A paystub packs a lot of numbers into a small space, and most of them are self-explanatory once you know what section they live in. A Payrollix paystub has four blocks that always read the same way, plus a running-total column that trips people up. Here's each one.
To download or print the actual PDF, see paystubs & tax documents — this article is about what the numbers mean.
Earnings
The top section. It breaks your pay for this period into its parts: Regular Pay, and — only when they applied this period — Overtime Pay, Bonus, and Other Pay. Each line shows hours (where relevant), the current amount, and a year-to-date figure.
Those lines add up to Gross Pay, the total you earned before anything comes out. If your stub shows only Regular Pay, that just means no overtime, bonus, or special pay ran this period — a clean stub, not a missing one.
Taxes
Everything the government requires. This section lists, in order:
- Federal Income Tax — your federal withholding, an estimate toward your annual tax bill.
- Social Security (FICA) — 6.2% of your wages.
- Medicare — 1.45% of your wages.
- State Income Tax — only if your state has one.
- Local Tax — only if your city or county assesses one and you have a jurisdiction on file.
Each line shows the current amount (in red, because it's coming out) and its year-to-date total. The section ends with Total Taxes. Social Security and Medicare are the two FICA taxes — non-negotiable and fixed as percentages. The income tax lines depend on your W-4 and your pay.
Deductions
This section only appears if you have deductions — 401(k), health insurance, an HSA, a garnishment, and so on. Each one shows its current amount, and they roll up to Total Deductions. Whether a deduction sits before or after your taxes get calculated changes your take-home; that distinction is covered in pre-tax vs. post-tax deductions.
Net Pay
The highlighted banner at the bottom. This is what actually gets deposited to your account this period, and it's also shown as a year-to-date total. It equals Gross Pay minus Total Taxes minus Total Deductions. This is the number your bank sees.
The YTD column, and why it matters
Next to almost every line is a year-to-date (YTD) figure — the running total of that item across every paycheck so far this year, not just this one. It resets to zero every January.
YTD isn't just a tally. Several taxes switch on or off based on your YTD wages:
- Social Security stops once your YTD wages pass $184,500 in 2026. Watch the Social Security YTD line — when it hits the max of $11,439, the current-period line goes to zero and your take-home jumps.
- Additional Medicare Tax (an extra 0.9%) kicks in once your YTD wages cross $200,000. You'll see it start appearing only after that point.
- Your 401(k) and HSA have annual IRS limits; the YTD deduction line is how you track how close you are.
If a number ever looks wrong, the YTD column is where you check — compare it against your last stub to see exactly what changed.
Related: Gross pay vs. net pay · Paystubs & tax documents · Pre-tax vs. post-tax deductions.