Hey {{first_name}}
Most people open their pay stub, check the net pay, and move on.
And that’s fair enough because that’s the number that actually hits your bank account. But… Have you ever wondered what those weird acronyms mean?
You know the ones… OASDI? BRVMT?
Most stubs cram a dozen abbreviations into a space the size of a receipt, and almost nobody explains them.
So, this week, I’ll break down the most common pay stub abbreviations so you can read your stub without needing to ask payroll what every line means.
Do you see these acronyms on your pay stub?
Once you know what they mean, you can catch payroll errors, verify your withholdings, and finally understand why your take-home pay lands where it does.
SAMPLE PAY STUB — DECODED
GROSS PAY | $4,200.00 |
FICA-SS / OASDI (OLD) | −$260.40 |
FICA-MED | −$60.90 |
FWT | −$321.30 |
SWT | −$168.00 |
NET PAY (NEW) | $3,389.40 |
TL;DR:
Gross pay is before deductions. Net pay is what actually hits your bank account.
FICA shows up as two separate lines: FICA-SS (Social Security) and FICA-MED (Medicare).
If your earnings don't match what you expected, start in the earnings section, then loop in HR.
Click the link below to read our full guide on pay stub abbreviations, or read on.
The abbreviations that trip everyone up…
A quick glossary of the codes most likely to make you squint.
PAY STUB GLOSSARY
OASDI Old-Age, Survivors & Disability Insurance. It's Social Security, just hiding under its formal name.
FICA-MED Your Medicare contribution under FICA.
FWT / FIT / FITW All the same thing: federal income tax withheld.
SUI State unemployment insurance (more on this below).
PAY STUB GLOSSARY
GROSS PAY | Starting number before anything |
YTD GROSS | What you've earned Jan 1 → now |
NET PAY | Take-home after taxes & deductions |
TL;DR:
Same deduction, different labels; Fed, FWT, FIT, and FITW all mean federal income tax.
Pre-tax deductions (401k, HSA, FSA) come out before taxes are calculated, which lowers your taxable income.
A mismatch you can't explain? Start with HR or your payroll provider, not the IRS.
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01. SUI is a geography thing. You'll only see a state unemployment insurance line on your stub if you live in Alaska, New Jersey, or Pennsylvania. Everywhere else, employers cover 100% of it. |
02. OASDI and Social Security are the same line. If your stub says OASDI instead of Social Security, don't panic, it's the same FICA contribution under its official name. |
03. Keep your final stub of the year. Hold onto the last pay stub of each year (the one with all your YTD totals) alongside your tax documents for at least 3–4 years in case of an audit. Shred the rest to protect against identity theft. |
I hope that helps you to better understand what all those abbreviations are on your stub. (And if you hit one we didn't cover here, the full guide breaks down every last abbreviation.)
— Russ & The PayStubsNow team