How to Read Your Pay Stub in Two Minutes
A worked example pay stub with every block decoded: earnings, taxes withheld, deductions, YTD columns and net pay.
How to read your pay stub in two minutes
Every line on a real pay stub, decoded. The numbers below are a fully worked example for a biweekly worker earning $28/hour in Texas, in a period with 4 hours of overtime. This is his 22nd paycheck of 2026, and every figure reconciles: each year-to-date total is exactly the per-check amount × 22, and the federal line is the one our own calculator's published formula produces for this worker.
Earnings Statement
Period: Oct 17 – Oct 30
Employee
| Jordan M. Alvarez — Warehouse Associate | Emp #4471 |
① Earnings
| Type | Hours | Rate | This period | Year to date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular | 80.00 | $28.00 | $2,240.00 | $49,280.00 |
| Overtime (1.5×) | 4.00 | $42.00 | $168.00 | $3,696.00 |
| Gross pay | $2,408.00 | $52,976.00 |
② Taxes withheld
| Federal income tax | $185.13 | $4,072.86 |
| Social Security (6.2%) | $146.43 | $3,221.46 |
| Medicare (1.45%) | $34.25 | $753.50 |
| State income tax (TX) | $0.00 | $0.00 |
③ Other deductions
| 401(k) — 5% pre-tax | $120.40 | $2,648.80 |
| Health insurance premium | $46.15 | $1,015.30 |
④ The bottom line
| NET PAY — deposited to checking ••3814 | $1,875.64 |
- 1Earnings & gross pay
Every hour and rate that built this check. Gross pay is your pay before anything is taken out — always check hours and the overtime rate here first; most payroll mistakes live on this block.
- 2Taxes withheld
Federal income tax is estimated by your employer from your W-4 and the IRS tables — it is a prepayment, settled on your tax return. Social Security (6.2%, on wages up to $184,500 in 2026) and Medicare (1.45%, no cap) together are called FICA.
- 3Other deductions
Retirement contributions and insurance premiums. Pre-tax deductions (like a traditional 401(k)) are taken out before income tax — which is why they lower your taxable pay. Post-tax items, like a Roth 401(k) or a garnishment, come out after tax.
- 4Net pay
Gross minus all taxes and deductions = the amount that actually reaches your account. If this number ever surprises you, walk the three blocks above it in order — the answer is always in one of them.
- 5Year-to-date (YTD) columns
The running totals since January 1. Your YTD gross and federal withholding should match boxes 1 and 2 of the W-2 you receive in January — if they don't, ask payroll before you file.