Your pay stub is a receipt for your work. It shows what you earned, every dollar taken out and why. Reading it takes two minutes, and it's the fastest way to catch payroll mistakes, wrong tax settings or benefits you didn't sign up for.
A sample 2026 pay stub
Here's a bi-weekly paycheck for a single California worker earning $62,400 a year, contributing 5% to a 401(k), $85 per check for health insurance and $50 to an HSA:
| Earnings | $2,400.00 | |
|---|---|---|
| Salary | $2,400.00 | |
| Taxes withheld | −$432.57 | |
| Federal income tax | 7.2% | −$173.55 |
| Social Security (6.2%) | 5.9% | −$140.43 |
| Medicare (1.45%) | 1.37% | −$32.84 |
| California income tax | 2.3% | −$56.30 |
| CA SDIi | 1.23% | −$29.45 |
| Pre-tax deductions | −$255.00 | |
| 401(k) / 403(b) | 5% | −$120.00 |
| Health insurance | 3.5% | −$85.00 |
| HSA | 2.1% | −$50.00 |
| Net pay | $1,712.43 | |
1. Header and pay period
The top of the stub shows your name, employee ID, the pay period (the dates you worked) and the pay date. Hourly workers should check that the period covers the hours they worked, especially around holidays.
2. Earnings (gross pay)
Every type of pay is listed separately: regular, overtime, holiday, PTO, tips, bonus, commission. Each line shows hours, rate, current amount and year-to-date total. Overtime should be at least 1.5× your regular rate for hours over 40 in a week.
3. Taxes withheld
- Federal income tax (FIT/FWT): based on your W-4 and IRS tables.
- Social Security (OASDI/SS/FICA-SS): 6.2% up to $184,500 in 2026.
- Medicare (MED/FICA-MED): 1.45%, plus 0.9% above $200,000.
- State income tax (SIT/SWT): depends on your state.
- State programs: CA SDI, NY PFL/DBL, NJ FLI/TDI/UI, WA PFML and WA Cares, OR PFML, MA PFML and others.
- Local tax: city, county or school district taxes, such as NYC, Philadelphia, Ohio municipalities or Pennsylvania EIT/LST.
4. Pre-tax and after-tax deductions
Pre-tax deductions come out before taxes are calculated, which lowers your tax bill: traditional 401(k)/403(b), medical/dental/vision premiums, HSA, FSA and commuter benefits. Health premiums, HSA and FSA also avoid Social Security and Medicare. 401(k) deferrals don't.
After-tax deductions come out after taxes: Roth 401(k), supplemental life insurance, union dues, charitable giving, wage garnishments and child support.
5. Net pay and year-to-date totals
Net pay is what's deposited in your bank account: gross pay minus taxes minus deductions. The YTD column is your running total for the year. At year-end your YTD figures should match your W-2: box 1 is federal taxable wages (gross minus pre-tax deductions), box 3 is Social Security wages and box 5 is Medicare wages.
Common pay stub abbreviations
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| FIT / FWT | Federal income tax withholding |
| OASDI / SS | Social Security (Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) |
| MED / MWT | Medicare |
| SIT / SWT | State income tax withholding |
| SDI / DBL | State disability insurance |
| PFL / FLI / PFML | Paid family (and medical) leave |
| LIT / LST / EIT | Local income tax / Local Services Tax / Earned Income Tax (PA) |
| 401K / 401K-R | Traditional / Roth 401(k) |
| MED-PRE / DEN / VIS | Pre-tax medical, dental, vision premiums |
| YTD | Year to date |
How to spot pay stub errors
- Check hours and rate against your timesheet and offer letter.
- Recalculate net pay with our paycheck calculator. If it's off by more than a few dollars, find the line that differs.
- Verify your filing status and state. A wrong work or home state is a common error for remote workers.
- Watch benefit deductions for coverage you dropped or never chose.
- Check Social Security stops at the cap. If you changed jobs, each employer withholds separately. Any excess over $11,439 comes back as a credit on your return.