How to Read a Pay Stub

A pay stub is a dense little document, and most people only look at the last number. But it is the best place to catch payroll errors, confirm your benefits are set up correctly and understand where your money goes. This guide walks through a typical pay stub from top to bottom and explains each section so you can check it against your own expectations.

Section 1: Header information

The top of the stub identifies you, your employer, the pay period (the dates covered by the check) and the pay date (when the money arrives). These dates can differ by several days. Many employers pay in arrears, meaning the check covers work from the previous week or two. Confirm that your name, address and the last four digits of your Social Security number are correct, because errors here flow into your W-2.

Section 2: Earnings

This section lists each type of pay, usually with hours, a rate and the amount for the period and the year to date:

• Regular pay: salary or hourly wages at the base rate.
• Overtime: usually 1.5 times your regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek for non-exempt employees. See the overtime rules guide.
• Bonus or commission: often listed on separate lines because they may be withheld differently (how bonuses are taxed).
• Paid time off, holiday and sick pay: listed separately for tracking.
• Tips or reported tip income, where applicable.

The total is gross pay. For salaried employees, check that it equals annual salary divided by the number of pay periods. A $65,000 salary paid biweekly should show $2,500.00 per check; paid semimonthly, $2,708.33.

Section 3: Pre-tax deductions

Items listed here reduce your taxable wages: traditional 401(k) contributions, health, dental and vision premiums, HSA and FSA contributions and commuter benefits. They are explained in our guide to pre-tax and post-tax deductions. A useful check: after your pre-tax items, the stub often shows "taxable wages" for federal income tax. That figure should equal gross pay minus 401(k), HSA and Section 125 deductions, while Social Security and Medicare wages should equal gross pay minus only Section 125 and payroll HSA deductions.

Section 4: Taxes withheld

Federal income tax

This is calculated from your Form W-4 using the IRS withholding tables. A rough sanity check: for a single worker with no pre-tax deductions earning $60,000 a year, the effective federal income tax is about 8.4% of gross pay.

Social Security (OASDI) and Medicare

Social Security tax is 6.2% of wages up to $184,500 in 2026. Medicare is 1.45% of all wages, and an additional 0.9% applies above $200,000. On a $2,500 check without pre-tax benefits, expect $155.00 for Social Security and $36.25 for Medicare. If you see another number, check whether pre-tax benefits lowered the wage base.

State and local taxes

State income tax varies widely; nine states have none. You may also see items like SDI (California State Disability Insurance), SUI, PFML (paid family leave) or local taxes. Some of these are paid by the employee and some by the employer; only employee items belong on your stub.

Section 5: Post-tax deductions

These are taken from net pay after taxes: Roth 401(k) contributions, union dues, garnishments, charitable donations and supplemental insurance. They do not change your taxable wages.

Section 6: Net pay and direct deposit

Net pay is what remains. If your employer splits direct deposit between accounts, the stub shows each deposit. Compare net pay to the amount that actually appeared in the bank. Differences point to a payroll or bank error.

Year-to-date totals: the audit tool

The YTD column is more useful than most people realize. It lets you check:

• Social Security cap: by the time YTD Social Security wages reach $184,500 the 6.2% tax should stop for the year.
• Retirement limits: YTD 401(k) contributions cannot exceed $24,500 (plus catch-up if eligible) across all employers.
• Withholding pace: divide YTD federal withholding by the fraction of the year elapsed to estimate your annual total, and compare it with your expected tax.

A sample stub, reconstructed

Here is a sample for a single employee in Illinois earning $75,000 who contributes 5% to a traditional 401(k), paid biweekly:

This is the same math the paycheck calculator uses. Your own stub will differ slightly because payroll rounding, health premiums and local factors vary, but each line should be close.

Pay stubs for hourly and tipped workers

Hourly employees should check that the hours on the stub match their time records, especially in a week with overtime. Overtime is calculated per workweek, so a week with 46 hours should show 40 regular hours and 6 overtime hours at 1.5 times the regular rate, even if the pay period spans two weeks. If you work for tips, the stub should show tip income reported to the employer, and federal and FICA taxes on those tips are withheld from your regular wages, which can make net pay on a stub look low relative to gross. Employers that use a tip credit must pay at least the cash wage required by law, and the stub should show enough for the total of cash wage plus tips to meet the minimum wage for the hours worked.

What to do with your pay stubs

Keep stubs at least until you have checked your W-2 each January. If the final stub of the year does not add up to the W-2, ask payroll to explain the difference; common reasons include pre-tax benefits, imputed income for items like group-term life insurance over $50,000 and taxable fringe benefits. Many employers provide a portal with stubs for several years, but a portal can disappear if you change jobs, so download copies of your last stub and your year-end stub before you leave. Landlords, lenders and benefits offices often ask for the two most recent stubs.

Reading a stub when your pay is irregular

If you receive commissions, tips, shift differentials or occasional bonuses, no two stubs will look alike. Concentrate on the ratios rather than the totals. Social Security should always be 6.2% and Medicare 1.45% of the applicable wages, so you can check them in seconds. Federal withholding will fluctuate, because the IRS method annualizes each paycheck, and a larger-than-usual paycheck can temporarily push the withholding rate up. State withholding behaves the same way in most states. The year-to-date line smooths the pattern out, and an annual check against the paycheck calculator is a good way to see whether your overall withholding is on track.

Employer-paid items that may appear on your stub

Some stubs list information that is not deducted from your pay. Employer contributions to your 401(k), the employer share of health premiums and employer payroll taxes may be shown for information. Imputed income, such as the value of group-term life insurance above $50,000 or personal use of a company car, may appear as both an earning and an offsetting deduction, which increases taxable wages without changing your net pay. These items are why your W-2 wages can be higher or lower than the total of your gross pay.

Common pay stub errors

1. Wrong hours or rate, especially overtime that was not paid at the premium rate.
2. Missing or incorrect deductions, such as a 401(k) percentage that does not match your election, or a benefit that should have ended.
3. Taxes calculated for the wrong state after a move or a remote work change.
4. Retroactive adjustments that create unusually high or low checks.
5. Duplicate or missing pay periods, particularly around holidays and year-end.

If you find a problem, ask payroll or HR in writing. Keep your stubs; you will need them to reconcile your W-2 at tax time, and for loan or apartment applications. If you believe you were underpaid, the Department of Labor and your state labor agency can help.