How to Read Your Pay Stub: Every Line Explained (2026)
A line-by-line guide to reading your pay stub: header, hours, gross pay, taxes (FIT, OASDI, Medicare), pre-tax and post-tax deductions, YTD, and net pay.
Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only and is not tax, legal, or financial advice. Tax rules can change; always check current IRS guidance or consult a qualified tax professional.
Quick Answer: What Your Pay Stub Is Telling You
Your pay stub is a receipt for one pay period. It shows what you earned (gross pay), what was taken out (taxes and deductions), and what landed in your bank (net pay). Every line is either an earning, a tax, a deduction, or a running total.
For hourly workers, the lines at the top carry the most weight: hours worked, hourly rate, and overtime. If those are wrong, every number below is wrong too. Reading your stub well means cross-checking it against your own time records every pay period, not just glancing at the net.
This guide walks through every section of a typical U.S. pay stub, line by line, with the 2026 tax limits and a short checklist of errors to catch before they cost you.
What a Pay Stub Is (and Why Every Line Matters)
A pay stub is the itemized statement attached to (or replacing) your paycheck. A paycheck is the money you receive. A W-2 is the year-end summary that should match the December YTD lines on your last stub of the year. Three different documents, all built from the same payroll data.
Federal law (the FLSA) does not require employers to give you a pay stub. It only requires them to keep payroll records for three years. Most states fill that gap: 41 states and DC require some form of written pay statement. Nine states (AL, AR, FL, GA, LA, MS, OH, SD, TN) have no requirement at all, and about 11 states require a printed copy on request.
For hourly workers, reading the stub each period matters because the math is the most error-prone part of payroll. Hours can be miscounted. Overtime can be calculated against the wrong rate. A pre-tax deduction can be processed as post-tax. A YTD total can drift after a correction. None of those errors flag themselves. You catch them by reading the stub.
Pay stub vs. paycheck vs. direct deposit
If you get paid by direct deposit, the “stub” may be a PDF you download from a payroll portal (ADP, Gusto, Paychex, Workday, etc.). It contains the same information as a paper stub. Save every one. You will want them for tax season, for any wage dispute, and for a loan or rental application.
Section 1: Header (Employee, Employer, and Pay Period)
The top of the stub identifies who’s getting paid, who’s paying, and when. It looks boring. It is also where bookkeeping errors start.
Employee information
- Name as it appears on your W-4 and Social Security card
- Employee ID (internal payroll identifier)
- Address (used to determine state and local tax)
- Last 4 of SSN (the full number should never appear)
- Filing status and allowances from your W-4 (some stubs show this, others don’t)
If your filing status or address is wrong, your federal and state withholding can be wrong for the rest of the year. Check both when you start a new job and after any move.
Employer information
- Employer name and address
- Employer EIN (federal tax ID)
- State employer account number (used for SUI, SDI, etc.)
Pay period vs. pay date
These are different dates and they matter.
- Pay period start/end is the workweek (or two weeks, or half-month) the stub covers.
- Pay date is the day you actually get paid, which is usually a few days after the period ends.
The pay date determines which tax year the wages are reported in. Wages earned in late December but paid in January show up on next year’s W-2, not this one. That can change your tax picture if you are right at a bracket edge.
Check number and direct deposit details
A check number appears on a paper check. For direct deposit, you will see a masked bank account (last 4 digits) and the deposit amount. If you split your deposit across multiple accounts, each one should be listed.
Section 2: Earnings (Gross Pay, Hours, Rate, and Overtime)
This is the most important section for hourly workers. Every dollar starts here.
The standard earnings lines
A typical hourly stub shows:
- Regular hours at your regular rate
- Overtime hours at the OT rate (1.5x regular under the FLSA)
- Holiday hours and pay
- PTO/vacation/sick hours and pay
- Shift differential (extra per hour for nights, weekends, etc.)
- Bonus and commission
- Retro pay (corrections from a previous period)
Each line shows hours, rate, current-period amount, and YTD. Add the current-period column and you get gross pay for this period.
