But have you ever taken a moment to review your payment stub? It’s okay to admit it, many people don’t take the time to learn about the parts of a pay stub. However, if you intend to file your taxes on your own, understanding your payment stub is vital, and also gives you a chance to assure you’re being paid correctly.
Take the next few minutes to review this brief guide to the pay stub.
Payment Stub Meaning
Your payment stub is part of your paycheck. It’s used for accounting and tax purposes. You can use pay stubs to track how much money you’ve earned.
Payment stubs can be printed as paper copies or stored electronically. You should know where to locate a payment stub for proof of income and for filing your taxes.
Information on a Payment Stub
Payment stub information will usually include the same general categories. Ready to learn what is on a payment stub? Let’s go!
Pay Period
The pay period will include the dates you are being paid for. If you are paid monthly, this section of the pay stub might say 2/1/2021 to 2/28/2021. Regardless if you are paid weekly, monthly, or annually, your pay stub will give the dates.
Most pay stubs will also include the date that you were paid.
Demographic Information
Your payment stub will usually have your name and home address. Depending on your job you might get your payment stub delivered to your home. This does not mean that the payment will be mailed to your home.
There are a variety of paycheck templates, but almost all of them will include your mailing address.
Earnings
Depending on the payment stub template, you will see several numbers related to your earnings. Earnings means how much money you made.
First, you will see how much you made during the pay period as well as how much you have made so far in the current year. You will also see how much money was taken for federal and state taxes. These are sometimes called “withholdings”. Some money will be withheld from your paychecks to pay taxes.
You will also see your earnings before and after the tax deductions.
Gross Pay vs. Net Pay
Let’s review the last few payment stub definitions. Gross pay refers to the total amount of money your employer owes you before any of the deductions mentioned above.
Net pay is usually the last dollar amount on your pay stub. The net pay amount, also known as your “take-home” is the amount of money you are paid. This might come in the form of a check, cash, or a direct deposit to your bank.
Introduction to the Payment Stub
You have completed your introduction course in the payment stub. If you have additional questions about your payment stub you can ask your employer for more information about any section of the pay stub.
Keeping track of your earnings and your overall finances will help you plan for the future and save money. If you’re ready to learn more about personal finance and business, check out our site for other great articles!
