diff --git a/src/libqof/qof/gnc-date.c b/src/libqof/qof/gnc-date.c
index 84d638879f..0609c62294 100644
--- a/src/libqof/qof/gnc-date.c
+++ b/src/libqof/qof/gnc-date.c
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ gnc_g_time_zone_new_local (void)
     gint bias = tzinfo.Bias + tzinfo.StandardBias;
     gint hours = -bias / 60; // 60 minutes per hour
     gint minutes = (bias < 0 ? -bias : bias) % 60;
-    gchar *tzstr = g_strdup_printf ("%+03d%02d", hours, minutes);
+    gchar *tzstr = g_strdup_printf ("%+02d%02d", hours, minutes);
     GTimeZone *tz = g_time_zone_new(tzstr);
     g_free (tzstr);
     return tz;