A pay stub shows why your take-home pay is different from your gross pay. Start with gross pay, then deductions, then net pay, and use the pay period and year-to-date totals to see what changed. If something looks off, the stub should help you compare it against your offer letter, benefits elections, and current payroll rules.
Start with the numbers that tell the whole story
Look for four items first: gross pay, net pay, the pay period dates, and year-to-date totals.
- Gross pay is your pay before deductions.
- Net pay is what actually gets deposited or printed on the check.
- Pay period shows the dates this paycheck covers, so you know what work or salary cycle it belongs to.
- Year-to-date (YTD) totals add up everything from the start of the calendar year through this paycheck.
If you only compare gross pay and net pay, you can see the gap but not the reason. The pay period tells you whether the check is for a normal cycle, a partial cycle, or a bonus period. The YTD columns show whether a deduction started, stopped, or changed partway through the year.
Read the pay stub from top to bottom
Most stubs move from identity details to earnings, then deductions, then taxes, then net pay. Read it in that order so each number has context.
- Find your name, employee ID, and employer name. That confirms the stub is yours.
- Check the pay period dates and pay date. This tells you what the check covers and when it was issued.
- Review earnings lines. For a salaried employee, you may see salary, bonus, commissions, overtime, or adjustments. The total earnings line should match your gross pay.
- Scan the deduction section. This is where retirement, insurance, taxes, and other items reduce what you take home.
- Find the tax section. Federal, state, and local withholding usually appear here or in a nearby block.
- Confirm net pay at the bottom. That is the amount that should match the deposit or check you received.
If your stub includes separate columns for current pay and YTD, read the current-pay column first and use the YTD column as the cross-check.
Separate pre-tax deductions from after-tax ones
This is the part that changes your taxable income and the part that only changes your take-home pay.
Pre-tax deductions are taken out before certain taxes are calculated. Common examples are medical premiums, some retirement contributions, and HSA or traditional FSA contributions when your plan treats them that way. These deductions can lower the income amount used for some taxes.
After-tax deductions come out after taxes are figured. They do not reduce taxable wages. Common examples include Roth retirement contributions, wage garnishments, union dues in many setups, and some charitable payroll deductions.
A simple example helps: if your pay stub shows a health insurance premium in the pre-tax section, that amount usually lowers taxable wages. If it shows a wage garnishment in the after-tax section, that amount reduces net pay but usually does not change how much tax is withheld.
The exact tax treatment depends on the plan and payroll setup, so use your benefits paperwork or payroll summary to confirm how each item is classified.
Check taxes line by line
Most stubs list federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, and any state or local taxes separately.
Federal income tax withholding depends on the information in your tax form and payroll system. If your withholding seems off, compare the stub with your current elections and any recent life changes that affect payroll, such as a new filing status or updated withholding form.
Social Security and Medicare are federal payroll taxes, and they often appear as separate lines. Some pay stubs also show an employer-paid share in a different area, but that employer share does not come out of your paycheck.
State income tax, if your state has one, usually appears as a separate withholding line. Some localities also withhold city, county, school district, or other local taxes. Because tax rules, rates, wage bases, and local requirements can change, check the current official federal, state, and local sources for 2026 rather than relying on an older stub or memory.
If a tax line is blank, that can be normal in some states or locations, but it can also mean your work location or payroll setup needs a review.
Review benefits and other common deductions
The most common non-tax deductions on a salaried pay stub are retirement and health benefits.
- Retirement contributions: 401(k), 403(b), 457(b), Roth versions of those plans, and similar workplace plans.
- Health insurance: medical, dental, and vision premiums.
- Savings accounts: HSA and, in some cases, FSA contributions.
- Other deductions: union dues, life insurance, disability coverage, parking, loan repayments, charitable giving, and wage garnishments.
Check whether each item is recurring or one-time. A one-time deduction may appear only once, while benefits usually repeat every payroll cycle until you change them during an allowed enrollment period.
Employer contributions are different. If your employer adds money to your retirement plan or pays part of your health premium, that value may appear somewhere on the stub or in a benefits summary, but it does not reduce your net pay because it was never taken from your paycheck in the first place.
Compare year-to-date totals with this paycheck
YTD totals help you catch changes that a single paycheck can hide.
Compare the current deduction amounts with the YTD totals for the same line. If a deduction suddenly jumps, starts midyear, or drops to zero, the YTD total often shows the exact point when the change began.
Use YTD to spot these patterns:
- A retirement contribution stopped after you changed elections or hit a plan limit.
- A health premium changed after open enrollment or a family-status update.
- Taxes shifted because your taxable wages changed.
- A bonus or off-cycle payment changed the totals for one period.
Say your medical premium is usually the same each paycheck, but this stub shows a larger amount and the YTD total reflects that increase. That points to a benefits change or an adjustment, not a random payroll error. If the YTD total does not match what you expect from prior paychecks, compare several stubs instead of just one.
Spot problems before you ask payroll
Before you send payroll a question, do a quick check against the records that set up your paycheck.
- Compare the deductions on the stub with your offer letter or compensation summary for salary, bonus eligibility, and any promised employer-paid benefits.
- Compare benefit deductions with your current enrollment elections, especially after open enrollment, a life event, or a new hire date.
- Confirm the pay period matches the work you expected to be paid for.
- Check whether you were paid for a full salaried period, a partial period, or a leave-related adjustment.
- Look for duplicate lines, missing deductions, or a deduction that appears twice.
- Review whether the payroll setup changed after a transfer, relocation, or tax withholding update.
If the paycheck is still off after those checks, have the stub, your latest benefits election, and your offer letter handy when you contact payroll. Those documents make it much easier to pinpoint the mismatch.
Finish by checking the result you wanted
You’re done when you can explain the gap between gross pay and net pay in plain language: what was taxed, what was deducted before tax, what was deducted after tax, and what stayed with the employer as a contribution rather than leaving your paycheck.
The stub should let you confirm four things at once: the pay period was correct, gross pay matched your salary rules, each deduction matched your elections or obligations, and net pay matched the amount deposited or paid. If something still doesn’t line up, the next step is to compare the stub with your benefits enrollment, withholding setup, and payroll records so you can point to the exact line that changed.