Annotated pay stub · Free one-page PDF · 2026
How to Read a Pay Stub: Annotated Example and Free PDF
Use the annotated example below to trace gross pay through taxable wages, employee taxes, deductions, and net pay. Open its 10 field callouts, compare current and YTD totals, or download the free one-page PDF to use beside your own statement.
For a fast check, add current earnings, subtract employee taxes and deductions, then confirm net pay and every YTD total. The private checker tests that arithmetic without uploading a pay stub.
Print the US Letter handout to review a statement offline. It includes the same fictional example, 10 field callouts, and an eight-point checklist.
Facts verified: against 7 source-tracked canonical facts in the PennyCalc registry; page sources include IRS Form W-4 and Publication 15-T, IRS benefit guidance, SSA's 2026 wage base, and source-tracked state schedules
Reviewed by Jessie for editorial clarity and sourcing. See more by Jessie.
Synthetic example
Sample earnings statement
A provider-neutral pay stub with numbered fields. The figures are illustrative and do not represent a specific employer or payroll service.
On a phone, swipe each table sideways to see every YTD value.
1 Employer and worker
- Employer
- Sample Company
- Employee
- Taylor R.
- Employee ID
- •••• 1042
- Pay method
- Direct deposit
2 Dates
- Pay period
- January 5 to January 18, 2026
- Pay date
- January 23, 2026
- Frequency
- Biweekly
3 Earnings
| Description | Current | Year to date |
|---|---|---|
| Salary | $2,884.62 | $5,769.24 |
| 4Gross pay | $2,884.62 | $5,769.24 |
Taxable wage bases
| Wage base | Current | Year to date |
|---|---|---|
| 5Federal | $2,620.39 | $5,240.78 |
| 6Social Security | $2,764.62 | $5,529.24 |
| Medicare | $2,764.62 | $5,529.24 |
7 Employee taxes
| Tax | Current | Year to date |
|---|---|---|
| Federal withholding | $270.00 | $540.00 |
| State withholding | $92.00 | $184.00 |
| State disability or leave | $28.00 | $56.00 |
| Social Security | $171.41 | $342.82 |
| Medicare | $40.09 | $80.18 |
8 Employee deductions
| Deduction | Current | Year to date |
|---|---|---|
| Health plan, pre-tax | $120.00 | $240.00 |
| Traditional 401(k), pre-tax | $144.23 | $288.46 |
| Supplemental life, post-tax | $12.00 | $24.00 |
9Employer items
Employer health contribution: $250.00. Employer 401(k) match: $72.12. These are informational and are not subtracted from this employee's net pay.
10 Net pay
$2,884.62 gross minus $264.23 pre-tax deductions, $601.50 employee taxes, and $12.00 post-tax deductions equals $2,006.89.
- Current
- $2,006.89
- Year to date
- $4,013.78
Numbered field legend
Open any field for the check to perform on your own statement.
1 Employer and worker details
Confirm the employer name and your masked employee details. A real stub may also show a work location or department. This synthetic example never asks for identifying information.
2 Pay period and pay date
The pay period is when the work was performed. The pay date is when wages become available. They are often different dates.
3 Earnings
Salary, regular hours, overtime, bonuses, commissions, and paid leave may appear on separate lines. Add the current earnings lines to verify gross pay.
4 Gross pay
Gross pay is current earnings before employee taxes and deductions. It is not always the amount used to calculate each tax.
5 Federal taxable wages
This wage base can be lower than gross pay after qualifying pre-tax deductions. Federal withholding also depends on Form W-4 and payroll-table rules.
6 Social Security and Medicare wages
These wage bases can differ from federal taxable wages. A traditional 401(k) usually reduces federal taxable wages but not Social Security or Medicare wages.
7 Employee taxes
Federal, state, local, Social Security, Medicare, and state payroll premiums may be separate lines. Employer tax amounts should not be subtracted from your pay.
8 Pre-tax deductions
Health-plan, retirement, HSA, FSA, and commuter elections can receive different tax treatment. The plan and the tax determine which wage base changes.
9 Post-tax deductions and employer items
Roth contributions, garnishments, and some insurance deductions reduce net pay after tax. Employer contributions are often informational and normally do not reduce net pay.
10 Net pay and deposit splits
Net pay is the amount left after employee taxes and deductions, plus any additions or reimbursements. Multiple direct deposits should add up to the displayed net pay.
Start with these five numbers
A fast review does not require decoding every payroll code first. Establish the arithmetic backbone, then investigate any line that breaks it.
- STEP 1
Gross pay
Add every current earnings line.
- STEP 2
Taxable wages
Compare the wage base used for each tax.
