How to Read Your US Paycheck
A US pay stub packs a surprising amount of information into a small space, and most people never learn to read past the net-pay number at the bottom. Knowing what each line means lets you catch payroll errors, understand why a raise translated into less take-home than you expected, and make better decisions about your 401(k) and benefits.
Gross pay
Your total earnings for the pay period before anything is withheld: salary for the period, or hours × hourly rate, plus overtime, bonus, commission, shift differentials, and paid time off used. Overtime for non-exempt employees is at least 1.5× the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek — the overtime pay calculator works out a week’s total.
Every line usually has two columns: current (this period) and year-to-date (YTD), the running total since January 1. The YTD columns are where errors hide.
Pre-tax deductions
These come out of gross pay before income tax is calculated, so they lower your taxable income and therefore your tax:
- Traditional 401(k) / 403(b) / 457(b) contributions
- Health, dental, and vision premiums, if run through a Section 125 “cafeteria” plan (most employer plans are)
- HSA and FSA contributions (health and dependent-care)
- Commuter / transit benefits
A subtle but important point: 401(k)-type contributions reduce income tax only — Social Security and Medicare are still calculated on the amount before those deferrals. HSA contributions made through payroll are the exception; they avoid Social Security and Medicare too. See pre-tax vs post-tax deductions.
Taxes
Usually four separate items, sometimes grouped under “Taxes”:
| Line | What it is | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Federal income tax | Withheld per your W-4 and IRS tables | Progressive; depends on income and filing status |
| State income tax | None in nine states; flat or graduated elsewhere | 0% to ~13% top marginal |
| Social Security (OASDI) | Retirement / disability / survivor benefits | 6.2% up to the annual wage base ($184,500 in 2026) |
| Medicare | Medicare Part A | 1.45% of all wages, +0.9% above a high-earner threshold |
Social Security plus Medicare together are FICA. Some cities and school districts also levy a local income tax (New York City; much of Ohio and Pennsylvania; parts of Maryland, Kentucky, and Michigan) — it appears as its own line. See FICA taxes explained and how the federal tax brackets work.
Post-tax deductions
Taken out after taxes, so they do not reduce taxable income:
- Roth 401(k) and Roth IRA contributions
- Disability and life insurance premiums (often deliberately after-tax so any future benefit is tax-free)
- Union dues, charitable payroll giving
- Wage garnishments (child support, defaulted debt, tax levies)
Net pay
Gross − pre-tax deductions − taxes − post-tax deductions = net pay, the amount
that reaches your bank account. If your direct deposit is split across accounts,
the stub shows each deposit.
A worked example
A single filer, $78,000 salary, paid every two weeks (26 checks), 6% traditional 401(k), $120/paycheck health premium, in a state with a 4.5% flat income tax:
| Line | Per paycheck (~) |
|---|---|
| Gross | $3,000.00 |
| 401(k) −6% | −$180.00 |
| Health premium | −$120.00 |
| Federal income tax | −$300 |
| State income tax (4.5% of ~$2,700) | −$122 |
| Social Security (6.2% of $2,880) | −$179 |
| Medicare (1.45% of $2,880) | −$42 |
| Net pay | ~$1,957 |
Note that Social Security and Medicare are figured on $2,880 (gross minus the health premium, which is FICA-exempt) — not on the $2,700 that income tax uses, because the 401(k) reduces income tax but not FICA.
Checks worth doing every few months
- Reconcile the 401(k) percentage. Divide YTD 401(k) by YTD gross and confirm it matches your election. Open enrollment and payroll migrations sometimes reset it.
- Watch the Social Security line stop if you earn above the wage base. Around the month YTD wages cross $184,500 (in 2026), Social Security withholding drops to zero for the rest of the year — correct, not an error, and it is why high earners see take-home jump late in the year.
- Check your effective tax rate. Add YTD federal + state + FICA, divide by YTD gross. A single filer at $75,000 with a standard W-4 is typically in the mid-to-high teens for income tax and around 25–28% once FICA is included. Wildly different usually means a W-4 problem — see the W-4 explained.
- Confirm filing status and state, especially after a move or a marriage.
- Look for premiums you no longer use — an old life-insurance rider, a lapsed benefit.
How to raise a payroll error
If a number looks wrong: screenshot the stub, note the pay period, and email payroll with the specific line and what you expected. Common real errors: wrong state after a move, a missed 401(k) change, overtime paid at straight time, a benefit premium that kept deducting after you dropped it, and a bonus withheld at the flat 22% supplemental rate when your actual rate is lower (you get the difference back at tax time, but you can adjust the W-4).
Abbreviations you will see
Pay stubs are inconsistent between payroll systems, but these are common:
| On the stub | Means |
|---|---|
| FED / FIT / FWT | Federal income tax withheld |
| ST / SIT / SWT | State income tax withheld |
| FICA / OASDI / SS / SOC SEC | Social Security tax |
| MED / MEDFICA / FICA-M | Medicare tax |
| ER / EE | Employer / employee portion of a benefit |
| 125 / SEC125 / CAF | A pre-tax cafeteria-plan deduction (usually health premiums) |
| 401K / 401(K) / RET | Traditional 401(k) deferral |
| ROTH / R401K | Roth (after-tax) 401(k) |
| HSA / FSA / DCA | Health/flexible/dependent-care spending accounts |
| IMP / GTL | Imputed income (e.g. taxable value of employer-paid life insurance over $50k) |
| GARN | Wage garnishment |
| PTO / VAC / SICK | Leave balances (often shown in hours, not dollars) |
“Imputed income” catches people out: it is added to your taxable wages (so it raises your tax) even though it is not cash you receive — the classic case is the taxable value of group-term life insurance coverage above $50,000.
The bottom line
Read the stub as: gross, minus pre-tax deductions (which shrink your tax base), minus four taxes, minus post-tax deductions, equals net. The YTD columns are where errors hide — reconcile your retirement percentage and your effective tax rate a few times a year. To see what your stub should look like for a given salary, state, and 401(k) rate, use the paycheck calculator.