I Accidentally Got Overpaid by My Job—What Should I Do Next?

A Reddit user said he was overpaid at his job, and he isn’t sure what to do next. He explained that he got an email demanding money back via Zelle. He also said he checked the Paychex app, which shows a single pay stub for the correct amount, with no record of the second payment — but his bank app does show a second additional paycheck that looks like it has different payment information. 

The poster is nervous about the request to send back the money, especially since his last boss ended up in legal trouble for Medicare fraud. He’s concerned that something is wrong with this request, but he does want to return his employer’s money if he was legitimately overpaid.

So, what should the poster do? 

Always make sure that requests for money are legitimate

The first and most important thing that the poster needs to do is to make sure that this request for money is actually a legitimate one that came from his real employer.

Most companies are not going to ask for a Zelle payment via email if they double-paid a worker. If the overpayment was accidental, they’d likely be able to recover it themselves based on the terms of their direct deposit agreement. Even if that wasn’t the case, they’d want a more formal process with documentation of the overpayment and money being returned, not a Zelle payment based on an email sent over the weekend. 

This type of message is often a scam, and no one should ever Zelle anyone money based on an email that seems sketchy to them. The poster should instead do nothing until he can return to work on Monday and go talk to his manager and HR himself. If he receives in-person confirmation from those he works with, he can then explore with them better ways of returning the money that provide more documentation, such as writing a check. 

By avoiding sending payments via Zelle, which cannot be recovered and which can be hard to trace, you’ll be in a better position to avoid being scammed and having your money stolen. You can also work with a financial advisor to help you understand and avoid common money scams, as Americans lose millions each year to various types of fraud. 

Overpayments are not yours to keep

If your employer actually overpays you and you have clear, legitimate communication about the incident from your company, then the money is not yours to keep. You’ll need to return it and, in fact, even if your employer does not notice the error, you should notify them about the discrepancy to make sure that you maintain trust. Keeping a payment that doesn’t belong to you would be a form of theft and could adversely affect your standing at work.

If this happens, be sure you document everything, though, because you will want to make sure when the end of the year comes that your employer is reporting your actual earnings — without the overpayment — for purposes of taxes and your  Social Security earnings record. You don’t want to end up owing the IRS money on a payment you gave back to your employer.