax deducted from your pay if applicable. Use the year to date amount to compare to your RL-1 slip. | Not applicable (see Federal tax). | On your RL-1, this is Box E Impôt du Québec retenu. |
| Superannuation | In CWA, this is the amount deducted for the Public Service Pension Plan. Use the year to date amount to compare to your tax slip. | On your T4, this is Box 20 RPP contributions. | On your RL-1, this is Box D Cotisation à un RPA. |
| CPP/QPP | In CWA, this is the amount deducted for Canada Pension Plan (CPP) or Québec Pension Plan (QPP), whichever applies to you. Use the year to date amount to compare to your tax slip. | On your T4, this is Box 17 Employee’s CPP contributions. | On your RL-1, this is Box B Cotisation au RRQ. |
| Employment Insurance (EI) | In CWA, this is the amount deducted for Employment Insurance premiums (EI). Use the year to date amount to compare to your tax slip. | On your T4, this is Box 18 Employee’s EI premiums. | On your RL-1, this is Box C Cotisation à l’assurance emploi. |
| PPIP | In CWA, this is the amount deducted for the Québec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP) if applicable. Use the year to date amount to compare to your tax slip. | On your T4, this is Box 55 Employee’s PPIP premiums. | On your RL-1, this is Box H Cotisation au RQAP. |
| Charitable Donations | In CWA, this is the amount deducted for the Employees’ Charitable Campaign (ECC/United Way) if applicable. Use the year to date amount to compare to your tax slip. | On your T4, this is Box 46 Charitable donations. | On your RL-1, this is Box N Dons de bienfaisance. |
| Association Dues | In CWA, this is the amount deducted for association or union dues. Use the year to date amount to compare to your tax slip. | On your T4, this is Box 44 Union dues. | On your RL-1, this is Box F Cotisation syndicale. |
Access and interpret mass retroactive pay statements
Retroactive pay is a payment made in the current pay period for any increase in wages or salary earned during a past period.
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How to calculate a retroactive payment
The payment is calculated based on the amount of time employees were active in the affected position. This starts with the effective date of the revision in rates of pay and ends on the last day of the pay period prior to when the new rates of pay were entered in the Phoenix Pay System.
The payment may also include payment for allowances which have been implemented or modified with the signing of the new collective agreement or the arbitral award.
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Eligibility for retroactive payments
Employees, former employees, or in the case of death, the estates of former employees who were employees in the retroactive period, are all entitled to a retroactive revision. Casual, term and seasonal employees are also entitled to the revised salary rates. Students are not.
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Where to find this information in Phoenix
Log in to Phoenix. To view retroactive (or retro) details for a specific paycheque, follow these steps:
- follow the menu pathSelf service / Payroll and compensation / View mass retro payments
- underSearch criteriaenter thepaycheque issue dateor thepaycheck number
Note: If you do not enter search criteria, all confirmed cheques with mass retro payments will appear.
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How to read the mass retroactive payments page
The information is displayed in 9 columns. Each row relates to a specific retroactive pay period.
Column 1: earnings code and column 2: description
Column 1 refers to the type of earning and column 2 describes the code. The description also appears on your Phoenix pay stub.
Table: Overview and description of each earning code associated with mass retroactive payments Earning code Description Earning code overview 210 Adjustment of regular pay, retroactive revision, current fiscal year Adjustment of regular pay from the effective date in the current fiscal year or April 1, whichever is later, to the date prior to the signing of the collective agreement 211 Adjustment of regular pay, retroactive revision, prior fiscal year Adjustment of regular pay from the effective date to the date prior to the signing date of the collective agreement in the previous fiscal year 212 Adjustment of regular pay, retroactive revision, prior fiscal year 2 Adjustment of regular pay from the effective date to the date prior to the signing date of the collective agreement in the second previous fiscal year 213 Adjustment of regular pay, retroactive revision, prior fiscal year 3 Adjustment of regular pay from the effective date to the date prior to the signing date of the collective agreement in the third, fourth or fifth previous fiscal years 220 Retroactive overtime, current fiscal year Adjustment of overtime from the effective date in the current fiscal year or April 1, whichever is later, to the date prior to the signing of the collective agreement 221 Retroactive overtime, prior fiscal year 1 Adjustment of overtime pay from the effective date to the date prior to the signing date of the collective agreement in the previous fiscal year 222 Retroactive overtime, prior fiscal year 2 Adjustment of overtime pay from the effective date to the date prior to the signing date of the collective agreement in the second previous fiscal year 223 Retroactive overtime, prior fiscal year 3 Adjustment of overtime pay from the effective date to the date prior to the signing date of the collective agreement in the third, fourth or fifth previous fiscal years Column 3: begin date and column 4: end date
The start and end of the mass retroactive pay period.
Column 5: former annual/hourly rate
The rate of pay before the mass retroactive pay period. Information available from before the conversion to the Phoenix pay system will display your annual rate of pay while information post-conversion will display your hourly rate of pay. This rate also appears onCompensation Web Applications / View Phoenix paycheque.
Column 6: new annual/hourly rate
The new rate of pay following the wage increase. Information available from before the conversion to the Phoenix pay system will display your annual rate of pay while information post-conversion will display your hourly rate of pay. This rate also appears onCompensation Web Applications / View Phoenix paycheque.
Column 7: days/hours worked
The number of hours you worked during the pay period. Information available from before the conversion to the Phoenix pay system will display the number of days worked while information post-conversion will display the number of hours worked. The number of hours worked also appears onCompensation Web Applications / View Phoenix paycheque
Column 8: total amount per earnings code
The total amount of retroactive pay you are entitled to, based on the new rate and the period worked. This amount also appears on your Phoenix pay stub.
Report errors in your pay
If you believe there is a mistake on your pay stub, go to:
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