What Are Check Stubs? Pay, Deductions, and Uses

Check stubs are the itemized statements employers attach to your paycheck showing how the amount you were paid was calculated. Each stub lists your gross earnings, every tax withheld, every deduction taken out, and the net figure that reaches your bank account. You may get a paper slip on payday or download a PDF from a payroll portal; the content is the same either way. Most states require employers to provide one each pay period, though the exact format varies.

Gross Pay, Net Pay, and Year-to-Date Totals

The top of the stub shows gross pay: everything you earned before anything was taken out. If you’re hourly, that’s your rate times hours worked, plus overtime or shift differentials. Salaried workers see their per-period share of annual compensation. Bonuses, commissions, and paid time off roll in when they apply to that cycle.

Net pay is the number that actually lands in your account. It’s gross pay minus every withholding and deduction. The gap surprises a lot of people early in their career, because mandatory taxes and benefit premiums eat more than most expect.

Year-to-date columns track cumulative earnings, taxes, and deductions from January 1 through the current pay period. Those running totals are the quickest way to spot errors over time, and they’re what you compare against your W-2 at year-end.

Taxes Withheld From Your Paycheck

Taxes are usually the biggest chunk taken out, and each one appears on its own line.

Federal and State Income Tax

Federal income tax withholding is based on what you put on your Form W-4: filing status, dependents, and any extra amount you asked to have withheld.1Internal Revenue Service. About Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate State income tax works the same way, with each state setting its own rates. A handful of states have no income tax, so workers there won’t see that line.

Social Security and Medicare

The Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) splits in two. Social Security is withheld at 6.2% of wages, but only up to $184,500 in 2026. Once your year-to-date earnings cross that cap, Social Security withholding stops for the year and drops to zero on later stubs.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 3101 – Rate of Tax3Social Security Administration. What Is the Current Maximum Amount of Taxable Earnings for Social Security Medicare is withheld at 1.45% with no wage cap, so it applies to every dollar.

High earners face an added 0.9% Medicare surtax on wages above $200,000 for single filers or $250,000 for married couples filing jointly.4Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 560, Additional Medicare Tax Employers begin withholding it once your pay crosses $200,000, regardless of filing status, and any difference is reconciled on your return.

Pre-Tax vs. Post-Tax Deductions

Not every deduction on your stub is treated the same for tax purposes, and the distinction matters.

Pre-tax deductions come out of gross pay before taxes are calculated. Health insurance premiums, traditional 401(k) contributions, flexible spending accounts, and health savings accounts usually fall here when they’re offered through a Section 125 cafeteria plan. Because they come out first, they reduce the income you owe federal income tax, Social Security, and Medicare on.5Internal Revenue Service. FAQs for Government Entities Regarding Cafeteria Plans Earn $60,000 and put $5,000 into a traditional 401(k), and you’re taxed on $55,000.

Post-tax deductions come out after taxes are figured. Roth 401(k) contributions, union dues, some disability insurance premiums, and certain charitable payroll deductions are common examples. They don’t lower your current tax bill, though some, like Roth contributions, carry tax advantages later.

Stubs usually group these separately, but the labels aren’t always intuitive. If a deduction looks unfamiliar, figure out whether it’s pre-tax or post-tax first, because that affects both your take-home pay and the taxable wages reported on your W-2.

Benefits, Retirement, and Employer Contributions

Beyond taxes, the stub lists benefit premiums and savings contributions you elected. Health, dental, and vision insurance premiums are the most common. Retirement contributions also show up here. For 2026, the elective deferral limit for a 401(k) is $24,500, with an additional $8,000 catch-up for workers 50 or older. Workers aged 60 through 63 qualify for an even higher catch-up of $11,250.6Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – 401(k) and Profit-Sharing Plan Contribution Limits Contributions to 403(b) plans, offered to public school and certain nonprofit employees, follow the same limits.7Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Plans Definitions

Some employers list their own contributions on your stub even though the amounts don’t come out of your pay. An employer’s share of your health premium, a 401(k) match, or contributions to an HSA may show in a separate “employer-paid” section. Employer contributions to health coverage are generally excluded from your taxable wages.8Internal Revenue Service. Employer’s Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits (2026) Seeing those figures on the stub gives you a fuller picture of total compensation.

