Paycheck Stub Abbreviations: Every Code Explained (2026)

Every pay stub uses shorthand. Paycheck stub abbreviations are the short codes and initials, things like FIT, OASDI, or YTD. They show each line of earnings, taxes, and deductions, so you can see exactly how your gross pay turns into your net pay.

Every paycheck lists them a little differently, but they all boil down to the same handful of types. Maybe you're double-checking that your employer took out the right amount. Or maybe you're handing a pay stub you made with our paystub generator to a landlord or a lender who wants to see your income. Either way, once you know what each code stands for, the guesswork disappears. Below, we'll walk through earnings, tax, and deduction codes, the totals section, and a worked example you can check your own stub against.

Key Takeaways

• Pay stub codes fall into four buckets: earnings, taxes, deductions, and totals.
• The 2026 Social Security wage base rose to $184,500, so OASDI withholding now continues later into the year than it did in 2025.
• Your employer and payroll provider choose their own labels, so the same code can look different from one paycheck to the next.
• Stuck on a code you don't recognize? Check which column it's in, then ask payroll.

Why Paycheck Stub Abbreviations Differ by Employer and Payroll Provider

There's no single federal rulebook here. The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to keep pay records. But it doesn't dictate how those records look on your stub, and state rules on itemized pay statements vary too. That's why the codes on your paycheck depend on which payroll software your employer uses and how that employer set it up.

Paycheck Stub Abbreviations ADP Uses

ADP is one of the largest payroll providers in the country. Its own Earnings and Deductions Quick Reference lists default labels like Regular, Overtime, Bonus (Supplemental), Retroactive Pay, and NQ Overtime. NQ Overtime is overtime pay that isn't qualified overtime under the new federal tax rules (the same "qualified overtime" with its own W-2 code, covered below). A code outside that standard list is likely something your employer set up, since providers let each company add custom labels.

Identity and Reference Codes on a Pay Stub

Near the top of most pay stubs, you'll find a handful of codes. They mark you and the pay period, not your money. EN or EID is your employee ID number. Some stubs also show the last four digits of your Social Security number for verification. CHK or ADV is the check or advice number, useful if you ever need to reference a specific payment. And the pay period and pay date tell you exactly which weeks this paycheck covers.

Earnings Codes on a Pay Stub

Earnings codes add money to your gross pay before anything gets taken out. You'll often see your base pay first, then any extras that applied that pay period.

Federal Tax Codes on a Pay Stub

These federal paycheck stub abbreviations fund two of the country's biggest programs, Social Security and Medicare. They also cover your federal income tax withholding.

The Social Security wage base rose to $184,500 for 2026 according to the Social Security Administration, up from $176,100 in 2025. That means 6.2% withholding now continues further into the year. If you earn over $200,000, an Additional Medicare Tax of 0.9% kicks in on the amount above that. One code you won't see deducted from your pay: FUTA, the federal unemployment tax, which employers pay on their own.

State and Local Tax Codes

Not every state charges income taxes, so this section might be short or nonexistent on your stub. Where a state does tax income, you'll typically see SIT or SWT (state income tax withheld), SDI (state disability insurance), and SUI (state unemployment insurance). Most states only take SUI from employers, not employees. LOC or CITY covers local or city income tax where it applies.

Pay Stub Abbreviations California

Instead of a generic SDI line, California uses CA SDI, which funds the state's disability and paid family leave programs. For 2026, the California EDD sets the rate at 1.3% of all wages, with no wage cap. You may also see VPDI (Voluntary Plan Disability Insurance), an alternate label for employers running their own approved disability plan. Unlike most states, California doesn't withhold unemployment insurance from employees at all; SUI there is employer-paid only.

Pre-Tax Deduction Codes on a Pay Stub

Pre-tax deduction codes are some of the trickiest paycheck stub abbreviations. "Pre-tax" doesn't always mean the same tax gets reduced. A 401(k) or 403(b) contribution (401K, 403B, or RET) lowers wages for federal income tax, but not Social Security or Medicare. A Section 125 cafeteria-plan benefit works differently. It covers health insurance (MED or HEALTH), an HSA (health savings account), and an FSA (flexible spending account for health care or dependent care, sometimes DCR). It also covers vision or dental coverage (VIS, DEN). All of these lower both your income-tax wages and your Social Security and Medicare wages. That difference matters when you compare gross pay to taxable income.

