How to Read Your Pay Stub Line by Line (2026 Guide)

By the USPaycheckGuide Editorial Team · Reviewed by Shaharyar Abid · Last updated October 6, 2026

If you've ever opened your pay stub and felt like you were reading a foreign language, you're not alone. Between abbreviations like "FIT," "SS," and "YTD," and a dozen line items that don't obviously connect to the number in your bank account, pay stubs are one of the most misunderstood documents most working Americans receive every two weeks. This guide breaks down every section of a typical US pay stub so you know exactly what you're looking at — and can catch errors before they cost you money.

1. Why Your Pay Stub Matters

Your pay stub isn't just a receipt. It's the official record your employer keeps (and that you should keep too) proving how much you earned, what was withheld, and why. If you ever apply for a mortgage, a car loan, or need to prove income for an apartment, pay stubs are usually the first document requested. They're also your first line of defense against payroll errors — miscalculated overtime, wrong tax withholding, or missing deductions all show up here before anywhere else.

2. Section 1: Employee and Employer Information

At the top of most pay stubs you'll find basic identifying information: your name, employee ID, the pay period dates, and your employer's name and address. This section also usually shows your pay rate (hourly or salary) and your filing status as reported to payroll, which directly affects how much tax is withheld.

Double check this section whenever you start a new job or after any HR update — an incorrect filing status or pay rate here cascades into every number below it.

3. Section 2: Gross Pay

Gross pay is your total earnings for the pay period before anything is subtracted. For salaried employees, this is usually a fixed number each period (annual salary divided by the number of pay periods). For hourly employees, it's calculated as hours worked multiplied by your hourly rate, plus any overtime, bonuses, or commissions earned in that period.

If you worked overtime, look for a separate line item showing overtime hours and the overtime rate (typically 1.5× your regular rate under federal law for non-exempt employees). Bonuses and commissions are usually itemized separately from regular wages because they're taxed differently — most employers withhold bonuses at a flat 22% federal supplemental rate rather than using your normal withholding tables.

4. Section 3: Pre-Tax Deductions

This is where things get interesting, because pre-tax deductions reduce your taxable income before federal and state tax are even calculated. Common pre-tax deductions include:

• **Traditional 401(k) or 403(b) contributions** — money you're setting aside for retirement that hasn't been taxed yet
• **Health insurance premiums** — your share of medical, dental, and vision coverage, usually deducted pre-tax under a Section 125 cafeteria plan
• **HSA contributions** — Health Savings Account deposits, available if you're enrolled in a high-deductible health plan
• **FSA contributions** — Flexible Spending Account deposits for healthcare or dependent care expenses
• **Commuter benefits** — transit or parking deductions up to IRS-set monthly limits

Every dollar here lowers the taxable income used to calculate your federal and state withholding, which is why a $200 pre-tax 401(k) contribution typically only reduces your actual take-home pay by $140–$160, not the full $200.

5. Section 4: Taxes Withheld

This section is usually the most confusing, and it's broken into several distinct lines:

Federal Income Tax (FIT or FITW) — withheld based on your W-4 elections and the IRS withholding tables, using your taxable income after pre-tax deductions.

Social Security Tax (SS or OASDI) — a flat 6.2% of your gross wages up to the annual wage base ($184,500 for 2026). Once your year-to-date wages cross that threshold, this line drops to zero for the rest of the year.

Medicare Tax — 1.45% of all wages with no cap, plus an additional 0.9% on wages above $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (married filing jointly), which only your employee portion pays — employers don't match the additional 0.9%.

State Income Tax — varies enormously by state. Nine states (Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming) have no state income tax on wages, so this line will be blank or zero if you live and work in one of them.

Local/City Tax — some cities and counties (like New York City, Philadelphia, and several Ohio municipalities) levy their own local income tax on top of state tax.

6. Section 5: Post-Tax Deductions

These are deductions taken out after taxes have already been calculated, so they don't reduce your taxable income. Common examples include:

• Roth 401(k) contributions (already taxed, grows tax-free)
• Wage garnishments (child support, tax levies, creditor judgments)
• Union dues
• Life insurance premiums beyond employer-provided minimums
• Post-tax benefit elections

7. Section 6: Net Pay

Net pay — your take-home pay — is what's left after every deduction above is subtracted from gross pay. This is the number that actually gets deposited into your bank account. If you're using direct deposit and have your pay split across multiple accounts, this section may show a breakdown of how much went where.

