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A pay stub explains one payroll payment: the dates it covers, how your pay was calculated, what was withheld or deducted, and how much was paid to you. Start by separating gross pay (before deductions) from net pay (the amount left after deductions), then read each line in context: a current amount applies to this paycheck, while a year-to-date (YTD) amount accumulates through the current payroll period. This guide focuses on U.S. pay stubs; layouts and labels vary by employer and jurisdiction.
Start with the identifying details and dates
Employer, employee, and payment identifiers
The top of a stub may list your name or employee ID, employer details, a check or payment number, and possibly masked bank-account information. These details identify the record or payment; they do not describe compensation. The CFPB’s U.S. sample includes employee name, Social Security number, employee ID, and check number, while a Government of Canada public-service sample shows employer, employee, business-unit, cheque, and masked account fields. Exact fields differ. Store and share a stub carefully because it may expose sensitive personal or banking information. CFPB pay-stub guide; Government of Canada sample statement.
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Pay period versus pay date
The pay period is the span of days whose work or earnings are represented. The pay date is when the payment is issued. For example, the CFPB sample covers August 1–15, 2022, and has an August 22 pay date. A period-end date is not necessarily the day the money arrives. CFPB pay-stub guide.
Read earnings before deductions
Hours, rates, and types of pay
An earnings section may itemize regular hours and rate, overtime, bonus, tips, or other pay, then total them. For hourly work, compare the hours and rate with your own time records. A salary stub may show a salary amount without an hours-times-rate calculation. Overtime labels can include “OT hours,” “OT pay,” “1.5 pay,” or “time-and-a-half.” Bonuses, tips, and overtime can be part of gross income. IRS Tax Withholding Estimator; Canada Revenue Agency pay-statement example.
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Gross pay and taxable wages are not always the same figure
Gross pay is total pay before taxes and other deductions. Some stubs also show a taxable-wage or taxable-gross figure. That figure can differ from gross earnings, and its definition may depend on the jurisdiction, payroll system, and specific tax calculation. The Government of Canada public-service sample, for example, defines taxable gross using taxable earnings plus certain pre-tax deductions and taxable benefits. Do not assume one taxable-wage figure is the base for every tax line, or apply that Canadian definition to a U.S. stub. Government of Canada sample statement.
Identify each tax withholding separately
Tax lines are not interchangeable. In particular, federal income tax withholding is separate from Social Security, Medicare, and state or local taxes. The IRS cautions readers to look for federal income tax withholding without adding those other categories to it. IRS Tax Withholding Estimator.
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- Federal income tax: May be labeled “Federal tax,” “FIT,” “FITW,” “FITC,” “Fed W/H,” “Fed tax,” or “Fed withholding.” Check whether the displayed amount is current-period or YTD. If you elected extra federal withholding, it may appear on a separate line; include it when working out total federal withholding.
- Social Security: A U.S. payroll-tax line that may appear as “Social Security” or “FICA SS.”
- Medicare: A separate U.S. payroll-tax line, sometimes labeled “FICA Medicare.”
- State and local income tax: May appear where applicable. State tax depends in part on whether the state has an income tax; local lines also depend on location.
A withholding line records money taken from this pay. It does not, by itself, determine your final annual tax or establish whether you will owe or receive a refund. The IRS estimator page explains federal withholding labels and YTD amounts: IRS Tax Withholding Estimator.
Separate other deductions from taxes
Not every deduction is a tax. Depending on your employer and jurisdiction, a stub may list health-insurance premiums, retirement or pension contributions, union dues, or costs for other programs. A statement may also show employer-paid contributions for information; those are not necessarily amounts deducted from your take-home pay. Check the stub’s legend or ask payroll if it is unclear whether a line reduces your pay.
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Labels and required contributions differ across jurisdictions. Canadian examples may include Canada Pension Plan (CPP) or Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) contributions and Employment Insurance (EI), alongside income tax, union dues, insurance, or pension lines. These are not substitutes for U.S. Social Security and Medicare labels. Canada Revenue Agency pay-statement example; Government of Canada sample statement.
Understand current amounts and YTD
A heading such as “Current” or “This period” normally refers to the paycheck in front of you. YTD means year to date: the cumulative amount from the beginning of the year through the current payroll period. If each line has both columns, compare a current amount only with the current total, and a YTD amount only with the matching YTD total. Some employers instead put YTD figures in a separate summary. The IRS describes stubs with current-period and YTD categories. IRS Publication 4268; IRS Tax Withholding Estimator.
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YTD totals can change when a new job begins, a year turns over, or payroll makes a correction or adjustment. Compare like periods and like line definitions rather than assuming two differently labeled totals should match.
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Reconcile deductions to net pay and deposits
Net pay is what remains after deductions and is the amount paid to you. Add the current-period deductions shown and compare the result with the stated total, allowing for any listed adjustments or refunds. Then check that gross pay minus deductions and adjustments reconciles to net pay. If the stub lists multiple deposits or payment methods, those show how net pay was distributed; their sum is not gross pay.
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The CFPB’s fictional example makes the arithmetic clear: $200.00 current gross income minus $24.67 current deductions equals $175.33 net income. The deductions comprise $8.63 federal tax, $12.40 Social Security, $2.90 Medicare, and $0.74 state tax. Its YTD summary separately shows $2,800.00 gross, $479.02 deductions, and $2,320.98 net. These are example amounts, not typical pay or a benchmark for withholding. CFPB pay-stub guide.
Check a pay stub when something looks wrong
- Match the dates: Confirm the pay period and pay date against the payroll schedule.
- Check the earnings: Compare hours, rate, salary, overtime, bonus, or tips with records available to you.
- Review each line separately: Keep federal income tax distinct from Social Security, Medicare, state or local taxes, and other deductions.
- Compare current and YTD amounts: Make sure each figure is being compared with the same category and period; account for a new job, year boundary, correction, or adjustment.
- Reconcile the payment: Check gross pay against deductions and adjustments, then compare the result with net pay and any listed deposits.
- Ask payroll about unclear entries: Request an explanation for an unfamiliar code or apparent mismatch. A difference in withholding does not alone settle your final income-tax result. IRS Publication 4268 advises employees to reconcile withheld amounts during the year. IRS Publication 4268.
What to compare between two stubs
When checking a change between paychecks, compare like with like: pay-period dates and pay dates; gross versus taxable wages; hours and rates or salary; each type of earnings; tax or benefit categories; current versus YTD amounts; and the deductions or adjustments that lead to net pay. A change in one line is easier to interpret when you know whether the period, line definition, or pay components also changed.
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