Overtime: the most-checked line on the stub
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, non-exempt employees earn 1.5 times their regular rate for any hours over 40 in a workweek. Some states (California, Alaska, Nevada, Colorado) add daily overtime after 8 hours. Union contracts can add more.
Your overtime rate is not always “hourly wage x 1.5.” If you earned a non-discretionary bonus, a shift differential, or a commission that week, those must be folded into your regular rate before the 1.5x is applied. Many payroll systems get this wrong by default. We walk through the math in our regular rate of pay guide, and our overtime calculator and regular-rate-of-pay calculator handle the arithmetic.
Verify the hours against your own records
You can only check your stub if you tracked your own hours. Pull your clock-in/clock-out log, your timesheet, or your app export, and compare it to the “Hours This Period” column.
- Do the regular hours match what you actually worked under 40?
- Do the OT hours match what you actually worked over 40?
- Are PTO and holiday hours showing under their own lines (not lumped into regular)?
- If you crossed midnight or skipped a meal break, are those handled correctly?
If you use Timeclock44 to log shifts as you work them, you can hand payroll a clean weekly summary instead of trying to reconstruct hours from memory after the stub arrives.
Hours this period vs. hours YTD
The YTD hours column is the running total since January 1. It is useful for tax-season planning (PTO accrual, projected gross income) and as a cross-check: if YTD hours go down from one pay period to the next, somebody zeroed out a correction. Ask payroll.
Section 3: Taxes Withheld (FIT, SIT, OASDI, Medicare)
Once gross pay is set, payroll withholds taxes. There are usually four to six lines here, depending on your state and city.
Federal Income Tax (FIT or FWT)
The largest tax for most workers. FIT is calculated from your W-4 (filing status, dependents, extra withholding) using the IRS withholding tables for the year. For 2026, marginal rates run from 10% to 37%. Your effective withholding rate is almost always lower than your top marginal rate because the lower brackets apply first.
If your FIT looks too high or too low, the fix is to file an updated Form W-4 with HR. Don’t guess. Use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator first.
Social Security (OASDI or SS)
OASDI (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) is the formal name for the Social Security tax. It is withheld at 6.2% of gross wages up to the annual wage base. For 2026, the wage base is $184,500 (up from $176,100 in 2025), per the SSA’s 2026 fact sheet.
Once your YTD Social Security wages cross $184,500, the OASDI line should drop to zero for the rest of the year. If it keeps withholding, payroll is missing your YTD. That happens most often after a mid-year job change, when the new employer doesn’t know about the wages from the old one. You can reconcile the overpayment on your 1040 the following spring.
Medicare (MED or HI)
Medicare is 1.45% of all wages, with no cap. There is also an Additional Medicare Tax of 0.9% on wages over $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (married filing jointly). Together, OASDI and Medicare are usually labeled FICA on benefits paperwork (6.2% + 1.45% = 7.65% for most workers).
State Income Tax (SIT or SWT)
Varies by state. Nine states have no state income tax: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. Everyone else has some form of withholding driven by a state W-4 equivalent.
Local taxes (LIT)
City, county, or school district income taxes apply in parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Michigan, Maryland, Indiana, and a few other states. If you live and work in different jurisdictions, you may see two local lines.
SDI, SUI, FLI, and PFML
State disability and family-leave programs are funded by employee withholding in California, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Hawaii, Washington, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Colorado, and Oregon. Rates and caps differ by state. These usually appear as their own lines (CASDI, NYSDI, NJFLI, etc.) and are sometimes labeled as taxes, sometimes as deductions.
Section 4: Deductions (Pre-Tax vs. Post-Tax)
After taxes come benefit deductions. The order matters: pre-tax deductions come out before income tax is calculated, while post-tax deductions come out after.
Pre-tax deductions
These lower your taxable wages, which lowers your federal (and usually state) income tax. Common pre-tax lines:
- Traditional 401(k) or 403(b): 2026 employee deferral limit is $24,500, plus an $8,000 catch-up at age 50+, and a higher $11,250 catch-up at ages 60 to 63 under SECURE 2.0.
