How to read a pay stub: a line-by-line review
Pay-stub layouts vary, but most organize information into employee and pay-period details, earnings, deductions, taxes or payroll programs, reimbursements, year-to-date totals, and net pay. Read the printed labels before trying to reconcile the check.
1. Confirm the pay-period facts
Check the employer, worker, pay-period start and end dates, pay date, and frequency. A pay date is not necessarily the last day worked. If the stub covers multiple rates, jobs, or locations, note those distinctions before comparing it with an estimate.
2. Review each earnings row
Common labels include regular pay, overtime, premium pay, bonus, commission, shift differential, mileage, per-trip pay, and imputed income. A label alone does not establish its legal or tax classification. Compare hours, rates, units, and current amounts with the employer's records.
3. Separate cash and non-cash items
Reimbursements may add cash without being wages under the employer's treatment. Imputed income may increase taxable amounts without adding cash to the deposit. These items mean a simple gross-minus-deductions identity may need additional terms.
4. Review deductions by wage base
Do not assume that every item labeled pre-tax reduces every wage base. Federal income-tax, Social Security and Medicare, state, and local treatment can differ by plan, category, jurisdiction, and worker facts. Confirm the employer's treatment and current official guidance.
5. Review withholding and employee programs separately
Federal income-tax withholding, Social Security, Medicare, state withholding, local taxes, disability programs, paid-leave programs, and other employee contributions can appear as separate rows. TakeHome IQ provides selected estimates; it does not certify every employer method, program election, locality, or cross-state route.
6. Reconcile captured cash lines
A common starting point is cash earnings plus cash reimbursements, minus captured employee deductions, withholding, payroll programs, and other cash reductions. Non-cash earnings and employer-only items may require separate handling. If the result differs from net pay, look for a missing row, a sign error, a non-cash item, or an employer adjustment.
7. Use year-to-date columns as evidence, not assumptions
YTD columns help show accumulated wages, taxes, deductions, and programs. They can also expose when two similar labels track different bases. Do not assume every YTD figure must equal a year-end form without checking the form instructions and the employer's classification.
8. Treat Box 14 and qualified-overtime reporting separately
The approved TakeHome IQ certification archive does not establish current OBBBA reporting treatment. Verify any entry against current Form W-2 and IRS instructions. A Box 14 entry is informational evidence; it does not by itself change employer withholding or prove a federal deduction amount.
What the scanner can tell you
The scan can extract observed lines, preserve row labels, compare captured totals, and surface discrepancies for review. OCR can miss or misclassify a row, and some program or locality identities remain unresolved. Compare the result with the original stub before relying on it.