Phoenix: 2017 overpayments

If the Phoenix pay system caused an overpayment for you in the 2017, you have until January 19, 2018. to report it in order to avoid having to pay back the gross amount.

Public Service and Procurement Canada, the department which oversees Phoenix, say employees whose overpayment issues are processed by the end of the month will only have to pay back the net difference between their salary and the system error - in effect, only the money they've actually received.

Because of federal tax law, the gross amount of the overpayment (the amount prior to deductions) will have to be reimbursed on any overpayments that are not processed by January 19, 2018.

The January processing date only applies to overpayments received in 2017. You must contact the call centre to report the overpayment. The phone number for the call centre is: 1-855-686-4729.

Public Service and Procurement Canada stated that those who have outstanding issues after January 19th will not need to begin repayments until after tax authorities have reassessed their file to credit their account "an amount equal to the excess withholdings on the gross overpayment."

The department also says it would follow up with employees in the summer of 2018 to establish flexible repayment plans.

For more information, please consult the Government of Canada´s Tax Implications of Phoenix payroll issues page.