- Traditional HSA (with an HDHP)
- FSA (medical and dependent care)
- Section 125 health, dental, and vision premiums
- Commuter/transit benefits
One subtle point. Section 125 health premiums reduce both your FIT and FICA wages. A traditional 401(k) reduces your FIT wages but not your FICA wages. That’s why your YTD Social Security wages can be higher than the “Federal taxable wages” line on the same stub.
Post-tax deductions
These come out of what’s left after taxes. Common post-tax lines:
- Roth 401(k) (taxed now, withdrawn tax-free later)
- Garnishments (child support, IRS levy, court-ordered debt, student loans)
- Union dues
- Charitable giving (workplace giving program)
- Group life insurance over $50,000 (the portion above $50K is taxable)
- After-tax HSA contributions
Why the pre-tax/post-tax distinction matters
If your 401(k) is showing under post-tax, you are losing the federal tax break you signed up for. If your Section 125 health premium is showing as post-tax, you are paying FICA on money that should have been pre-FICA. Both errors are common after a benefits enrollment change. The fix is a quick call to HR.
Section 5: Net Pay, YTD Totals, and Leave Balances
Net pay is the bottom line: gross pay minus taxes minus deductions. That number should match the amount deposited in your bank, to the cent. If it doesn’t, check the deposit date (some banks post on the next business day) and look for a split deposit across multiple accounts.
Year-to-Date (YTD) totals
Every line on the stub has a current-period column and a YTD column. The YTD column is your running total since January 1. Use it three ways:
- Cross-check this pay period: last stub’s YTD plus this period’s current column should equal this stub’s YTD. If it doesn’t, something was corrected.
- Plan your taxes: YTD federal taxable wages times your effective rate gives a quick estimate of your tax bill so far.
- Match your W-2 in January: the December YTD should line up with Boxes 1 (federal taxable wages), 3 (Social Security wages, capped at $184,500), 4 (Social Security tax), 5 (Medicare wages), and 6 (Medicare tax). If your December stub and W-2 don’t agree, ask payroll for a corrected W-2.
Once you cross the $184,500 Social Security wage base, your YTD Social Security wages should freeze. Medicare wages keep growing all year because there’s no cap.
Leave balances
Many stubs also show:
- PTO available (and used)
- Vacation accrued (and balance)
- Sick hours (where state law requires sick-leave tracking)
These are tracked in hours. If your accrual rate is 4 hours per pay period and you took 8 hours last period, the math should be obvious. When it isn’t, ask HR to walk through the accrual rule (some employers cap accruals or reset at year end).
Memo lines and employer-paid benefits
You may see “memo” or “info-only” lines showing employer contributions (employer 401(k) match, employer-paid health premium, life insurance imputed income). These don’t affect net pay. They’re there for transparency and for tax-season totals.
Five Pay Stub Errors to Catch Before They Cost You
Most stub errors are not deliberate. They are payroll configurations that ran fine for years and broke after a promotion, a benefits change, or a system upgrade. Each one is easy to fix once someone notices.
1. Wrong hours or missing overtime
Cross-check regular hours and OT hours against your own records every period. If you worked 47 hours but the stub shows 40 regular and 5 overtime, you’re short two hours somewhere. If you crossed midnight on a shift and the hours got assigned to the wrong workday, your OT can disappear into regular hours. Our timecard calculator recomputes daily and weekly totals from your clock-in/out log.
2. Filing status or allowances don’t match your W-4
Open your most recent W-4 and compare it to the header on your stub. A wrong filing status (single instead of married, or vice versa) can leave you significantly under- or over-withheld for federal and state income tax. The fix is a new W-4 with HR.
3. YTD that doesn’t add up
Last stub’s YTD plus this period should equal this stub’s YTD. If it doesn’t, look for a corrected line (it should be flagged, often with an asterisk). Unflagged YTD changes are the warning sign for a payroll error that the system carried forward.
4. Pre-tax deduction running through as post-tax (or vice versa)
If you enrolled in a 401(k), HSA, or Section 125 plan and the line is showing under post-tax deductions, you are paying tax you don’t owe. Check both the line position and the tax-wages box: pre-tax 401(k) should lower your federal taxable wages compared to your Social Security wages.
