Start with gross pay
Gross pay is the top-line number: everything you earned this pay period before a single deduction. On our example stub it's $2,150.00 — 80 regular hours at $25 plus 4 overtime hours at time-and-a-half ($37.50). Gross pay also includes any bonuses, commissions, or shift differentials. This is the figure your taxes are calculated from, and it's almost always noticeably larger than what lands in your bank account.
The FICA lines: Social Security & Medicare
Two deductions are labeled Social Security and Medicare — together they're called FICA. Social Security is a flat 6.2% of your wages (up to an annual wage base of $176,100 in 2026), and Medicare is 1.45% of all wages with no cap. On $2,150 of gross, that's $133.30 and $31.18. These rates are fixed by law — you can't change them through your W-4, and everyone with a paycheck pays them. Learn more in our guide to FICA taxes.
Federal vs. state income tax withholding
Federal income tax ($193.00 here) is the amount your employer sends to the IRS as an advance on your annual tax bill. Unlike FICA, this number is adjustable — it's driven by the W-4 form you filled out, including your filing status and dependents. State income tax ($92.00) works the same way for your state government. If you live in a no-tax state like Texas, Florida, or Washington, this line is simply absent. Some workers also see a separate local or city tax line.
Voluntary (pre-tax and post-tax) deductions
The remaining lines are deductions you chose. On our stub that's a 401(k) contribution ($215.00) and health insurance ($85.00). Most of these are pre-tax, meaning they come out before income tax is calculated and lower your taxable income — see how much they save you with our pre-tax deductions calculator. Other common voluntary lines include HSA/FSA contributions, dental and vision premiums, life insurance, and union dues. Unlike taxes, you control these through your benefits enrollment.
The YTD column
Next to each current-period figure you'll find a YTD (year-to-date) total — the sum of that line from January 1 through this pay date. YTD gross of $25,800 tells you roughly half a $51,600-a-year pace at this point in the year. These running totals are the fastest way to sanity-check your withholding partway through the year and to confirm the numbers on your W-2 in January.
Finally, net pay
Net pay — the highlighted box — is gross pay minus every tax and deduction: $2,150.00 − $749.48 = $1,400.52. This is your actual take-home pay, the money deposited to your account. On this stub, deductions eat about 35% of gross, which is typical. Remember that a big chunk of that (the 401(k) and insurance) isn't money lost — it's money going into your retirement and your health coverage.
Why your net pay changes from check to check
If your take-home pay jumps around, your stub usually holds the answer. Extra overtime raises gross (and the tax on it); a bonus can be withheld at a higher flat rate; crossing the Social Security wage base late in the year drops that deduction; and benefit or 401(k) changes shift the deductions. For a full walkthrough see why your paycheck went down and our paycheck diagnostic, which pinpoints the exact cause for your situation.