Paystub Decoder

Your paystub is telling you something — this is how you read it.

Most workers look at the "net pay" line and ignore everything else. Those other lines are where your money is going, and you deserve to know where.

What's inside: A plain-English breakdown of every line on a standard paystub — gross pay, federal and state withholding, FICA, Medicare, pre-tax deductions, and more. Each term defined in plain language with a note on what it means for your take-home pay.

Who it's for: Anyone who gets a W-2 paycheck and has ever wondered why their take-home is so much less than what they were hired at.

What it's NOT: This isn't payroll advice or a tool to dispute your check. It's a decoder — so you can finally understand what you're looking at.