5. OASDI still withholding after the wage base
Once your YTD Social Security wages cross $184,500 in 2026, OASDI should stop. If you changed jobs mid-year and your new employer doesn’t know about your prior wages, OASDI may keep withholding past the cap. You’ll reconcile the overpayment on your federal return, but it’s worth tracking month to month.
How to Use Your Time Records to Verify the Stub
A pay stub is only as good as the time records behind it. The “Hours This Period” column comes from whatever timekeeping system your employer uses: a punch clock, a web portal, a spreadsheet your supervisor maintains, or an app on your phone.
If you keep your own log alongside, verification is a five-minute process:
- Open your stub and your time log side by side.
- Confirm total hours match: regular + OT + PTO + holiday on the stub should equal your log.
- Confirm OT was calculated from the right regular rate (not just base wage).
- Confirm pre-tax deductions are listed before taxes.
- Confirm YTD reconciles with last stub’s YTD plus this period.
If anything doesn’t match, take a screenshot, save the stub PDF, and email payroll with the specific line item. Keep that paper trail in case the issue doesn’t get fixed and you need to escalate.
For hourly workers who switch between shifts, projects, or pay rates, an app-based log makes this much easier than reconstructing the week from memory. Timeclock44’s tools let you log hours, export a CSV, and reconcile against the stub in the same session.
Common Pay Stub Abbreviations Glossary
Quick reference for the codes you’ll see most often.
| Abbreviation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| FIT, FWT | Federal Income Tax |
| SIT, SWT | State Income Tax |
| LIT | Local Income Tax |
| OASDI, SS | Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (Social Security, 6.2%) |
| MED, HI | Medicare / Hospital Insurance (1.45%) |
| FICA | Combined Social Security + Medicare (7.65%) |
| SDI, CASDI | State Disability Insurance |
| SUI | State Unemployment Insurance |
| FLI, PFML | Family Leave / Paid Family and Medical Leave |
| 401K | Traditional 401(k) (pre-tax) |
| ROTH | Roth 401(k) (post-tax) |
| HSA | Health Savings Account |
| FSA | Flexible Spending Account |
| S125, POP | Section 125 cafeteria plan (pre-tax benefits) |
| GARN | Garnishment |
| GTL | Group Term Life (imputed income over $50K) |
| YTD | Year-to-Date total |
| OT | Overtime |
| SHFT, DIFF | Shift differential |
| PTO | Paid Time Off |
| RETRO | Retroactive pay correction |
Frequently Asked Questions
What does OASDI mean on my pay stub?
OASDI stands for Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance, which is the formal name for the Social Security tax. It is withheld at 6.2% of your gross wages up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500.
What does YTD mean on a pay stub?
YTD stands for Year-to-Date, the running total of earnings, taxes, or deductions from January 1 through your current pay period. YTD totals reset every January 1 and should match the corresponding boxes on your W-2 at year end.
Why is my net pay so much lower than my gross pay?
Net pay is what is left after federal, state, and FICA taxes plus any pre-tax and post-tax deductions like health insurance, 401(k), HSA, and garnishments. For most U.S. workers, taxes and benefits combined remove 20% to 35% of gross pay.
Are employers required to give pay stubs?
Not under federal law. The FLSA only requires payroll recordkeeping. But 41 states and DC require employers to provide some form of pay statement, while 9 states (AL, AR, FL, GA, LA, MS, OH, SD, TN) have no requirement.
What is the difference between gross pay and net pay?
Gross pay is your total earnings before any taxes or deductions. Net pay is your take-home: gross minus taxes (FIT, SIT, FICA) and deductions (insurance, retirement, garnishments). Net pay is what hits your bank account.
What is FICA on my pay stub?
FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions Act) is the umbrella tax covering Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%), 7.65% total for most workers. High earners owe an extra 0.9% Medicare surcharge above $200,000 single or $250,000 married filing jointly.
How do I check that my overtime pay on the stub is correct?
