Why is my take-home pay different this month?

Match the pay periods

Two payslips can show which recorded lines explain a change in take-home pay. Write down each pay date, period start, period end and currency. Count the payslips included in each month if you are comparing monthly bank receipts. A month containing an extra pay date can have a different receipt total even when the amount on each payslip stays the same.

Worked example with made-up figures

Repeating

Fictional sample rent: A$270.97 / week
Telco One: A$11.06 / week
Fictional sample groceries: A$9.65 / week
Streamly: A$3.16 / week

Together A$294.84 a week.

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Copy the payslip totals

Make columns for earlier pay, later pay and difference. Copy gross earnings, each listed deduction and net pay, keeping the exact labels. Where the slip separates reimbursements or adjustments, copy those separately too. Use the totals for the current pay period rather than cumulative totals covering several periods. Mark which figures are cumulative so they do not enter the current-period calculation by accident.

Break down the earnings

Copy the hours or units and their rates where shown. Put ordinary earnings, extra hours, allowances and other earnings on separate lines using the document wording. Calculate each difference by subtracting the earlier amount from the later one. A higher gross total may contain several changes at once. The printed breakdown provides the amounts; it does not by itself explain the reasons behind every change.

Example: made-up figures

Imagine the earlier payslip shows gross earnings of 3000, total deductions of 600 and net pay of 2400. The later slip shows gross earnings of 3200, deductions of 700 and net pay of 2500. Gross earnings rose by 200 and deductions rose by 100. The net increase is therefore 100: 200 minus 100. These are invented figures illustrating subtraction, with no assumed deduction rates.

Trace the change to individual lines

Suppose the example earnings increase consists of 150 in additional hours and 50 in a listed allowance. Those lines explain the 200 gross difference. Copy each deduction difference and check that they total the 100 deduction increase. Retain the document labels without inferring what a deduction ought to be. If separate adjustments enter the net figure, include them with the sign shown and check the complete arithmetic.

Match the deposit and keep the evidence

Compare the payslip net amount with the corresponding account deposit, using dates and any payment reference. Where a payslip lists split payments, add those listed amounts before comparing them with the recorded deposits. A payment date and the period worked can differ, so keep both on your sheet. Tick each source line and repeat the additions. The finished comparison identifies the recorded contributions to the change and their source documents.