Find out how to access and interpret your pay stubs as a federal public service employee.
On this page
- View your pay stub
- Understand your pay stub
- Compare earnings and deductions in Compensation Web Applications vs Phoenix
- Compare year-to-date amounts on Compensation Web Applications pay stub with Phoenix tax slips
- Access and interpret mass retroactive pay statements
- Report errors in your pay
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 (CWA) and Phoenix. Consult these lists of common earnings and deductions codes, abbreviations and acronyms to help you understand what they represent.
Pay codes and abbreviations
Your pay stub contains numeric pay codes and abbreviations. Consult the following list to help you understand what they represent:
- earnings codes (accessible only on the Government of Canada network)
- earnings abbreviations and acronyms
- deductions codes (accessible only on the Government of Canada network)
- deductions abbreviations and acronyms
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:
- Overpayments on your public service pay
Understanding why you got a pay stub with a $0 value
You may check your Compensation Web Applications (CWA) pay stub for a justification of the $0 amount
Once in CWA, select:
- "Entitlements and deductions"
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
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)
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:
- Public service pension plan
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 Compensation Web Applications 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.
Comparison table of pay stubs in Compensation Web Applications vs in Phoenix
This table highlights where the terminology and display methods on each pay stub differ and explains how.
Features | Pay stub in Compensation Web Applications (CWA) | Pay stub in Phoenix |
|---|---|---|
Sample pay stub | You can view:
| You can view:
|
Gross | InCWA, this is your total salary and additional earnings including:
| Phoenix displays this gross amount underEarnings(Total). |
Taxable gross | InCWA, 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 2fields:
|
Total taxes and deductions | InCWA, this is a summary of the statutory taxes and deductions withheld from your payment for the current pay period and year-to-date, orYTD. | Phoenix displays this amount underPaycheque summary(Total taxes and total deductions). |
Net | InCWA, this is your total payment amount, equal to gross pay less all taxes and deductions. | Phoenix displays this amount underPaycheque summary(Net pay). |
Federal tax | InCWA,this is the amount the federal government deducts from your pay according to the prescribed rate for your salary bracket. | Phoenix displays this amount underTaxes(CIT, or Canadian income tax). |
Provincial tax | InCWA, 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 underTaxes(QIT, or Québec income tax). |
Superannuation | InCWA, this is your Public Service Pension Plan deduction. | Phoenix breaks this deduction down into 3parts underBefore-tax deductions:
|
Canada Pension Plan (CPP)/Québec Pension Plan (QPP) | InCWA, this is your CPP deduction or your QPP deduction, whichever applies, up to the first earnings ceiling. | Phoenix displays this deduction underTaxes(CPPorQPP). |
CP2/QP2 | In CWA, this is your additional CPP deduction or your QPP deduction, whichever applies, between the first earnings ceiling and the second earnings ceiling. | Phoenix displays this deduction under Taxes (CP2 or QP2). |
Employment Insurance (EI) | In CWA, this is your EI deduction. | Phoenix displays this deduction under Taxes (EI). |
Québec Parental Insurance Plan (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 underTaxes(QPIP). |
Credit union | InCWA, these are your deductions for:
| Phoenix displays this deduction underAfter-tax deductions(Credit union deduction). |
Associations dues | InCWA, these are deductions for your association or union dues. | Phoenix displays these deductions underBefore-tax deductions(Dues). |
Death benefits | InCWA, this is the amount deducted for your Supplementary Death Benefit plan coverage. | Phoenix displays this deduction underAfter-tax deductions(Supplementary Death Benefit). |
Health insurance | InCWA, this is the amount deducted for your Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP), if applicable. | Phoenix displays this deduction underAfter-tax deductions(PSHCP) |
Retroactive pay and overtime pay | InCWA, 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:
|
Compare year-to-date amounts on Compensation Web Applications 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 Compensation Web Applications 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 Registered Pension Plan (RPP) contributions. | On your RL-1, this is Box D Cotisation à un Régime de pension agréé (RPA). |
| CPP/QPP | In CWA, this is the amount deducted for Canada Pension Plan (CPP) or Québec Pension Plan (QPP), whichever applies to you, up to the first earnings ceiling. Use the year to date amount to compare to your tax slip. | On your T4, this is Box 16 Employee’s CPP contributions or Box 17 Employee’s QPP contributions. | On your RL-1, this isBox B-1 Cotisation au Régime de pensions du Canada (RPC) (CPP contribution) or Box B Cotisation au Régime de rentes du Québec (RRQ)(QPP contribution). |
| CP2/QP2 | In CWA, this is the additional amount deducted for CPP or QPP, whichever applies to you, between the first earnings ceiling and the second earnings ceiling. Starting in 2024, use the year-to-date amount to compare to your tax slip. | On your T4, this is Box 16A Employee’s second CPP contributions or Box 17A Employee’s second QPP contributions. | This box will not be available on your RL-1 until 2024. |
| 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 Régime québécois d'assurance parentale (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.
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.
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.
Where to find this information in Phoenix
Log in to Phoenix. To view retroactive (or retro) details for a specific paycheque, follow the menu path Self service/Payroll and compensation/Retroactive payroll/Retro details.
Note: Select the archived folder to view mass retro payments issued prior to October 2020.
How to read the detailed retro payments page
The page provides both individual (late processing) and collective bargaining agreement (CBA) retro adjustments. Each row relates to a specific retroactive pay period.
Earnings begin date and Earnings end date
The start and end date of the retroactive period.
Short description and Description
The earning code and the text description of the code. The description also appears on your pay stub.
| 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 April1, 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 year2 | 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 year3 | 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 April1, whichever is later, to the date prior to the signing of the collective agreement |
| 221 | Retroactive overtime, prior fiscal year1 | 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 year2 | 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 year3 | 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 |
Previous earning hours/Previous earnings
The hours and earnings at the beginning of the retroactive period.
Previous collective bargaining agreement percentage/Previous collective bargaining agreement earnings
For CBA retro adjustments only. The previous eligible percentage rate and amount at the beginning of the retroactive period.
Current earning hours/Current earnings
The new hours and earnings for the retroactive period.
Current collective bargaining agreement percentage/Current collective bargaining agreement earnings
For CBA retro adjustments only. The current eligible percentage rate and amount for the retroactive period.
Delta hours/Delta earnings
For individual retro adjustments only. The difference between the previous earning hours and earnings and the current earning hours and earnings for the retroactive period.
Delta collective bargaining agreement earnings
For CBA retro adjustments only. The difference between the previous CBA percentage and earnings and the current CBA percentage and earnings for the retroactive period.
Report errors in your pay
If you believe there is a mistake on your pay stub, go to:
If you are having pay issues
