How to check a pay stub
Match one line at a time against a check whose answer is known. If gross pay matches and one tax line does not, that line is the disagreement.
The check this article uses
| Line | This check | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $2,500.00 | What this period earned, before anything came out. |
| Federal income tax | $216.15 | Income-tax withholding from the W-4. It is not the April tax bill. |
| Social Security | $155.00 | Social Security. Stubs often say OASDI. On this check it is 6.2%. |
| Medicare | $36.25 | 1.45% of Medicare wages. This line does not use the Social Security cap. |
| Texas income tax | $0.00 | Texas does not tax wages, so this line is zero. |
| Net pay | $2,092.60 | Gross pay minus every line above it. |
Start from a check whose answer is known
The feeling that a deposit is light is a bad measuring tool. A known check is a good one. Here is one for 2026. A single person in Texas, paid $2,500 every two weeks, blank 2020 W-4, no benefits: federal income tax $216.15, Social Security $155.00, Medicare $36.25, net $2,092.60. The table on this page is that stub. Gross pay is $2,500, which is $31.25 an hour for 80 hours.
Set your stub next to it only when your gross pay is also $2,500 and the rest of the situation matches. Otherwise type your own gross pay, state, and filing status into the calculator and compare one line at a time. The first line that disagrees is the one to ask about. Lines below a wrong gross pay will all look wrong, and they are downstream of that first miss.
Gross pay, then the three federal lines
Match hours, the rate, and any bonus before you touch a tax. A salary of $60,000 paid every two weeks is $2,307.69. If the stub shows a different gross, stop. The rest of the check follows that number.
Federal income tax is the line that moves when the W-4 moves. A different filing status, the two-jobs checkbox, dependents in Step 3, or extra dollars in Step 4(c) will move it off $216.15 even when gross pay matches. Some employers round this line to the nearest dollar. A difference under a dollar, with every other line exact, is often that rounding.
Social Security may be labeled OASDI. On a $2,500 check it is $155.00, which is 6.2%. If gross pay matches and Social Security does not, either something came out before the tax, usually pre-tax health insurance, or year-to-date wages at that employer have reached the $184,500 wage base. Medicare is $36.25, which is 1.45%, and it does not stop at that wage base. The OASDI article is the longer version of that cap.
What “close” usually means
A traditional 401(k) lowers federal income tax and leaves Social Security and Medicare where they were. Pre-tax health insurance lowers all three. A Roth contribution lowers only the deposit. A state or local tax appears as its own line. Texas has none. California should show income tax and state disability insurance. New York City, Philadelphia, and Yonkers add a local line on their own calculators. A city this site has not sourced can still appear on a real stub. The city article says which rates are published.
Subtract every printed withholding from gross pay. You should land on the printed net. On the example, that landing place is $2,092.60. If the arithmetic misses, a code on the stub was skipped. Ask payroll what that code is. The calculator estimates the tax lines. It does not copy an employer’s benefit codes, a garnishment, or a private rounding habit.
When the lines match, the deposit is the check. When they do not, you have a specific question. How to read a pay stub walks the same stub from the deposit back up to gross pay. Gross and net is why the offer and the deposit were always going to differ.
Keep reading
Questions
What is the worked example?
A single filer in Texas, paid $2,500 every two weeks in 2026 with a blank 2020 W-4. Federal income tax is $216.15, Social Security is $155.00, Medicare is $36.25, and net pay is $2,092.60.
Which line should I check first?
Gross pay. If hours, rate, or the salary slice differ, every tax line after that will differ too.
Social Security on my stub says OASDI. Is that the same line?
Yes. OASDI is the 6.2% Social Security tax, up to the $184,500 wage base.
The calculator is close, but not exact. What now?
Look for a pre-tax benefit, a local tax, extra W-4 withholding, or a year-to-date wage that has hit the Social Security cap. The calculator does not copy an employer’s benefit codes.