Paycheck Stub Purpose and Contents
A paycheck stub is also known as a pay stub, pay slip, or earnings statement. It is the part of the paycheck that documents how much money employees were paid and is usually attached to the employee paycheck with a perforated page.

When the employee deposits or cashes the paycheck, he or she can easily tear off the paycheck stub for personal record-keeping purposes. Paycheck stubs provide the details of the employee's pay and the exact deductions that were made during each pay period of the year.


Payroll deductions depend on the circumstances of the individual employee and the employer's benefits offerings. The following information is available on paycheck stubs or electronically:

Starting date and ending date of the pay period
Gross pay: The amount of money the employee was paid before the employer took deductions.
Net pay: The amount of money the employee receives after the employer takes out deductions.
Federal taxes withheld
State taxes withheld
Local taxes withheld if any. Many local areas do not charge taxes.
Insurance deductions
Medicare deduction
Social Security deduction
Retirement, pension or 401(k) plan contribution
Wage garnishments
The paycheck stub may also include information such as year-to-date totals of gross and net wages and deductions.

Paycheck as a Communication Tool
Many employers use the paycheck as a communication tool. The paycheck stub often tells the employee how much vacation time, sick time, or paid time off (PTO) was accrued during that pay period. It may offer a cumulative accounting of time off used by the employee.

Since employees traditionally received their paycheck in an envelope, reminders, updates, and newsletters were regularly inserted in the paycheck envelope. This type of communication has become rare as employers most frequently require that employees maintain an account into which the paycheck is directly deposited on each payday.

Information that was communicated on the paycheck stub is now visible in your online account and on your internal benefits website. Although some employers initially provided a traditional paycheck stub as they made the transition to the online world, few do so anymore.

reference: viewmypaycheck