Your pay stub is the receipt for every paycheck — it shows how your gross pay becomes your take-home, line by line. This guide decodes each section using 2026 figures: gross pay, FICA (Social Security + Medicare), federal and state income tax withholding, pre-tax deductions, and net pay. Use the quick checker below to confirm the FICA on your own stub matches the legal rates, then read on for what every abbreviation means.
Enter the gross pay for one paycheck to see what the correct Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%) lines should be in 2026.
Almost every U.S. pay stub has the same five blocks: (1) earnings (gross pay, hours, rate, overtime), (2) taxes withheld (federal, Social Security, Medicare, state, local), (3) pre-tax deductions (401(k), health, HSA, FSA), (4) post-tax deductions (Roth 401(k), garnishments, union dues), and (5) net pay — what actually lands in your account. Most stubs show both the current pay period and a year-to-date (YTD) column.
| Code on stub | What it means | 2026 rate |
|---|---|---|
| FICA / OASDI / SS | Social Security tax | 6.2% up to $184,500 |
| FICA-Med / Medicare | Medicare tax | 1.45% (no cap) |
| FIT / FED / FWT | Federal income tax withholding | Per W-4 + 2026 brackets |
| SIT / ST / SWT | State income tax withholding | Varies by state |
| 401(k) / 401K | Pre-tax retirement contribution | Reduces taxable wages |
| HSA / FSA | Health savings / flexible spending | Pre-tax |
| YTD | Year-to-date running total | — |
| CASDI / SDI | State disability insurance | e.g. CA 1.3% |
Gross pay is your full earnings before anything is taken out. Net pay — your take-home — is what remains after taxes and deductions. The gap is usually 20%–35% of gross for typical workers. If your net seems wrong, the fastest check is the FICA lines: Social Security should be exactly 6.2% of gross (until you hit the $184,500 wage base) and Medicare exactly 1.45%. The checker above computes both for your stub.
Social Security and Medicare are fixed percentages, so they are easy to confirm. Federal and state income tax withholding depend on your W-4 and pay frequency and are harder to eyeball — run your numbers through the paycheck tax withholding calculator to see whether your federal line is in range. If withholding looks far too high or low, update your W-4 with your employer rather than waiting until tax season.
Pre-tax deductions (traditional 401(k), HSA, FSA, most health premiums) come out before income tax is calculated, lowering your taxable wages and your tax. Post-tax deductions (Roth 401(k), disability insurance, garnishments, charitable giving) come out after tax and do not reduce taxable income. Knowing which is which explains why two coworkers with the same gross pay can have very different take-home.
Payroll errors are common — wrong tax state, a missed raise, an un-applied 401(k) change, or a wage-base reset each January. Reviewing the YTD column catches mistakes early, while they are easy to fix. Keep your final stub of the year too: its YTD totals should match the W-2 your employer issues in January.
FICA is the Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax that funds Social Security and Medicare. It appears as two lines: Social Security (OASDI) at 6.2% of wages up to $184,500 in 2026, and Medicare at 1.45% with no cap.
Gross pay is your total earnings before deductions; net pay is your take-home after taxes and deductions. The difference is federal and state income tax, Social Security, Medicare, and any pre- or post-tax deductions.
Check the fixed taxes first: Social Security should be 6.2% of gross (until you reach $184,500 YTD) and Medicare 1.45%. For income tax, run your wages through a paycheck withholding calculator to see whether the federal line is reasonable.
Pre-tax deductions such as traditional 401(k), HSA, FSA, and many health premiums are subtracted before income tax is figured, lowering your taxable wages and your tax. Post-tax deductions like Roth 401(k) come out after tax.
YTD stands for year-to-date: the running total of an item from January 1 through the current pay period. Your final stub of the year should have YTD totals that match the W-2 your employer issues.