What Information Is on a Pay Stub? Every Field Explained

Employee and Employer Information

The top section of every pay stub identifies both parties in the employment relationship. This information is required for income verification and tax reporting purposes.

Employee details typically include:

• Full legal name: must match your W-4 and Social Security records
• Address: your current mailing address on file with your employer
• Social Security Number (last 4 digits): shown as XXX-XX-1234 for identity verification while protecting your full SSN
• Employee ID: an internal reference number assigned by your employer

Employer details include:

• Company name and address: the legal business entity paying you
• Employer Identification Number (EIN): the company's federal tax ID, formatted as XX-XXXXXXX
• Pay period dates: the start and end dates of the period this stub covers (e.g., 06/01/2025 through 06/15/2025)
• Pay date: the actual date the payment was issued

Gross Pay

Gross pay is your total earnings before any deductions are taken out. This is the starting point for every pay stub calculation. How gross pay is calculated depends on whether you are an hourly or salaried employee.

Hourly employees:Gross pay = hours worked × hourly rate. If you worked 80 hours at $25/hour, your gross pay for that period is $2,000. Overtime hours (any hours over 40 in a workweek) are typically paid at 1.5× your regular rate under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Salaried employees:Gross pay = annual salary ÷ number of pay periods. A $60,000 annual salary paid bi-weekly results in $2,307.69 gross pay per period (26 pay periods per year). Monthly pay periods produce $5,000 per period (12 pay periods per year).

Your pay stub will typically break down gross pay into categories: regular hours, overtime hours, holiday pay, bonuses, and commissions. Each line shows the rate and the number of hours or units. Understanding this section helps you verify that your employer is paying you correctly. If you need to create a pay stub for self-employment or freelance work, you set these values yourself.

Tax Deductions

Tax deductions are mandatory withholdings required by federal and state law. These are subtracted from your gross pay before you receive your paycheck. There are four primary tax deductions on a standard pay stub.

Federal Income Tax

Federal income tax is calculated using the IRS Publication 15-T Percentage Method (source: irs.gov/publications/p15t). The amount withheld depends on your filing status (Single, Married Filing Jointly, Head of Household), your pay frequency, and your adjusted wages after the standard deduction.

The IRS uses progressive tax brackets, meaning your income is taxed at increasing rates as it rises. For 2025, the brackets for a single filer range from 10% on the first $11,925 to 37% on income above $626,350. Your pay stub shows the per-period withholding calculated from these brackets. For a closer look at how these calculations work, see our guide on pay stub tax calculations.

State Income Tax

State income tax varies dramatically across the United States. Nine states charge no state income tax on wages: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. The remaining 41 states and Washington D.C. impose rates ranging from under 2% to over 13%.

If you live in a state with income tax, this deduction will appear as a separate line on your pay stub. PayStubHQ calculates the correct withholding for all 50 states. Check the specific rate for your state on our state-by-state directory.

Social Security (FICA)

Social Security tax, part of the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA), is withheld at a flat rate of 6.2% of your gross wages up to the annual wage base limit of $184,500 for 2026 (source: ssa.gov). Your employer matches this amount, paying an additional 6.2%.

Once your year-to-date (YTD) earnings exceed $184,500, Social Security withholding stops for the rest of the year. If you earn $5,000 per month, you will pay $310 per month in Social Security tax ($5,000 × 6.2%) until you hit the cap.

Medicare

Medicare tax is withheld at 1.45% of all gross wages with no cap (source: irs.gov). Unlike Social Security, there is no upper limit on Medicare-taxable wages.

An Additional Medicare Tax of 0.9% applies to wages exceeding $200,000 per year for individual filers. Above that threshold, the combined Medicare rate becomes 2.35%. On a $5,000 monthly paycheck, the standard Medicare deduction is $72.50 ($5,000 × 1.45%).