8. Section 7: Year-to-Date (YTD) Totals

Every category above usually has a corresponding YTD column showing your cumulative totals for the calendar year. This is critical for a few reasons:

1. It lets you track your progress toward the Social Security wage base, so you know roughly when that 6.2% deduction will stop for the year. 2. It helps you verify that your 401(k) contributions are on pace to hit (or stay under) the annual IRS contribution limit. 3. It's the fastest way to sanity-check your total tax withholding partway through the year against what you'll actually owe on your tax return.

9. Common Pay Stub Errors to Watch For

• **Wrong filing status** — if you got married, divorced, or had a life change and didn't update your W-4, your withholding could be significantly off.
• **Missing overtime** — non-exempt employees are legally entitled to 1.5× pay for hours over 40 in a week; verify this is calculated correctly.
• **Incorrect state tax** — this happens often with remote workers or employees who moved mid-year and didn't notify HR.
• **Benefit deductions that don't match your elections** — always cross-check open enrollment selections against what's actually being deducted.
• **Double deductions** — occasionally a deduction gets applied twice due to a payroll system glitch, especially around benefit plan year changes.

10. What to Do If You Spot an Error

Contact your payroll or HR department immediately with the specific pay stub and line item in question. Most payroll errors are simple to fix if caught within the same pay period, but errors that carry on for months can create real headaches at tax time — either because you've underpaid tax and owe a surprise bill, or overpaid and won't see that money back until you file your return.

11. Use the Calculator to Verify Your Numbers

If you want to double-check that your withholding matches what it should be for your income, state, and filing status, run your numbers through the paycheck calculator above. Comparing the calculator's estimate against your actual pay stub is one of the fastest ways to catch a payroll error before it becomes a bigger problem at tax time.

12. A sample pay stub, line by line

Here is a simplified biweekly stub for a single worker earning $65,000 a year in a state with no income tax, who saves 5% in a traditional 401(k) and pays $60 per paycheck for health insurance through a pre-tax cafeteria plan.

Notice that Social Security and Medicare are calculated on $2,440.00, not $2,315.00, because 401(k) deferrals are still subject to FICA. That is why the taxable wages shown for income tax and for Social Security on your stub, and later on your W-2, are often different.

13. Three different 'wages' on one stub

Year-to-date versions of these numbers become boxes 1, 3 and 5 of your W-2. Checking them on your last stub of the year is the easiest way to confirm your W-2 is right before you file.

14. Common pay stub abbreviations

See the full pay stub abbreviations glossary for more codes.

15. Do employers have to give you a pay stub?

No federal law requires a pay stub, but most states require employers to provide a written or electronic wage statement each payday, and many specify what it must show, such as hours worked, rates, deductions and the pay period dates. A few states require access only on request. If you get only electronic stubs, download and save them, since access usually ends when you leave the job.

16. How long to keep your pay stubs

Keep each pay stub at least until you receive your W-2 and confirm it matches your final stub of the year. After that, the W-2 replaces the stubs for most tax purposes. Keep them longer, generally three years, if you are applying for a mortgage or loan, disputing wages, receiving unemployment or child support, or if your stubs show items your W-2 does not break out, such as overtime premium hours you may need for the overtime deduction.

17. Extra lines hourly workers see

• Regular and overtime hours: listed separately with their rates; overtime should be at least 1.5 times the regular rate.
• Shift differential: extra pay for nights or weekends, which also raises the rate used for overtime.
• Tips: cash tips you reported and charged tips, which are taxed even though cash tips were already in your pocket.
• Tip credit: in states that allow it, part of the minimum wage is covered by tips, so the hourly rate shown may be below minimum wage.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are Social Security wages higher than federal taxable wages?

Because 401(k) and similar retirement deferrals reduce income tax but not Social Security and Medicare.

What does OASDI mean on my pay stub?

Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance, the formal name for Social Security tax, 6.2% of wages up to $184,500 in 2026.

Is a pay stub the same as a W-2?

No. A pay stub covers one pay period; the W-2 summarizes the whole year and is what you use to file taxes.

Why is my net pay different every paycheck?

Hours, overtime, tips, bonuses and benefit deductions can change from check to check, and withholding changes with them.

What is the difference between gross pay and net pay?

Gross pay is what you earned before any deductions; net pay is what is deposited after taxes and all deductions.

Where do I find my year-to-date earnings?

In the YTD column next to each line, which totals everything paid since January 1 of the current year.

What does ER mean on a pay stub?

Employer. ER lines show what your employer pays, such as its share of health premiums or 401(k) match, which does not come out of your pay.

Why is there a deduction for state disability on my stub?

California, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Hawaii and several other states fund disability or paid family leave programs through employee payroll contributions.

This article is for general education only and is not tax, legal or investment advice. Figures and rules change; confirm details with the IRS or a qualified professional before making decisions.