Under federal law, overtime is 1.5 times your regular rate for any hours over 40 in a workweek. Multiply your overtime hours by your rate, then by 1.5, and that should match the OT earnings line. Some states (CA, AK, NV, CO) add daily overtime after 8 hours.
What is the difference between pre-tax and post-tax deductions?
Pre-tax deductions (traditional 401(k), HSA, FSA, Section 125 health premiums) are subtracted from gross pay before income tax is calculated, lowering your taxable wages. Post-tax deductions (Roth 401(k), garnishments, union dues) come out after taxes are calculated.
Related Reading
- Regular Rate of Pay: What Counts for Overtime. Why your overtime line should be calculated from more than your base wage.
- Time and a Half Explained: How Overtime Pay Actually Works. Step-by-step overtime math and a quick rate-table reference.
- FLSA Overtime Rules: A Plain-English Guide for Hourly Workers. The 40-hour rule, exempt vs. non-exempt, and how to file a wage complaint.
- How to Track Work Hours. Setting up a time log you can hand payroll when the stub doesn’t match.
- Browse all calculators. Overtime, regular rate, timecard, shift differential, and more.
References
- SSA: 2026 Cost-of-Living Adjustment Fact Sheet. Official 2026 Social Security wage base ($184,500) and benefit changes.
- IRS Topic No. 751: Social Security and Medicare Withholding Rates. FICA rates and the Additional Medicare Tax thresholds.
- IRS: 401(k) limit increases to $24,500 for 2026. 2026 deferral, catch-up, and IRA limits under Notice 2025-67.
- U.S. DOL: Wages and the Fair Labor Standards Act. The federal overtime rule and exempt vs. non-exempt classification.
- U.S. DOL Fact Sheet #21: FLSA Recordkeeping Requirements. What payroll records employers must keep, even when no stub is required.
- U.S. DOL elaws FLSA Advisor: Are pay stubs required?. Confirmation that the FLSA does not require pay stubs.
- CFPB: How to Read a Pay Stub (PDF). Consumer-education handout from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does OASDI mean on my pay stub?
OASDI stands for Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance, which is the formal name for the Social Security tax. It is withheld at 6.2% of your gross wages up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500.
What does YTD mean on a pay stub?
YTD stands for Year-to-Date, the running total of earnings, taxes, or deductions from January 1 through your current pay period. YTD totals reset every January 1 and should match the corresponding boxes on your W-2 at year end.
Why is my net pay so much lower than my gross pay?
Net pay is what is left after federal, state, and FICA taxes plus any pre-tax and post-tax deductions like health insurance, 401(k), HSA, and garnishments. For most U.S. workers, taxes and benefits combined remove 20% to 35% of gross pay.
Are employers required to give pay stubs?
Not under federal law. The FLSA only requires payroll recordkeeping. But 41 states and DC require employers to provide some form of pay statement, while 9 states (AL, AR, FL, GA, LA, MS, OH, SD, TN) have no requirement.
What is the difference between gross pay and net pay?
Gross pay is your total earnings before any taxes or deductions. Net pay is your take-home: gross minus taxes (FIT, SIT, FICA) and deductions (insurance, retirement, garnishments). Net pay is what hits your bank account.
What is FICA on my pay stub?
FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions Act) is the umbrella tax covering Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%), 7.65% total for most workers. High earners owe an extra 0.9% Medicare surcharge above $200,000 single or $250,000 married filing jointly.
How do I check that my overtime pay on the stub is correct?
Under federal law, overtime is 1.5 times your regular rate for any hours over 40 in a workweek. Multiply your overtime hours by your rate, then by 1.5, and that should match the OT earnings line. Some states (CA, AK, NV, CO) add daily overtime after 8 hours.
What is the difference between pre-tax and post-tax deductions?
Pre-tax deductions (traditional 401(k), HSA, FSA, Section 125 health premiums) are subtracted from gross pay before income tax is calculated, lowering your taxable wages. Post-tax deductions (Roth 401(k), garnishments, union dues) come out after taxes are calculated.