THE PAY STUB · ledger
All lines
16 lines on the desk, grouped the way a stub groups them. The right-hand figure is each line’s net effect per paycheck.
Earnings Lines5 lines
Regular pay, overtime, pay frequency, raises and corrected stubs.
- Every line on a pay stub, and what moves itA pay stub is a subtraction problem printed in a fixed order. Learn the order and the handful of inputs behind each line, and almost every surprise on payday becomes explainable.Oct 12, 2026 · Marcus Tran−$679.09 from gross to net (illustrative stub)
- Biweekly vs semimonthly: same salary, different paychecksBiweekly is every other Friday, 26 times a year. Semimonthly is the 15th and the last day, 24 times. Same salary, a smaller check on one schedule, two extra checks a year — and a few rules that behave differently.Sep 14, 2026 · Marcus TranTiming only
- Overtime math when you're salaried but not exemptA salary does not switch off overtime. If you fail either the salary test or the duties test, every hour past 40 in a workweek is owed at time and a half of a regular rate that payroll has to calculate from your salary.Sep 07, 2026 · Marcus Tran+$42.00 per overtime hour at $28/hr
- Payroll errors: reading a corrected stub and a claw-backA corrected stub tells you what payroll got wrong, how they fixed it, and how they plan to take it back. Read the adjustment line before you read the net, and check which tax year the error belongs to.Jul 13, 2026 · Marcus Tran−$92.31 per paycheck for two paychecks (example recovery)
- Raise math: what a 4% raise is after tax and benefitsA raise is quoted as an annual gross number. It arrives as a per-paycheck net number that is smaller for predictable reasons. Here is the conversion, line by line, for a 4% raise on $60,000.Jun 29, 2026 · Marcus Tran+$64.96 per paycheck on a 4% raise (example)
Deductions3 lines
Health premiums, voluntary benefits, group life and garnishments.
- Voluntary benefits at work: accident, critical illness, hospital indemnityThe small voluntary benefits line on a stub is usually three separate policies that each pay a fixed amount when something specific happens. Whether the premium comes out before or after tax decides how the payout is taxed.Aug 10, 2026 · Marcus Tran−$12.40 per paycheck (illustrative stub)
- Leaving a job: what happens to your group life coverageGroup life coverage usually ends with the job, and the decision about keeping any of it has a short deadline. On the stub, the clearest sign of the policy is a line most people never notice: imputed income.Aug 03, 2026 · Marcus Tran+$1.36 per paycheck once imputed income stops (example)
- Wage garnishment lines on a pay stubA garnishment line is a court or agency order that payroll is required to follow, and federal law caps how much of a paycheck it can take. Here is how payroll calculates that cap, using the illustrative stub.Jul 06, 2026 · Marcus Tran−$75.00 per paycheck (illustrative stub)
Withholding3 lines
The W-4, bonus and severance withholding, and what the federal line is doing.
- W-4 at a new job: the three boxes that matterThe current Form W-4 has five steps, but for most people starting a job only three entries actually move the federal withholding line: the Step 2 checkbox, the Step 3 credit amount, and Step 4(c).Sep 28, 2026 · Marcus Tran−$50.00 per paycheck (Step 4(c) example)
- Bonus withholding: why it looks like a 22% taxBonuses aren't taxed at a special rate. They are withheld at one: 22% federal when the employer pays them separately, plus the usual 7.65%. What you actually owe on the bonus is settled on your return.Sep 21, 2026 · Marcus TranTiming only
- Severance: taxes, timing and the order to do thingsSeverance is taxed as wages, and it usually arrives as supplemental pay withheld at a flat federal rate. The size of the withholding is rarely the surprise; the order of the paperwork is.Aug 24, 2026 · Jess Whitaker−$1,100 federal withheld on a $5,000 lump sum at 22%
Job Changes4 lines
First paychecks, final paychecks, unemployment and coverage between jobs.
- Why the first paycheck at a new job is shortA short first paycheck is almost never an error. It is usually a partial pay period, a payroll lag, and benefit deductions starting all at once — and the money you think is missing shows up on the next check.Oct 05, 2026 · Jess WhitakerTiming only
- Your final paycheck: what state law says it must include, and whenFederal law sets no deadline for a final paycheck. Your state does, and the deadline often depends on whether you quit or were let go, and whether you gave notice.Aug 31, 2026 · Jess WhitakerTiming only
- Unemployment after severance: the overlap rulesWhether severance pushes back your unemployment benefits is a state question with a state answer. What does not vary is that filing late costs you weeks, and that benefits are taxable income.Aug 17, 2026 · Jess WhitakerTiming only
- Coverage after a job loss: the 60-day special enrollment windowWhen a job ends, the health premium line on your stub disappears and two clocks start: COBRA's election window and the Marketplace special enrollment period. Both run about 60 days, and they do not measure the same thing.Jul 27, 2026 · Marcus Tran+$96.00 deduction ends (illustrative stub)
Gig Pay1 line
Platform payouts, the 1099-K, and the tax nobody withheld.