Quick Answer
A pay stub has five parts: your info, gross earnings (pay before deductions), taxes (federal income tax, state income tax, and FICA = 6.2% Social Security + 1.45% Medicare), other deductions (benefits, 401k), and net pay (your take-home). Each line usually shows a current-period amount and a year-to-date (YTD) total. Net pay is always lower than gross — the gap is taxes and deductions.
Your pay stub packs a lot into a small space, and the abbreviations don't help. But once you know the five sections and a handful of codes, you can read any stub in under a minute — and spot a mistake if there is one. Here's the whole thing, decoded.
The five parts of every pay stub
1. Employee & employer info — Your name and ID, the pay date, and the pay period start/end dates.
2. Gross earnings — Everything you earned before deductions: regular hours × rate, overtime, bonuses, and commissions.
3. Taxes withheld — Federal income tax, state income tax (if any), and FICA (Social Security + Medicare).
4. Other deductions — Benefits like health insurance, plus retirement (401k), HSA/FSA, and any garnishments.
5. Net pay — Your take-home — gross minus every tax and deduction. The amount deposited in your account.
Current period vs. year-to-date (YTD)
Most stubs show two columns for each line: the current pay period and the year-to-date (YTD) running total since January 1. The YTD column is your friend at tax time — it tells you your total income and total withholding so far, so you can check whether your withholding is on pace for the year.
Common pay stub abbreviations
| Code | What it means |
|---|---|
| Gross | Total pay before any deductions |
| Net | Take-home pay after all deductions |
| FIT / FWT | Federal income tax withheld |
| SIT / SWT | State income tax withheld |
| FICA | Social Security + Medicare combined (7.65%) |
| OASDI | Social Security tax (6.2%) |
| Med / Medicare | Medicare tax (1.45%) |
| 401(k) / 403(b) | Retirement plan contribution |
| HSA / FSA | Health savings / flexible spending account |
| YTD | Year-to-date running total |
How to check your stub is right
- Gross: hours × rate (+ overtime at 1.5×) should match the gross line.
- FICA: should be 7.65% of your gross (6.2% + 1.45%).
- Withholding: federal and state tax should roughly track your W-4 and income.
- Net: gross minus everything above should equal your deposit.
For a full breakdown, see gross pay vs. net pay, then confirm your numbers with the paycheck calculator or the take-home pay calculator.