What Does This Mean? How to Read a Pay Stub

Whether you’re an employee or the owner of a small business, it’s important to know how to read a pay stub. 

Each one represents the earnings, deductions, and taxes from each pay period, and they can be needed for income verification, taxes, and personal record-keeping.

At CSI Accounting & Payroll, we’ve worked with small businesses for over 50 years. We’ve been asked lots of questions about pay stubs, including:

• What is included on a pay stub?
• What do certain acronyms stand for on a pay stub?
• How do you get a pay stub from CSI?

What Is Included on a Pay Stub?

Every pay stub will show the earnings, deductions, and taxes from each pay period, but the way these items are listed can look different. Each item may also show totals for that pay period and the year-to-date totals.

Here are the things that most pay stubs should show:

• Hours worked

• • This is how many hours the employee worked. It can be specific from a time clock if they are paid hourly, or it can be estimated if they don’t have to log their hours.

• Gross pay
  • This is the total earnings before any deductions or taxes are taken out. It will not be the amount that is paid directly to the employee. The total should include regular wages, special pay rates, and additional pay.

• Tax withholdings

• • These withholdings include taxes that the employee is legally obligated to pay. Amounts will vary, but they’re largely based on the employee’s filing status and allowances.

• Other deductions

• • These are other things that are voluntarily or involuntarily deducted from the gross pay. Usually, this means benefits like health insurance premiums and retirement plan contributions, but they can also be garnishments like child support.

• Net pay

• • This may also be called take-home pay. It’s the total pay remaining after deductions and tax withholdings, and the number represents the dollar amount that the employee will receive.

Some states also have laws that require certain information to be shown on pay stubs. For example, Minnesota requires all pay stubs to show the place of employment’s legal name and phone number. If you see additional information, this may be why. 

There are also some payroll services that offer add-on services to include other items on pay stubs, such as paid time off (PTO) balances. Otherwise, see the following section about specific acronyms that may appear on your pay stubs.

What Does This Acronym Mean on My Pay Stub?

Pay stubs sometimes use acronyms or abbreviations to save space. Here are some common ones and what they mean:

• YTD 

• • This stands for year-to-date. On a pay stub, it shows an amount that is the total from January 1st of that year until the date shown on the pay stub. It may apply to different pay, tax, deduction, or other categories.

• FICA 

• • This stands for Federal Insurance Contributions Act. It refers to Social Security taxes and Medicare taxes. On a pay stub, it shows an amount that is taken out of gross pay.

• OASDI 

• • This stands for Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance, which is another name for Social Security. On a pay stub, it may be included under FICA or be listed on its own. It will be taken out of gross pay.

• GTL 

• • This stands for Group Term Life. It’s life insurance through an employer that’s shown on a pay stub as a voluntary deduction.

• FIT 

• • This stands for federal income tax. It’s mandatory tax withholding that an employee is legally obligated to pay to the federal government. It will also be taken out of gross pay.

How Do You Get a Pay Stub From CSI?

Let’s talk about getting a pay stub from CSI Accounting & Payroll as an employee or a small business owner. 

(Don’t work with CSI? That’s okay! The following options are true for most payroll services.)

Current or Former Employees

If you currently work for a business that does payroll with CSI, you can find your pay stubs in your employee portal. This will be in our Client Center.

If you used to work for a business that does payroll with CSI, your employee portal will be inactive. However, you can contact your prior employer, and they can retrieve your past pay stubs from their employer portal.

Small Business Owners

If you’re currently a client of CSI, you can access your current and past employees’ pay stubs in your employer portal. This will be in our Client Center. 

We request that you have your current and past employees contact you – instead of us – directly with questions. This helps maintain the security of your payroll data. If you can’t answer them, you can always call, text, or email your dedicated payroll specialist. We’re here to help!

Need a Dedicated Payroll Specialist?

Now that you know about common items on a pay stub, what some pay stub acronyms stand for, and how to get a pay stub from CSI or other payroll providers, are you ready to check out payroll services?

If so, please consider CSI Accounting & Payroll! To see if we can be a good fit for your business, click the button below for a free consultation:

Not ready to talk? That’s okay! First, learn more about what it’s like to work with CSI by clicking the image below: