How to Read Your Pay Stub: A Line-by-Line Guide
Your pay stub is more than a receipt for your paycheck — it's a complete record of what you earned, what was withheld, and why. Yet most people glance at the final number and file it away. Learning to read every line helps you catch payroll errors, budget accurately, and prove income when you need to.
The three numbers that matter most
Every pay stub revolves around three figures:
- Gross pay — what you earned before anything is taken out.
- Deductions — taxes, benefits, and other withholdings.
- Net pay — your take-home amount, after deductions.
Net pay is sometimes called your "take-home pay." It's the number that actually lands in your bank account.
The gap between the first and last of those three is where most confusion lives — gross pay vs. net pay walks through the arithmetic with a worked example.
Earnings section
The earnings section lists how your gross pay was calculated. You'll typically see:
| Field | What it means |
|---|---|
| Rate | Your hourly wage or salary period rate |
| Hours | Hours worked in the pay period |
| Current | Earnings for this pay period |
| YTD | Year-to-date total earned so far |
Overtime, bonuses, and commissions appear as separate line items so you can verify each one. If the overtime figure looks low, it may not be a stub error — see how to calculate overtime pay for why bonuses change the rate overtime is paid at.
Decoding the labels
Payroll providers abbreviate these fields aggressively — REG, OT, OASDI, GTL. Our guide to pay stub abbreviations and codes translates the most common ones.
Deductions and withholdings
This is where gross pay shrinks into net pay. Common deductions include:
- Federal income tax — based on your W-4 and the IRS tax tables.
- State income tax — varies by state; some states have none.
- FICA — Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%).
- Pre-tax benefits — health insurance, 401(k), HSA contributions.
Why your withholding is what it is
The federal figure traces directly back to the W-4 you filled out when you were hired. If your refund or bill last April was larger than you'd like, that form — not the stub — is where you change it. For what each tax actually funds, see understanding payroll taxes.
Deductions you didn't choose
Court-ordered deductions such as child support or a tax levy also appear here, below your tax lines. Wage garnishments on your pay stub covers how to spot them and the legal caps on how much can be taken.
Why year-to-date totals matter
The YTD columns track your cumulative earnings and withholdings for the year. They're essential at tax time and when applying for a loan or apartment, since lenders often want to see consistent income.
Generate a clear, accurate pay stub
If you need to create a pay stub for yourself, an employee, or a contractor, OakPaystubs calculates federal and state taxes automatically and produces a clean, print-ready PDF in minutes.
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