Paystub Checker — Is My Paycheck Right?
Check a pay stub you have already received against the rules its own numbers can prove: the 6.2% and 1.45% FICA rates, the Social Security wage-base cutoff that stops the tax mid-year, the Additional Medicare threshold, and the federal time-and-a-half overtime floor. Most gaps turn out to be pre-tax deductions.
Works offline — your inputs never leave this device. How that works
Social Security matches the statutory rate
6.2% of $2,500.00 = $155.00.
Medicare matches the statutory rate
1.45% of $2,500.00 = $36.25.
This checks only what a stub can prove on its own numbers — the statutory FICA rates and thresholds, and the federal overtime floor. A mismatch is usually explained by pre-tax deductions rather than an error. It cannot verify income-tax withholding, which depends on your Form W-4, or state rules. Payroll can explain a specific line; a wage claim goes to your state labor department.
Verified 2026-07-31 against IRS Publication 15-T (2026), Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods — section 1, Worksheet 1A and the 2026 Annual Percentage Method Tables for Automated Payroll Systems; FICA rates and wage base from IRS Publication 15 (2026) (effective 2026-01-01)
Estimate only — not legal, tax, or financial advice. Only IRS can determine your actual amounts.
Official source: IRS Publication 15 — employer tax guide ↗
🎓 Understand this tool
What it is
A check of a pay stub you already received against the rules that can be proven from its own numbers: the statutory FICA percentages, the Social Security wage-base cutoff, the Additional Medicare threshold, and the federal overtime floor.
How it works
Social Security is 6.2% until year-to-date wages reach the wage base, then stops entirely. Medicare is 1.45% with no ceiling, plus 0.9% once wages pass the employer-withholding threshold. Federal law requires at least time-and-a-half beyond 40 hours in a workweek for non-exempt employees. Each check compares the stub against the verified figure and reports what it found.
Getting the most from it
- Copy gross pay, Social Security, and Medicare from the current stub.
- Copy year-to-date gross — the thresholds cannot be checked without it.
- Add the hourly rate and overtime hours if you are paid hourly.
- Read each finding: a tick is a match, a question mark needs explaining, an exclamation mark is worth raising.
Reading your result
Most mismatches are not errors. Pre-tax deductions — health premiums under a §125 plan, HSA contributions — reduce Social Security and Medicare wages below gross pay, which is the usual explanation for a small gap.
What it can't tell you
It cannot verify income-tax withholding, which depends on your Form W-4, nor state taxes, local taxes, or benefit deductions. It checks federal overtime only; several states add daily overtime rules. Payroll can explain a specific line, and a wage claim goes to your state labor department.
Frequently asked questions
Social Security applies only until your wages for the year reach the annual wage base — $184,500 in 2026. After that it stops entirely for the rest of the year, which is why take-home pay rises. Medicare continues, because it has no ceiling.
Related calculators
Paycheck
Estimate take-home pay in any verified state: federal withholding under the IRS Publication 15-T percentage method, Social Security and Medicare, plus that state’s income tax and any employee payroll programs. Computed in your browser, with the approximation disclosed on every result.
Federal Withholding
See how much federal income tax and FICA come out of each paycheck, using the IRS Publication 15-T percentage method your employer’s payroll system uses. Enter gross pay, pay frequency, and your Form W-4 entries to estimate the withholding and what lands in your account.
Annual update alerts — new tax and benefit figures the week they drop
One email when the numbers change. Double opt-in, no spam, unsubscribe anytime.