Canadian Pay Stub Checker
Understand every number on your Canadian pay stub, from gross earnings to net deposit, in one place.
Written and reviewed by Rocco Clayfield, Founder & DirectorLast reviewed
Short answer
A Canadian pay stub records your earnings for a pay period alongside every deduction taken before your net pay is deposited. The three mandatory statutory deductions are Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Employment Insurance (EI), and federal and provincial income tax. Additional lines may include pension contributions, benefit premiums, union dues, and vacation accruals. Your year-to-date (YTD) column tracks what has been paid and deducted since January 1. Checking each line against what you earned and what you expect to be deducted is the most reliable way to catch a potential payroll error early.
Your pay stub is a legal record of your compensation for each pay period. Canadian employers are generally required to provide it in writing, and most provincial employment standards legislation specifies a minimum set of information that must appear. Yet for many workers, a pay stub remains a document full of confusing codes and unexplained numbers.
This page walks you through a pay stub line by line: what each section means, how statutory deductions like CPP, EI, and income tax are calculated, and what voluntary deductions such as group benefits or pension contributions should look like. You will also find a list of common red flags — situations where a number may be worth a second look.
Whether you are reviewing a pay stub for the first time or trying to reconcile a number that looks unusual, the goal here is the same: give you enough context to understand your pay and ask the right questions if something seems off.
- Employer, employee and — critically — your province of employment. The province here decides which provincial tax table is applied, not where you live.
- The pay period, the pay date and the frequency. A first cheque often looks over-taxed because tax is worked out as though every period of the year looked like this one.
- Gross earnings, broken into the things that make them up. A taxable benefit sits here and inflates gross pay without adding a cent to your bank transfer.
- The year-to-date column. This is the column that catches errors: the sum of every pay period must reconcile to it.
- Statutory and voluntary deductions. CPP, EI and income tax are legislated; pension and union dues follow your plan or collective agreement.
- Employer-paid contributions. These are shown for transparency and are never subtracted from your pay.
- Net pay — gross minus total deductions. This is the figure that reaches your account.
- Accruals. Vacation accrued at 4% or 6% is money you are owed and have not yet been paid.
What this page helps you check
- Gross pay: does it match your agreed hourly rate or salary, plus any overtime or allowances?
- CPP deduction: is the amount proportional to your pensionable earnings, and has the annual maximum been respected?
- EI premium: is it calculated on your insurable earnings at the current rate, up to the annual ceiling?
- Federal and provincial income tax: do separate lines appear, and are both amounts reasonable for your earnings level?
- Benefit and pension deductions: do the amounts match what was described in your employment agreement or benefits enrolment?
- Vacation pay: is it accruing or being paid out correctly under your employment agreement and provincial rules?
- Year-to-date totals: are the YTD columns tracking consistently with prior pay stubs?
- Net pay: does the bottom-line deposit amount equal gross pay minus every deduction listed above?
The Gross Pay Section
Gross pay is the total amount your employer owes you for the pay period before any deductions. For salaried employees, it is usually your annual salary divided by the number of pay periods in the year. For hourly employees, it is your hourly rate multiplied by hours worked, with a higher rate for overtime if applicable.
Gross pay may include multiple components: base pay, overtime, commissions, shift premiums, retroactive adjustments, or taxable allowances. Each component may appear as a separate earnings line. If you are unsure why a particular line is included, check your employment contract or ask payroll for a description of the pay code.
Your gross pay is also the starting point for calculating CPP contributions, EI premiums, and income tax withholding. An error in gross pay — such as missing overtime — flows through to all the deductions and to your year-to-date totals, which is why it is worth checking first.
Statutory Deductions: CPP, EI, and Income Tax
Three deductions appear on almost every Canadian pay stub outside Quebec: Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contributions, Employment Insurance (EI) premiums, and income tax (both federal and provincial). These are mandatory — your employer is legally required to withhold them and remit them to the Canada Revenue Agency on your behalf.