What Does STD Mean on a Pay Stub?

STD on a pay stub often means short-term disability, a deduction for a disability insurance premium. If you pay the premium pre-tax, any benefit you later collect is taxable; if you pay it after-tax, the benefit is generally tax-free. On some stubs, STD can also mean "standard," so check the column it sits in.

After-Tax Deduction Codes on a Pay Stub

After-tax deductions come out of your paycheck once taxes are already calculated. They don't reduce your taxable income. ROTH or R401 is a Roth 401(k) contribution, taxed now so it's tax-free when you withdraw it in retirement. GARN is a wage garnishment, a court or government order to collect a debt. Child support (sometimes CHD SUP) and tax levies (LEVY) are the most common ones. UNION covers union dues, if you belong to a union at your workplace.

YTD Meaning on a Pay Stub, Plus CUR, Gross and Net Totals

The totals section has its own paycheck stub abbreviations. CUR is the current pay period. YTD is year-to-date, the running total since January 1st, and it resets to zero every January. By your last paycheck of the year, your YTD gross pay minus your pre-tax deductions should roughly match Box 1 on your W-2. Your YTD OASDI should also stop climbing once your wages pass the $184,500 wage base. Gross pay is everything you earned before deductions. Net pay is what lands in your bank account.

Employee vs Employer Lines on a Pay Stub

Some lines aren't coming out of your paycheck at all. Anything marked ER, like ER MED or an ER 401K match, is money your employer contributes. It's shown for transparency, but never subtracted from your pay. Lines without that ER marker, often labeled EE, are the ones actually deducted from what you earn.

Less Common Paycheck Stub Abbreviations

A few show up less often but can still be confusing. GTL is group-term life insurance. If your employer covers more than $50,000, the IRS treats part of that as taxable income. ADM might mean an administrative fee, and ACT an activity or wellness deduction. COB is coordination of benefits between two insurance plans. RETRO is a retroactive pay adjustment, often from a raise that started after your last paycheck.

Federal Pay Stub Codes for Federal Employees

Federal employees don't get a typical private-sector pay stub. Instead, most see a biweekly Earnings and Leave Statement from their agency's payroll provider, such as the National Finance Center or DFAS. Alongside standard tax withholding, you'll find federal-specific codes: FEGLI (Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance), FEHB (Federal Employees Health Benefits), and TSP (Thrift Savings Plan). The statement also tracks leave balances, often AL for annual leave and SL for sick leave, alongside OASDI and Medicare withholding.

What Changed on Pay Stubs for 2026

Two changes are worth knowing about for 2026. First, the Social Security wage base rose to $184,500, so OASDI withholding now continues further into the year than it did in 2025. Second, the IRS added two new W-2 codes. TP is for total cash tips reported to your employer, and TT is for total qualified overtime compensation. Some payroll systems already track these separately on pay stubs, reflecting newer overtime and tip reporting rules.

Annotated Pay Stub Example: Decode the Codes and Check the Math

Here's how it works on paper. Say your gross pay for a biweekly period is $2,000. You contribute 5% to your 401(k), or $100, and you pay $100 pre-tax for health insurance under your employer's Section 125 plan.

Notice the wages used for Social Security and Medicare ($1,900) are higher than the wages used for federal income tax ($1,800). That's the 401(k) doing its job. It lowers what you pay federal income tax on, while Social Security and Medicare still count the full amount minus only the Section 125 premium. Your actual federal and state income tax withheld comes out from there, based on your W-4.

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Conclusion

Paycheck stub abbreviations aren't standardized, and they never will be, since every employer and payroll provider gets to choose its own labels. But once you know the four groups, earnings, taxes, deductions, and totals, almost any code becomes easy to place. Need a pay stub of your own to double-check your math or hand to a landlord or lender? Our paystub generator creates one in minutes, with every line labeled clearly.