Pay Stub Decoder Calculator
Paste your US pay stub line items for a plain-English breakdown of every withholding, with Social Security and Medicare checked against 2026 rates.
Pay Stub Decoder Calculator
Pay Frequency
Filing Status
Drives the Additional Medicare and high-income flags only.
Earnings
Taxes Withheld
Deductions
Estimates only. Not tax or legal advice. Consult a tax professional for accuracy.
Withholding Checks (2026 rates)
Line-by-Line Breakdown
Enter the amounts from your stub and each line is explained here in plain English.
Heads-Up Flags
- No flags. Numbers within normal payroll rounding look fine.
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How to read your pay stub, line by line
Every US pay stub follows the same basic shape, even when the labels differ by employer. The top is your earnings: gross pay is everything you earned before anything comes out. Below that sit your taxes, then your deductions, then net pay (your take-home).
Taxes usually break into four buckets. Federal income tax is withheld based on the W-4 you filled out. State and local income taxes follow your state and city rules (some states have none). FICA is the pair of payroll taxes: Social Security and Medicare. Those two are fixed by formula, which is why this decoder can check them while leaving income tax as an estimate.
Deductions split into pre-tax and post-tax. Pre-tax items (traditional 401(k), HSA, most health premiums) come out before income tax is figured, lowering your taxable wages. Post-tax items (Roth 401(k), union dues, garnishments) come out after. Finally, most stubs carry YTD columns showing your year-to-date totals, which matter for the Social Security wage base and the Additional Medicare tax.
Decoding common pay stub abbreviations
Payroll software loves abbreviations. Here is a quick reference for the codes you are most likely to see.
| Code | What it means |
|---|---|
| FED / FWT / FIT | Federal income tax withholding |
| ST / SWT / SIT | State income tax withholding |
| FICA-SS / OASDI | Social Security tax (6.2%) |
| FICA-Med / MED | Medicare tax (1.45%) |
| 401(k) / 403(b) | Pre-tax retirement contribution |
| HSA / FSA | Pre-tax health spending accounts |
| GTL | Group term life (often imputed income) |
| GARN | Wage garnishment (post-tax) |
| YTD | Year-to-date running total |
Are your FICA withholdings correct? (2026 rates)
FICA is the easiest part of your stub to verify because the rates are set in law. For 2026, Social Security is 6.2% of gross pay, but only up to a wage base of $184,500 for the year. Once your YTD gross hits that number, Social Security stops, and the OASDI line drops to $0 for the rest of the year. The most an employee pays in Social Security for 2026 is $11,439.
Medicare is 1.45% of all gross pay with no cap. On top of that, employers withhold an extra 0.9% Additional Medicare tax on wages above $200,000 in a year, no matter your filing status. At filing time the threshold is $200,000 for single and $250,000 for married filing jointly, so your filing status decides whether you owe more or recover some. Below the wage base, combined employee FICA is 7.65%.
Worked example: on $3,000 gross this period, expect $186.00 Social Security (6.2%) and $43.50 Medicare (1.45%). The decoder above runs this same check on your numbers and uses a small tolerance so normal payroll rounding does not trip a false flag. To run the same math across a full year, try our FICA Tax Calculator and Marginal vs Effective Tax Rate Calculator.
When pay stub numbers don't add up
If your net pay does not equal gross minus the taxes you see, remember that net is gross minus taxes AND deductions. Enter every line above, including pre-tax and post-tax deductions, and the reconciliation check states the exact gap. When a gap remains, the usual suspects are imputed income added back (group term life over $50,000 is taxed but not paid to you), a non-taxable reimbursement, or a deduction printed on the stub you missed.
A Social Security line that looks low is often correct: if your YTD gross is near or over $184,500, withholding legitimately tapers off. A Medicare line above 1.45% usually means the 0.9% surtax kicked in over $200,000 YTD. If the math still does not reconcile after you account for those, that is the moment to ask your payroll department. Compare pay periods with our Pay Period Converter, double-check income tax with the W-4 Withholding Estimator and Federal Tax Bracket Calculator, then start a paycheck fresh with the Hourly Paycheck Calculator.
This tool gives estimates only and is not tax or legal advice. Tax rules change and individual situations vary, so confirm anything that matters with your payroll department or a tax professional.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about pay stub decoder calculator
What do the abbreviations on my pay stub mean (FED, FICA, OASDI, SWT)?
FED, FWT, and FIT all mean federal income tax withholding. ST, SWT, and SIT mean state income tax. FICA covers the two Social Security Act taxes: OASDI (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) is the Social Security portion, and FICA-Med is the Medicare portion. Other common codes include 401(k) for retirement contributions, GTL for group term life (often imputed income), and HSA/FSA for pre-tax health accounts. Paste your numbers above and this tool labels each line for you.
How much should be taken out for Social Security and Medicare on each paycheck?
For 2026, Social Security is 6.2% of your gross pay up to a wage base of $184,500 for the year, and Medicare is 1.45% of all gross pay with no cap. Together that is 7.65%. Enter your gross pay above and the decoder recomputes both lines and compares them to what your employer withheld. Want to check any income, not just one paycheck? Our FICA Tax Calculator runs the same math.
Why doesn't my net pay equal my gross pay minus the taxes I see?
Net pay is gross minus all taxes AND all deductions, not just taxes. Pre-tax items (401(k), health insurance, HSA) and post-tax items (union dues, garnishments, Roth 401(k)) also come out. If the gap still does not reconcile after you enter every line, the usual causes are imputed income added back (like group term life), a non-taxable reimbursement, or a deduction printed on the stub you missed. The reconciliation check above states the exact dollar gap.
What is OASDI on my pay stub and why is it 6.2%?
OASDI stands for Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance, which is the formal name for Social Security. The employee rate is set by law at 6.2% of wages up to the annual wage base ($184,500 in 2026). Your employer pays a matching 6.2%, so 12.4% total funds the program. The 6.2% you see is your share.
Why did my Social Security tax suddenly stop partway through the year?
Social Security only applies to the first $184,500 of wages in 2026. Once your year-to-date gross reaches that wage base, no more Social Security is withheld for the rest of the year, so the OASDI line drops to $0. Enter your YTD gross above and the decoder accounts for the cap. Note that Medicare has no cap and keeps coming out all year.
What is the 0.9% Additional Medicare tax and who pays it?
On top of the standard 1.45% Medicare tax, employers withhold an extra 0.9% on wages above $200,000 in a year, regardless of filing status. At tax time the threshold is $200,000 for single filers and $250,000 for married filing jointly, so your filing status decides whether you owe more or get some back when you file. That is why a Medicare line above 1.45% of gross is usually correct for high earners, not a mistake.
What's the difference between pre-tax and post-tax deductions on a pay stub?
Pre-tax deductions (traditional 401(k), HSA, most health premiums) come out before income tax is calculated, so they lower your taxable wages. Post-tax deductions (Roth 401(k), union dues, garnishments, disability premiums you pay with after-tax dollars) come out after taxes and do not reduce taxable income. The decoder totals each group separately so you can see how each affects your take-home.
How do I know if my employer withheld the wrong amount?
Start with FICA, since it is fixed by formula: Social Security should be 6.2% of gross (until the wage base) and Medicare 1.45%. This tool flags either line if it is off by more than $1 or 2%. Federal and state income tax depend on your W-4 and bracket, so they are harder to verify by formula. If a flag appears, check your YTD gross against the wage base first, then ask payroll. Our W-4 Withholding Estimator helps you sanity-check income tax withholding.