- STEP 3
Employee taxes
Exclude employer-paid payroll taxes.
- STEP 4
Employee deductions
Separate pre-tax from post-tax.
- STEP 5
Net pay
Reconcile the current total and deposit splits.
How to read each section of a pay stub
Payroll providers arrange fields differently, but the underlying questions are the same. Read current-period columns independently from year-to-date columns.
Identity, pay period, and pay date
Confirm the employer, worker, work location, and pay frequency. The pay period identifies when the work occurred. The pay date identifies when wages were paid. That distinction can affect tax-year reporting near December and January.
Hours and earnings
Check regular hours and rate, overtime hours and rate, salary, bonus, commission, paid leave, retroactive pay, and reimbursements. Regular hours, overtime, and other cash earnings should reconcile to current gross pay.
Gross pay and taxable wage bases
Gross pay is the starting amount, but the wage base reported for federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, or state tax can differ. Qualifying deductions and state conformity determine which base changes.
Current pay and YTD totals
Current covers this pay period. YTD covers the calendar year through this statement. Do not subtract a YTD deduction from current gross pay. Use YTD totals to spot missed benefits, duplicate deductions, wage-base thresholds, and prior corrections.
Taxes and withholding
Federal income tax withholding is based on Form W-4 information and employer payroll methods in IRS Publication 15-T. It is a prepayment, not the final tax calculated on a return. Bonuses, variable pay, multiple jobs, corrections, and W-4 changes can alter the current amount.
State and local withholding may depend on both residence and work location. A pay stub can also show separate state disability, unemployment, or paid-leave employee premiums. Those are not necessarily state income tax.
Social Security is 6.2% of covered employee wages up to the $184,500 wage base in 2026. Medicare is 1.45% of covered employee wages with no comparable wage cap. Employer payroll-tax matches belong in employer information, not employee deductions.
How common deductions change taxable wages
| Item | Federal income-tax wages | Social Security and Medicare wages | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional 401(k) | Generally reduced | Generally not reduced | Traditional vs. Roth election and state treatment |
| Roth 401(k) | Not reduced | Not reduced | After-tax deduction and plan limit |
| Eligible Section 125 health premium | Generally reduced | Generally reduced | Plan qualification and state exception |
| Payroll HSA or FSA contribution | Often reduced | Often reduced through a qualifying cafeteria plan | Payroll vs. outside contribution and eligibility |
| Garnishment or repayment | Not reduced | Not reduced | Order, balance, and current deduction |
These are common federal treatments, not a substitute for the plan document or state rule. The tax base can differ by deduction and jurisdiction.
Pay-stub codes and abbreviations
Providers shorten labels to fit narrow columns. Filter this provider-neutral decoder, then confirm the exact code with payroll because employers can use their own abbreviations.
Showing all 20 common codes.
FIT / FWTFederal income tax withholding
Compare the current amount with your Form W-4 elections and the YTD total.
SIT / SWTState income tax withholding
Confirm the state and resident or work-location treatment.
LITLocal income tax
Check the city, county, or school-district jurisdiction.
FICASocial Security and Medicare taxes together
Look for separate OASDI and MED lines when the provider breaks them out.
OASDISocial Security tax
For 2026, employee tax is 6.2% of covered wages up to the $184,500 wage base.
MEDMedicare tax
Base employee Medicare tax is 1.45% of covered wages, without the Social Security wage cap.
YTDYear to date
The running total from the first payroll of the calendar year through this statement.
EEEmployee
An EE amount is generally paid by or attributed to the employee.
EREmployer
An ER contribution is usually informational and should not reduce employee net pay.
REGRegular earnings
Verify hours times rate, or the scheduled salary amount.
OTOvertime earnings
Verify the overtime hours and premium rate under the applicable pay rules.
PTOPaid time off
Confirm the hours paid and any remaining balance shown separately.
GTLGroup-term life imputed income
This can increase taxable wages without increasing cash deposited.
HSAHealth savings account
Separate employee payroll contributions from employer contributions.
FSAFlexible spending account
Confirm the current election and the plan-year or calendar-year YTD convention.
401(k)Workplace retirement contribution
Traditional and Roth elections affect taxable wages differently.
ROTHAfter-tax Roth retirement contribution
It reduces net pay but generally does not reduce current taxable wages.
SDIState disability insurance or payroll premium
The label and rate depend on the state and program.
PFMLPaid family and medical leave premium
Confirm whether the displayed amount is the employee share, employer share, or both.
GARNGarnishment
Match the deduction with the governing order and payroll notice.
Why your pay stub does not add up
A mismatch often comes from a missing category rather than a broken payroll formula. Check these before treating the statement as an error.
