Pay Stub Abbreviations: A Cheat Sheet

Payroll systems squeeze long names into narrow columns, so pay stubs fill up with codes. There's no official standard, and every provider picks its own. The table below covers the codes you're most likely to see, grouped the way a stub is laid out.

Header and general terms

Code	Meaning
YTD	Year to date: the total since the first pay date of the calendar year
CUR, CURR	Current period amount
PP, PER	Pay period
PPE, PE	Pay period ending date
CHK DT, PAY DT	Check date or pay date
EE	Employee
ER	Employer, as in an employer-paid benefit shown for information
EMP ID, EE#	Employee number
FS, MS	Filing status (S, MFJ, HOH) from the W-4
DD, DIR DEP	Direct deposit
ADV, NN	Advice, or non-negotiable: a deposit record, not a check

Earnings

Code	Meaning
REG, RGL	Regular pay
OT, OVT	Overtime, at 1.5× the regular rate under federal law for hours over 40 in a workweek
DT, DBL	Double time, required in some states for certain hours, such as California
SAL	Salary
HOL	Holiday pay
VAC	Vacation pay
PTO	Paid time off
SICK, SCK	Sick pay. California stubs also show the sick leave balance
BON, BNS	Bonus, often withheld as supplemental wages
COMM, COM	Commission
TIPS, CC TIPS	Cash or credit card tips reported to the employer
RETRO	Retroactive pay for an earlier period
SEV	Severance
REIMB	Expense reimbursement, usually not taxed if under an accountable plan
GROSS	Total earnings before deductions

Federal taxes

Code	Meaning
FIT, FITW, FWT, FED WH	Federal income tax withholding
OASDI, SS, SOC SEC, FICA-SS	Social Security, 6.2% up to the wage base ($184,500 in 2026)
MED, MEDI, FICA-MED	Medicare, 1.45% with no cap
ADDL MED, AMT	Additional Medicare Tax, 0.9% on wages over $200,000 in the year
FICA	Social Security and Medicare together, 7.65%

State and local taxes

Code	Meaning
SIT, SWT, ST WH	State income tax withholding
CA SIT, CA PIT	California personal income tax withholding
CASDI, SDI	California State Disability Insurance, 1.3% of all wages in 2026
NYS, NY SIT	New York State income tax
NYC, NYC RES	New York City resident income tax
YNK, YON	Yonkers income tax
NYSDI, DBL	New York disability benefits contribution: 0.5% of wages, at most $0.60 a week
NYPFL, PFL	New York Paid Family Leave, 0.432% of wages in 2026, capped at $411.91 for the year
LIT, LOC, CITY	Local income tax
SUI, SUTA	State unemployment insurance. Usually employer-paid, but a few states withhold an employee share

Deductions

Code	Meaning
401K, 403B, 457	Pre-tax retirement deferral: lowers federal income tax wages, not Social Security or Medicare
ROTH, R401K	Roth retirement contribution, after tax
S125, SEC125, PRE-TAX MED	Section 125 cafeteria-plan deduction: lowers income tax and FICA wages
MED INS, HLTH, DEN, VIS	Health, dental, vision premiums
HSA	Health savings account contribution
FSA, DCAP, DCFSA	Health or dependent care flexible spending account
LIFE, LTD, STD	Life, long-term or short-term disability insurance
GARN, CS, LEVY	Wage garnishment, child support order, tax levy
UNION, DUES	Union dues
LOAN	401(k) loan repayment or employer advance

Decoding a real line

A New York City employee's stub might show:

REG 80.00 25.00 2,000.00 · FIT 156.15 · OASDI 124.00 · MED 29.00 · NYS … · NYC … · NYSDI 1.20 · NYPFL 8.64 · NET …

In plain English: 80 regular hours at $25.00 for $2,000.00 gross, paid biweekly in 2026. Then:

• Federal income tax of $156.15, for a single filer with no other W-4 entries
• Social Security: 6.2% of $2,000 = $124.00
• Medicare: 1.45% = $29.00
• New York State and City income tax, which depend on the employee's IT-2104
• The disability contribution: 0.5% of $2,000 would be $10.00, but the $0.60 weekly cap limits it to $1.20 for two weeks
• Paid Family Leave: 0.432% of $2,000 = $8.64

Everything except the state and city lines can be checked with a calculator.

When a code isn't on this list

• Look for a legend. Many stubs print one on the back or at the bottom.
• Do the math. If you divide a line by gross pay and get 6.2%, it's Social Security; 1.45% is Medicare.
• Ask payroll. In New York, employers must explain in writing how wages were computed if an employee asks.

Our stubs use plain labels such as "Federal Income Tax" and "Social Security" rather than codes, so they read without a cheat sheet. Build one on the free preview and compare it with yours.