A pay stub has five main parts: gross earnings (what you made before anything is taken out), taxes withheld, voluntary deductions, net pay (your take-home), and year-to-date (YTD) totals. Read it top to bottom, confirm each number matches what you expect, and check the YTD column to catch errors early.
I’m Junead Khan — I build Treasury, an AI money coach that reads people’s real paychecks and deposits every day, so I’ve spent a lot of time reconciling stubs against what actually lands in the bank. This is the same line-by-line read I run on my own.
| Section | What it shows | What to confirm |
|---|---|---|
| Gross earnings | Total pay before anything is taken out | Hours and rate (or salary) are correct |
| Taxes withheld | FICA (6.2% + 1.45%) plus income tax | Withholding matches your W-4 |
| Deductions | Benefits and savings — pre-tax and post-tax | Every line is one you enrolled in |
| Net pay | Your take-home after taxes and deductions | It equals your bank deposit |
| Year-to-date (YTD) | Running totals of every line since January 1 | Each total moves up by the right amount |
What the earnings section shows
The earnings section lists your gross pay — your total compensation before any tax or deduction comes out. For hourly workers it breaks down as hours worked times your rate, with separate lines for regular hours, overtime, and any bonus or commission. Salaried workers see a flat amount per pay period. This is the number every other figure on the stub is calculated from, so start here and confirm the hours and rate are right.
If you worked overtime, check that it is paid at the correct premium. Federal law requires at least 1.5 times your regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek for most non-exempt employees (U.S. Department of Labor). A missing or underpaid overtime line is one of the most common pay-stub mistakes.
How to read the tax withholdings
Taxes are the amounts your employer sends to the government on your behalf, and they fall into two buckets: payroll taxes and income taxes. Payroll taxes are fixed percentages. Income taxes depend on the W-4 you filed and your earnings.
FICA: Social Security and Medicare
These are flat federal payroll taxes, often grouped as “FICA” or shown as “OASDI” and “Med.” You pay 6.2% of wages for Social Security and 1.45% for Medicare, and your employer matches both (IRS). Social Security stops once you earn above the annual wage base — $184,500 in 2026 (Social Security Administration) — but Medicare has no cap and applies to every dollar.
Federal and state income tax
These lines reflect the withholding you set on your Form W-4 and any state equivalent. Unlike FICA, they are estimates of your eventual tax bill, not fixed rates. If too much comes out you get a refund at filing; too little and you owe. If your withholding feels off, a paycheck calculator helps you model a W-4 change before you make it.
Deductions: pre-tax versus post-tax
Deductions are amounts taken out for benefits and savings rather than taxes, and the order matters. Pre-tax deductions come out before income tax is calculated, which lowers your taxable income. Post-tax deductions come out after.
Common pre-tax lines include 401(k) or 403(b) contributions, health and dental premiums, HSA or FSA contributions, and commuter benefits. Common post-tax lines include Roth 401(k) contributions, union dues, wage garnishments, and disability insurance. Read each line and confirm you actually signed up for it — an unfamiliar deduction is worth a quick email to HR. For a deeper breakdown of every line, see what’s actually taken out of your paycheck.
Net pay and YTD totals
Net pay is your take-home — gross earnings minus every tax and deduction above. It is the amount that actually lands in your bank account, and it should match your deposit to the cent. If it does not, something on the stub is wrong.
The year-to-date (YTD) column is the most underused part of the stub. It tracks the running total of each line since January 1: total gross, total taxes, total 401(k), and so on. Use it to confirm your retirement contributions are on pace, to verify Social Security stopped at the wage base if you are a high earner, and to estimate your full-year income. Treasury can connect your accounts and answer “how much have I paid in taxes this year?” in plain English, grounded in your real deposits.
Five things to check every payday
A two-minute review catches most payroll errors before they compound across a whole year. Walk this list each time a stub posts:
- Hours and rate — regular and overtime hours match what you worked, at the correct rate.
- Withholding allowances — federal and state income tax reflect the W-4 you actually filed.
- Benefit deductions — every health, retirement, and insurance line is one you enrolled in.
- Net pay versus deposit — the take-home figure equals what hit your bank account.
- YTD totals — the running totals move up by the right amount each period.
Catching a wrong rate or a missing deduction in pay period one saves you from unwinding 26 paychecks in December. Logging your take-home into a money command center makes the trend obvious over time.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my net pay so much lower than my salary?
Your salary is gross pay. Take-home is what is left after Social Security (6.2%), Medicare (1.45%), federal and state income tax, and any benefit deductions like health premiums and 401(k) contributions. Stacked together those withholdings can take a sizable chunk out of each check, which is why the net figure feels so much smaller than the salary you were quoted. For a line-by-line walkthrough of the difference, see gross vs. net pay.
What does YTD mean on a pay stub?
YTD stands for year-to-date — the running total of a given line since January 1 of the current year. Your stub shows YTD figures alongside the current-period amounts for gross pay, each tax, and each deduction. It resets to zero on every new calendar year.
What should I do if I find an error on my pay stub?
Document it first: note the pay period, the line that looks wrong, and the amount. Contact your payroll or HR department in writing so there is a record. Most errors are correctable in the next cycle, but keep your stubs — they are your proof if a dispute arises.
Why did my Social Security tax stop coming out?
Social Security tax only applies up to an annual wage base — $184,500 in 2026 (Social Security Administration). Once your YTD earnings cross that cap, the 6.2% line stops for the rest of the year. Medicare has no cap, so its 1.45% line keeps going on every dollar.
Want the full picture of how each line connects? Read Understanding Your Paycheck (2026). If you’d rather not check the YTD column by hand every payday, Treasury connects your accounts (read-only via Plaid) and answers questions like “how much have I paid in taxes this year?” in plain English — see how it works.