Different taxable wages
A traditional 401(k), Section 125 benefit, state exception, or wage cap can make one tax base differ from another.
Imputed income
GTL or another taxable fringe benefit can raise taxable wages, then appear as an offset because it is not cash paid to you.
Employer contributions
A health contribution or retirement match may appear on the statement without reducing employee net pay.
Reimbursements and corrections
Expense reimbursement, retroactive pay, prior-period correction, or tax refund can be added outside ordinary earnings.
Deposit splits
Multiple direct deposits divide net pay. They should total the net amount but are not extra deductions.
Rounding and timing
Individual payroll lines can round to cents, and YTD totals may include a correction from an earlier pay period.
Private, on-device arithmetic
Check whether my pay stub adds up
Enter current-period totals only. This checks the arithmetic on the statement. It is not a withholding quote and does not decide whether a tax or deduction is correct.
Eight-point pay-stub audit checklist
Work top to bottom and check off each item. Completion is measured only as a categorical event after analytics consent; the checklist sends no payroll values.
Worked pay-stub examples
Salaried example: $75,000 in California
This canonical PennyCalc model uses a single filer, biweekly pay, California, and no employee benefit deductions. It shows an annualized tax-liability illustration, not a payroll quote.
| Line | Modeled current amount |
|---|---|
| Gross pay | $2,884.62 |
| Federal income-tax liability allocation | −$295.00 |
| California income-tax liability allocation | −$106.71 |
| Social Security (6.2%) | −$178.85 |
| Medicare (1.45%) | −$41.83 |
| Modeled net pay | $2,262.23 |
The modeled take-home amount is $2,262.23 of $2,884.62, or about 78.4%. Annual modeled net income is $58,817.93, with $16,182.07 allocated to federal income tax, California income tax, Social Security, and Medicare.
Actual payroll withholding can differ. PennyCalc estimates annual federal and state income-tax liability and divides it across pay periods. It is not an employer payroll-withholding engine and does not reproduce Form W-4 or Publication 15-T timing, California withholding tables, SDI, benefit elections, bonuses, or corrections.
Hourly earnings example
Suppose a worker has 80 regular hours at $28 and 5 overtime hours at $42. Before any reimbursement or deduction, the earnings section should show:
| Earnings line | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| REG | 80 × $28.00 | $2,240.00 |
| OT | 5 × $42.00 | $210.00 |
| Gross pay | $2,450.00 |
The overtime premium depends on the governing wage rules and the employer's regular-rate calculation. This example checks only the displayed arithmetic.
2026 limits that can change a pay stub
Social Security wage base
Employee OASDI is 6.2% of covered wages up to $184,500. Withholding normally stops after covered YTD wages reach that employer-level cap.
Additional Medicare tax
The rate is 0.9%. The final-liability threshold is $200,000 for single filers and $250,000 for married filing jointly. Employer withholding instead begins after one employer pays an employee more than $200,000 in a calendar year, regardless of filing status.
Retirement and health benefits
The 2026 employee 401(k) deferral limit is $24,500. HSA limits are $4,400 for self-only and $8,750 for family coverage. The health FSA salary-reduction limit is $3,400.
Commuter and dependent-care benefits
Qualified transit is limited to $340 per month in 2026, with a separate $340 monthly limit for qualified parking. Eligible dependent-care assistance can be excluded up to $7,500, or $3,750 if married filing separately, subject to plan and earned-income rules.
Pay stub vs. paycheck vs. W-2
| Document | What it shows | Best use |
|---|---|---|
| Pay stub | Current and YTD earnings, taxes, deductions, employer items, and net pay | Audit each payroll and preserve a running record |
| Paycheck or deposit | The payment delivered after payroll is calculated | Confirm the amount received equals the net-pay allocation |
| Form W-2 | Calendar-year federal, Social Security, Medicare, state, and local wage and tax boxes | Prepare the tax return and reconcile annual payroll totals |
Official sources and scope
A pay stub is employer-specific. These sources control the federal concepts used in this guide; state and local rules require the applicable agency guidance.
- IRS Form W-4 guidance: employee withholding elections.
- IRS Publication 15-T: employer federal income-tax withholding methods.
- IRS Topic 424: 401(k) contribution and withholding treatment.
- IRS Publication 15-B: fringe-benefit and cafeteria-plan guidance.
- SSA contribution and benefit base and SSA payroll-tax rates: Social Security limits and rates.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does YTD mean on a pay stub?
Why is federal taxable pay lower than gross pay?
Why did federal withholding change even though salary did not?
Should direct-deposit amounts equal net pay?
Does an employer contribution reduce take-home pay?
What should I do if a pay stub looks wrong?
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