Double-check paycheck to see if anything's amiss | The Honolulu Advertiser

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Double-check paycheck to see if anything's amiss | The Honolulu Advertiser | Hawaii's Newspaper

Posted on: Thursday, November 9, 2006

Double-check paycheck to see if anything's amiss

By Michelle Singletary

With the year coming to a close soon, this is a good time to look over your paycheck to make sure all the information is correct.

I'll admit I'm not always as careful as I should be in checking the numbers. The one figure I pay particular attention to is the amount going into my checking and savings accounts.

But when was the last time you looked to see if your federal and state withholdings were correct? Are your deductions for benefits right?

Payroll errors such as underpayments or overpayments happen more often than you might think, according to Sam Kerch, senior tax research analyst for Symmetry Software, which operates a Web site with free paycheck calculators.

"Errors in the payroll process can happen all along the way," Kerch said in an interview. "It's distressing how many people rip off the stub and then just deposit their check and forget about what's on it. There can be all kinds of errors."

In November 2003, the Government Accountability Office first began reporting on significant pay problems experienced by military personnel who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. In several follow-up reports, the most recent released in April, the GAO outlined a broken military pay system.

In one report, the GAO found that 95 percent of deployed reservists experienced pay problems while serving overseas and upon their return. Specifically, 332 of 348 soldiers the GAO audited from eight case-study units — all mobilized, deployed and demobilized at some time during an 18-month period from August 2002 through January 2004 — had at least one paycheck problem.

So what should you do? Kerch recommends these tips to ensure that your paycheck is accurate:

Don't just look at the bottom line. Pay attention to more than just your net pay — you know, that pitiful amount you complain about getting every pay period. If you're an hourly worker, Kerch said, you should take a careful look at your stub every pay period to be sure the hours you submit have been accurately calculated given your hourly rate. Salaried workers, whose weekly pay doesn't change often, should look over payroll changes as a result of choices made during open enrollment or when they get a pay raise or bonus.

Report a payroll error right away. Most employers will cut an additional check as soon as an underpayment error is revealed, Kerch says. And woe to you if you don't report an overpayment.

Don't tell everybody about the error. If you discover a paycheck mistake, don't disclose it to your co-workers, Kerch warns. Take the matter up with the payroll department.

Keep your pay information current. Whenever you have a change in your life — a marriage, divorce or birth of a child — you should update your W-4 form. Once you complete the paperwork, check subsequent pay stubs to ensure your employer correctly updated your tax information. If you don't check and the information wasn't properly recorded, you could face a payroll headache or worse — a tax bill you didn't expect.

To make it easier, you might want to use Symmetry Software's free paycheck calculator at www.paycheckcity.com. And no, your personal and private information is not captured, Kerch assures.

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