Paycheck guides
How a paycheck is computed, one question at a time. Every guide carries an interactive tool built on the same engine as the calculator, every figure is computed from a sourced constant, and the text says what it does not know.
Reading your paycheck
What each line is and whether it is right.
- Every abbreviationHow to Read Your Paycheck, Line by Line
A pay stub is a dozen lines and a dozen abbreviations, and each line has a number it should equal.
- Earnings, taxes, deductions, YTDWhat Is a Pay Stub, and What Must It Show
A pay stub — earnings statement, pay slip, wage statement — is the itemised record of one paycheck.
- Gross → taxable → netGross vs Net Pay: What the Difference Is
Gross pay is the number in the offer letter; net pay is the number in the bank.
- Eight causesWhy Is My Paycheck Different This Time?
Nothing changed and the paycheck did.
- Start date → first payday → prorated amountYour First Paycheck at a New Job: When and How Much
The first paycheck is late, small and withheld strangely, and all three are normal.
- What is exact, what is estimatedAre Paycheck Calculators Accurate? Check Yours Line by Line
Federal withholding and FICA are arithmetic, and any calculator using this year’s tables gets them to the cent.
Withholding and the W-4
How the federal line is computed and how to change it.
- Federal + FICA + stateHow Much Tax Is Taken Out of My Paycheck?
There is no single percentage.
- Publication 15-THow Federal Withholding Is Calculated
Federal withholding is not a percentage of your pay.
- Steps 1–5Form W-4 Explained, Step by Step
The W-4 has not had allowances since 2020; it has five steps, and three of them are optional.
- Two conditionsClaiming Exempt on the W-4: Who Can, What Happens
Writing «Exempt» on the W-4 stops federal income tax withholding entirely.
- 6.2% + 1.45%FICA Explained: Social Security and Medicare on Your Paycheck
FICA is the flat tax nobody can change with a form: Social Security and Medicare, from the first dollar, matched by the employer.
- Flat 22% vs aggregateHow Bonuses Are Taxed
A bonus is not taxed at 22%.
What changed in 2026
The new deductions and the indexed figures.
- Rev. Proc. 2025-32What Changed for Paychecks in 2026
Four documents set the 2026 paycheck: the IRS inflation adjustments, the July 2025 tax law, the Social Security wage base and the retirement plan limits.
- P.L. 119-21 §§ 70201–70202No Tax on Overtime and Tips: What the 2026 Deductions Really Do
Overtime and tips are still withheld on every paycheck in 2026.
Hours, days and pay periods
The calendar behind the paycheck.
- Weekly 52Pay Periods in a Year
Four schedules, four counts, and one of them changes some years.
- 26 vs 24Biweekly vs Semi-Monthly Pay: The Difference in Dollars
Both pay «twice a month», and they are not the same.
- 261 weekdaysHow Many Working Days in a Year
The year has 261 weekdays, not 260, and how many of them you work depends on the holidays your employer observes and the leave you take.
- 20 to 23 weekdaysHow Many Working Days in a Month
A month has between 20 and 23 weekdays, and a salaried paycheck ignores the difference while an hourly one feels every day of it.
- 2,080 vs hours actually workedHow Many Working Hours in a Year
2,080 hours is the number payroll uses to turn a salary into an hourly rate, and almost nobody works it.
- FLSA § 13(a)(1)Exempt vs Non-Exempt Employees: Overtime and the Salary Test
Exempt and non-exempt are not about salary versus hourly; they are about whether the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime rule applies to the job.
States, cities and employers
Where the state and local lines come from.
- 9 statesStates With No Income Tax: What You Actually Keep
9 states take nothing from a paycheck for income tax.
- 11 statesLocal Income Taxes on Paychecks: Which Cities and Counties
In most of the country the state line is the last tax line.
- Requirements, not rankingsPayroll Software for a Small Business: What It Must Do
Payroll is the one business task where a small mistake carries a fixed penalty.