CPP is calculated on your pensionable earnings up to an annual maximum set by the CRA. EI is calculated on your insurable earnings up to its own annual ceiling. Income tax is withheld using the CRA payroll deductions tables, which take into account your earnings and the personal tax credits you have claimed on your TD1 forms. Both CPP and EI have their own year-to-date limits; once reached, deductions should stop for the rest of the calendar year.
If you work in Quebec, you contribute to the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) instead of CPP, and you pay both a reduced federal EI premium and a Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP) premium. Your provincial income tax is administered by Revenu Quebec rather than the CRA. See the Quebec note on this page for more detail.
Employer-Sponsored Benefits and Voluntary Deductions
Beyond the statutory deductions, your pay stub may include premiums for group health, dental, or life insurance, contributions to a group registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) or defined contribution pension plan, union dues, parking, or employee share purchase plan contributions. These are often split between you and your employer, with only the employee portion showing as a deduction on your stub.
Some employer-paid benefits are considered taxable benefits by the CRA — meaning their value is added to your income for tax purposes even though you never receive cash. Group life insurance premiums above a threshold and some employer-paid professional memberships are common examples. Taxable benefits increase the income figure used to calculate your tax withholding, which can cause your tax deduction to look higher than expected in the period the benefit is applied.
Vacation Pay and Stat Holiday Entries
Vacation pay rules vary by province, but most jurisdictions require employers to either pay vacation pay as it accrues (as a percentage of insurable earnings each pay period) or pay it out in a lump sum when vacation is taken. Your pay stub should show whether vacation pay is being accrued and held, paid out, or a combination of both. If your employer accrues vacation, look for a running balance or a separate "vacation accrual" line.
Statutory holiday pay may also appear as a separate line if you worked on a public holiday or received holiday pay in lieu. Overtime pay rules, including when overtime is triggered and at what rate, are set by your provincial employment standards legislation. Check your province-specific page for details.
Year-to-Date Totals and Why They Matter
The YTD column is one of the most useful verification tools on your pay stub. It accumulates every earnings and deduction figure from the first pay period of the calendar year through the current period. Comparing your YTD earnings to your salary or expected hours worked gives you a cross-check of the individual period figures.
YTD totals also tell you how close you are to annual maximums for CPP and EI. Once those maximums are reached, the corresponding deductions should drop to zero for the remaining pay periods of the year. Your final-period YTD totals should closely match the figures your employer reports on your T4 slip in January.
Province & territory note
Quebec works differently
Common red flags worth checking
These do not automatically mean there is an error. They are simply lines worth a closer look, or worth asking payroll to explain.
Gross pay does not match your salary or hours
If your gross pay is lower than you calculate from your rate and hours — or your annual salary divided by pay periods — the shortfall may represent missing overtime, an incorrect rate, or a data entry error. Do not assume it will self-correct; raise it with payroll promptly.
A statutory deduction is missing entirely
CPP, EI, and income tax should all appear on a standard Canadian pay stub. A missing line could indicate a payroll setup error, an incorrect employment classification, or a system issue. This does not automatically mean fraud, but it is worth confirming.
Net pay does not equal gross minus the listed deductions
The arithmetic on your pay stub should balance. If gross pay minus every deduction line does not equal your net pay amount, there may be an unlisted deduction, a calculation error, or a rounding issue that payroll should explain.
YTD totals appear lower than expected mid-year
If your YTD earnings are notably lower than you would expect given your rate and time worked, it is possible that prior pay stubs contained errors, a period was missed, or a pay adjustment was processed incorrectly.
A deduction appears that you do not recognize
Unknown deduction codes on a pay stub are common and are usually benign (benefit elections, parking, etc.), but you have the right to request a plain-English explanation of any line item from your employer.
The same deduction amount appears every period despite reaching an annual maximum
CPP and EI both have annual ceilings. If those deductions continue in identical amounts well into the fourth quarter without any reduction, the payroll system may not be tracking your YTD totals correctly.