Wage Garnishments

When a court or government agency orders your employer to withhold part of your pay for a debt, the garnishment shows up as its own line. Common triggers include unpaid child support, defaulted student loans, tax levies, and creditor judgments.9U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #30: Wage Garnishment Protections of the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA)

Federal law caps how much can be garnished by debt type:

If a garnishment appears you didn’t expect, contact payroll right away. Employers must follow the order as issued, but errors in the amount or in the identity of the debtor do happen.

Does Your Employer Have to Give You a Check Stub

No federal law requires it. The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to keep payroll records internally but doesn’t say those records have to be handed to the employee each pay period.12eCFR. 29 CFR 516.2 – Employees Subject to Minimum Wage or Minimum Wage and Overtime Provisions Roughly 40 states have filled that gap with their own pay stub laws.

State requirements fall into a few patterns. Some mandate a written or printed statement with each paycheck. Others allow electronic-only access as long as you can view and print your stub through an online portal. A small number of states have no requirement, leaving the practice to employer policy.

Where state laws apply, they typically specify a floor of information: gross earnings, itemized deductions, net pay, and hours worked for hourly employees. Some states also require the employer’s name and address, the pay rate, or the dates of the pay period. Penalties for noncompliance range from modest per-violation fines to substantial amounts for repeated or willful failures.

A Note for Independent Contractors

If you work as an independent contractor rather than an employee, you won’t receive a check stub. FLSA recordkeeping doesn’t apply to contractors, and clients aren’t responsible for withholding income tax or FICA from contractor payments.13Federal Register. Employee or Independent Contractor Classification Under the Fair Labor Standards Act Instead of a W-2, contractors paid $600 or more by a single client receive a Form 1099-NEC.14Internal Revenue Service. Am I Required to File a Form 1099 or Other Information Return Contractors also owe the full 15.3% self-employment tax covering both the employer and employee shares of Social Security and Medicare. Some businesses send a remittance advice with each payment, but it’s a courtesy, not a legal requirement.

What Check Stubs Are Used For

Verifying Your Pay

The first job of the stub is confirming you were paid correctly. Check that hours match your records, that your rate is right, and that overtime was calculated properly. Deduction errors matter especially, because an extra insurance line or a garnishment applied to the wrong employee can quietly drain money for months before anyone notices.

Preparing for Tax Season

Your last stub of the year previews what your W-2 will show. The IRS recommends keeping recent stubs handy when you use its withholding estimator, so you can adjust your W-4 if too much or too little is coming out.15Internal Revenue Service. Form W-4 (2026) Employee’s Withholding Certificate Comparing that final stub’s year-to-date totals against your W-2 is also the fastest way to catch reporting discrepancies before you file.

Proving Income

Landlords, mortgage lenders, and auto loan officers routinely ask for recent stubs to verify income and employment. Landlords often look for monthly income around three times the rent. Mortgage underwriters use stubs to calculate debt-to-income ratio and confirm your earnings are steady. Having two or three recent stubs ready speeds any application that asks for proof of income.

Getting Your Stubs and Fixing Errors

Most employers use payroll software with a secure online portal, so you can view and download stubs in PDF going back months or years. Some smaller employers still hand out paper stubs on payday or mail them home. If you can’t reach yours online and don’t get paper copies, submit a written request to HR or payroll. Federal regulations require employers to preserve payroll records for at least three years, so stubs for that window should be available.16U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #21: Recordkeeping Requirements Under the Fair Labor Standards Act Many states set their own deadlines for responding to records requests.

When something on a stub looks wrong, start with payroll or HR. Most errors are data-entry mistakes fixed quickly once flagged. Put the request in writing and keep a copy of the stub showing the problem. If your employer won’t fix a legitimate error or refuses to provide required pay records, you can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division at 1-866-487-9243. The WHD investigates wage complaints confidentially and can point you to the nearest field office.17U.S. Department of Labor. How to File a Complaint In states with their own pay stub laws, a separate state complaint process may also be available.

How Long to Keep Them

At a minimum, hold each stub until you get your W-2 for that year and confirm the numbers match. After that, keeping stubs for at least three years lines up with the IRS statute of limitations for most audits. Employers are required to preserve payroll records for the same three years under federal regulations.18eCFR. 29 CFR 516.5 – Records to Be Preserved 3 Years If you’re applying for a mortgage, refinancing, or dealing with any legal matter tied to your income, a longer paper trail won’t hurt. Digital stubs are easy to archive, so there’s little reason not to keep them beyond the minimum.