Other Deductions

Beyond taxes, your pay stub may show voluntary and court-ordered deductions. These reduce your take-home pay but often provide valuable benefits:

• Health insurance premiums: your share of medical, dental, and vision coverage. These are often pre-tax, reducing your taxable income.
• 401(k) or retirement contributions: traditional 401(k) contributions are pre-tax, while Roth 401(k) contributions are post-tax. A common employer match is 3-6% of your salary.
• Health Savings Account (HSA): pre-tax contributions to cover qualified medical expenses, available with high-deductible health plans.
• Wage garnishments: court-ordered deductions for child support, student loans, or tax liens. These are mandatory and processed before you receive your pay.
• Union dues: if you belong to a labor union, dues are deducted automatically per your collective bargaining agreement.
• Life and disability insurance: employer-sponsored coverage premiums, often a small per-period amount.

Pre-tax deductions (traditional 401k, HSA, health insurance) lower your taxable income, which means less federal and state tax withheld. Post-tax deductions (Roth 401k, some insurance, garnishments) are taken after taxes are calculated.

Net Pay (Take-Home Pay)

Net pay is the amount you actually receive after all deductions. The formula is straightforward:

Net Pay = Gross Pay − Federal Tax − State Tax − Social Security − Medicare − Other Deductions

This is the number that appears on your direct deposit or paycheck. If your gross pay is $5,000 per month and your total deductions are $1,400, your net pay is $3,600. Understanding the gap between gross and net pay helps you budget accurately and avoid surprises at tax time.

If you want to see an instant estimate of your take-home pay, try the PayStubHQ paycheck calculator. Enter your salary, state, and filing status to get a real-time breakdown.

Year-to-Date (YTD) Totals

Year-to-date (YTD) totals show your cumulative earnings and deductions from January 1 through the current pay period. Every pay stub includes YTD columns alongside the current-period amounts.

YTD totals matter for three reasons:

1. Social Security wage cap tracking: once your YTD gross earnings exceed $184,500, Social Security withholding stops. Your YTD total tells you exactly how close you are to the cap.
2. Tax bracket awareness: as your YTD income grows, you may move into higher federal tax brackets, which means higher per-period withholding in the second half of the year.
3. W-2 reconciliation: at year-end, your final pay stub YTD totals should closely match the figures on your W-2. Any discrepancy is a signal to contact your payroll department before filing taxes.

Checking your YTD totals each pay period is one of the easiest ways to catch payroll errors early, before they compound over multiple periods.

How to Read Your Pay Stub: A Real Example

Let's walk through a sample pay stub for a single filer in California earning $60,000 per year, paid monthly ($5,000 gross per period):

• Gross Pay: $5,000.00
• Federal Income Tax (IRS Pub 15-T, Single): ~$514.00
• California State Tax (7.25% effective rate): ~$362.50
• Social Security (6.2%): $310.00
• Medicare (1.45%): $72.50
• Health Insurance (employee share): ~$150.00
• 401(k) (6% pre-tax): $300.00

Total Deductions: ~$1,709.00

Net Pay (Take-Home): ~$3,291.00

In this example, the employee takes home about 65.8% of their gross pay. The largest deduction is federal income tax, followed by California state tax. Pre-tax deductions like the 401(k) reduced the taxable income, resulting in slightly lower federal and state withholding than a worker without retirement contributions.

To see the exact numbers for your own salary, state, and filing status, use the PayStubHQ paycheck calculator. If you need a professional pay stub document, you can create one in under 2 minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does YTD mean on a pay stub?

YTD stands for year-to-date. It shows your cumulative earnings and deductions from January 1 through the current pay period. YTD totals help you track progress toward tax brackets and the Social Security wage cap of $184,500 (source: ssa.gov). Reviewing your YTD figures each pay period is the easiest way to catch payroll errors before they accumulate.

Why is my net pay different from my gross pay?

Your net pay (take-home pay) is your gross pay minus all deductions: federal income tax, state income tax, Social Security (6.2%), Medicare (1.45%), and any voluntary deductions like health insurance or retirement contributions. For most workers, net pay is 60-75% of gross pay depending on state, filing status, and elected benefits.

How do I calculate my net pay from a pay stub?

To calculate net pay, start with your gross pay and subtract every deduction line: federal tax, state tax, Social Security, Medicare, insurance premiums, retirement contributions, and any other withholdings. Use PayStubHQ's free paycheck calculator to see the exact breakdown for your salary, state, and filing status without manual math.