Want this checked on your real pay stub?
Upload your pay stub or payroll document and get a plain-English breakdown with possible questions to ask payroll.
What to ask payroll or HR
Calm, specific questions get clearer answers. You can copy any of these, or build a full message with the Payroll Message Generator.
- “Can you provide a plain-English description of each deduction code on my pay stub?”
- “My gross pay this period appears lower than I calculated — can you walk me through how it was arrived at?”
- “Why does my pay stub show a deduction I do not recognize on line [X]?”
- “My YTD CPP (or EI) total appears to have reached the annual maximum but deductions are still being taken — can you confirm whether that is correct?”
- “Does my pay stub reflect the correct vacation pay accrual rate under my employment agreement?”
- “Can you confirm that the information on my pay stub will match what is reported on my T4 at year-end?”
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between gross pay and net pay?
Gross pay is the total amount your employer owes you before any deductions. Net pay — sometimes called take-home pay — is what remains after CPP, EI, income tax, and any other deductions have been subtracted. Understanding what caused the gap between the two is the core purpose of reviewing your pay stub.
What three deductions must appear on a Canadian pay stub?
The three mandatory statutory deductions for most employed Canadians are Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contributions, Employment Insurance (EI) premiums, and federal plus provincial income tax. All three should appear as distinct lines on your pay stub.
How often does my employer have to give me a pay stub?
Most provincial employment standards acts require employers to provide a written pay statement with each payment of wages. The exact content requirements vary by province. Check the employment standards legislation in your province or territory for specifics.
Can my employer deduct money from my pay without listing it on my stub?
Generally, no. Most employment standards acts require that all deductions be itemized on your pay statement. Unlisted deductions — beyond a payroll system rounding difference — should be queried with your employer promptly.
What does year-to-date (YTD) mean on a pay stub?
YTD figures show the running total of each earnings and deduction category from the beginning of the current calendar year through the current pay period. They are useful for tracking annual maximums (like CPP and EI ceilings) and for verifying that your T4 figures at year-end will be accurate.
What should I do if I think my pay stub has an error?
Keep a copy of the pay stub in question and note the specific figure you believe is wrong. Contact your payroll department or HR with a clear, factual description of the discrepancy. If you do not get a satisfactory explanation, your provincial employment standards office can advise on your options.
Does my pay stub replace my T4 slip?
No. Your T4 is an annual tax summary your employer issues by the end of February each year. While the final-period YTD totals on your last pay stub of the year should closely match your T4, the T4 is the official document you use to file your income tax return. If the two differ, ask your employer to explain or issue a correction.
I work in Quebec — is my pay stub different?
The structure is similar, but the programs differ. Quebec pay stubs show QPP contributions instead of CPP, a QPIP premium, reduced federal EI, and Quebec provincial income tax administered by Revenu Quebec. You will also have completed different source deduction forms than employees in other provinces.
Official sources for this page
Every figure here is derived from these. Where a number matters to you, read it at the source — PayStub IQ Canada explains the rules, it does not set them.
- Payroll deductions and contributions — Canada Revenue Agency
- Guide T4127, Payroll Deductions Formulas — Canada Revenue Agency
- CPP contribution rates, maximums and exemptions — Canada Revenue Agency
- EI premium rates and maximums — Canada Revenue Agency
Get told when Canadian payroll rates change
Seven provinces and territories have already published a minimum wage increase for the next few weeks, and every federal and provincial figure is re-indexed each January. One short email when a rate actually changes. Nothing else, ever.
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Helpful guidance, not advice
PayStub IQ Canada provides educational payroll explanations based on the information visible in your document. It does not provide legal, tax, accounting, payroll, CRA, Revenu Québec, or employment standards advice. For official decisions or corrections, contact your employer, payroll department, CRA, Revenu Québec, your provincial or territorial employment standards office, or a qualified professional.