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Read this when an employee says their paycheck is too high or too low, taxes look off, or a benefits or 401(k) deduction doesn’t match what they expected.

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Read the paystub first

Every paystub shows gross pay by earning type, each tax, each deduction, and net pay. Most “wrong paycheck” questions are answered by comparing the paystub to the previous one and asking what changed. Admins can open any employee’s paystubs from their profile.

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Federal or state withholding changed

  • New W-4 or state form. After a migration, or whenever an employee updates withholding, the amount changes. That’s expected. If the employee thinks they filled the form in wrong, they can submit a new one from their portal under Documents → Update withholdings. It applies from the next payroll.
  • Wrong state. Taxes follow the employee’s work location. If someone moved, or a remote employee’s workplace is set to the office address, the wrong state gets taxed. Fix the work location and remote flag on their profile. See Employees who move states. Tax already withheld in the wrong state is corrected by Bolto’s tax team. Email support.
  • No federal income tax withheld. Low earners, employees who claimed exempt on their W-4, or part-period paychecks can have zero federal withholding. Check the W-4 on their Documents tab.
  • Visa holders. F-1 OPT and similar employees should have no FICA and NRA-rate withholding. If FICA was withheld, see Special tax situations.

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Net pay higher than gross, or other impossible numbers

That’s a display or data error, not a real payment. Email support with the employee’s name and pay date. Don’t ask the employee to repay anything until we’ve confirmed what actually reached their account.

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Benefits deductions

  • Deduction missing. The plan’s start date may be after the pay period, or the employee isn’t assigned to the plan (profile, Benefits tab). If a provider sync (Benbase, Thatch) was late, the deduction is caught up on the next run.
  • Deducted twice. Usually a broker or provider switch where the old deduction wasn’t end-dated. See Deduction timing. Bolto corrects it and refunds through payroll.
  • Amount changed. Check whether the cadence is per paycheck or semimonthly, and whether a plan renewal changed premiums.

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401(k) and retirement

  • Deduction on the paystub but not in the provider account. The deduction was taken. The contribution to the provider (for example Vestwell) is a separate step that syncs after payroll. Allow a few business days. If it’s still missing, Bolto sends the provider a payroll journal and they post it. Email support with the pay date.
  • Pre-tax vs Roth mixed up, or the wrong percentage. Elections live in the provider’s portal. Have the employee check their election there. Bolto applies whatever syncs. If the election is right in the provider but wrong on the paystub, email support.
  • Much larger deduction than expected. Usually an election entered as a dollar amount instead of a percentage, or a catch-up on missed contributions. Check the provider portal first.

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Name or SSN is wrong

If an employee’s name or SSN was entered incorrectly (including capitalization that doesn’t match their Social Security card, or an SSN that was changed to get past a validation error), the W-2 and state filings won’t match agency records. Email support with the correct details. Bolto fixes the record and, where filings already went out, submits the correction. The employee may need to redo their W-4.

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Garnishments and post-tax deductions

Check the deduction’s start and end dates and limits on the employee’s Deductions tab. Court orders set amounts and caps. If the paystub differs, email support with the order.