Guide · tax year 2026
How to read a pay stub
A pay stub is a short story that starts with what you earned and ends with what reached your bank account. Here is each line in between.
Figures checked against official sources on October 11, 2026.
An example stub
This is one biweekly paycheck for a single person earning $65,000 a year who lives in New York City, puts 5% into a 401(k) and pays $2,400 a year for health insurance. Tap a line for how it was worked out.
The lines, in order
Gross pay. What you earned before anything is taken out: salary for the period, or hours times rate, plus overtime, bonuses and tips. “YTD” columns show the total since January.
Before-tax deductions. Money taken out before income tax is worked out: a traditional 401(k) or 403(b), health, dental and vision premiums, HSA and FSA contributions, commuter benefits. These lower your tax bill.
Federal income tax (Fed W/H, FIT or FITW). Based on your pay, your filing status and your W-4.
Social Security (OASDI, SS or FICA-SS). 6.2% of pay up to $184,500 a year.
Medicare (Med or FICA-Med). 1.45% of all pay.
State income tax (SIT or State W/H). Depends on your state; nine states have none.
State programs (SDI, PFL, PFML, FLI, FAMLI). Premiums for state disability or paid family leave in some states.
Local tax (City, County, EIT, LST, OPT). A city, county or school district income tax, where there is one.
After-tax deductions. Roth 401(k) contributions, union dues, wage garnishments. These do not change your taxes.
Net pay. What is left: your take-home pay.
Line by line
Per paycheckPer yearPay
Before-tax deductions
Traditional 401(k)$125.00$3,250
Reduces federal income tax and, in most states, state income tax. It does not reduce Social Security or Medicare. IRS limit · 2026
Health premium$92.31$2,400
Reduces federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare, and state tax in most states.
Taxes
Federal income tax$190.08$4,942
2026 brackets after the $16,100 standard deduction, worked out for the year and spread over your paychecks. IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32
Social Security$149.28$3,881
6.2% of wages up to $184,500. Traditional 401(k) contributions do not reduce it. SSA wage base · 2026
Medicare$34.91$908
1.45% of wages, with no cap. IRS Pub. 15 · 2026
New York income tax$100.30$2,608
New York taxes income at graduated rates from 3.9% to 10.9% after an $8,000 standard deduction ($16,050 joint, $11,200 head of household). New York City and Yonkers residents pay a city tax on top. New York · 2026
New York disability (DBL)$1.20$31
New York disability benefits. Withholding is 0.5% of wages but capped at $0.60 a week, $31.20 for the year. NY DBL · 2026
New York Paid Family Leave$10.40$270
New York Paid Family Leave. For 2026 the employee rate is 0.432% of wages up to a $95,348.76 base, $411.91 maximum. NY PFL · 2026
New York City$71.75$1,866
New York City resident tax on income after the state deduction. New York City income tax applies to residents of the five boroughs. Working in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, or Staten Island does not, by itself, create a city income tax. NYC resident tax · IT-201 schedule
Tap a line to see how it was worked out. Each paycheck is the year's figure divided by 26 and rounded to the cent.
Things worth checking
- Your state and city. If you have moved, make sure tax is being withheld for where you live now.
- Social Security stopping. If you earn more than $184,500, the Social Security line should fall to zero late in the year, and your pay goes up.
- Federal withholding of zero. Unless your income is very low, this usually means the W-4 claims “exempt” or large credits. You may owe at tax time.
- Year-to-date totals against your last stub of the previous year, and against your W-2 in January.
Questions
What is the difference between gross pay and net pay?
Gross pay is what you earn before deductions. Net pay is what is left after taxes and other deductions: your take-home pay.
What does OASDI mean on a pay stub?
Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance: the official name for Social Security tax.
Why is my paycheck different from this calculator?
Employers use withholding tables that can differ by a few dollars from the year's tax spread evenly, and your stub may include benefits or deductions you have not entered.