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Latest Paystub Guides

All Contractors Paystub Basics Small Business State Guides Taxes and Deductions YTD and Pay Details

A view of a desk featuring a laptop showing an online payroll portal and a printed IRS Wage and Income Transcript.

Taxes and Deductions

How to Get a Copy of Your W-2: 5 Steps for Lost or Old Forms

When your original tax forms are lost, you can recover the data through your company's payroll portal, the HR department, or a federal transcript from the IRS.

Oct 27, 20269 min read

Diagram showing employee pay stub withholdings on the left compared to employer-paid payroll taxes on the right.

Taxes and Deductions

Employer Payroll Taxes That Never Appear on Your Pay Stub

Discover the employer payroll taxes paid on top of gross wages, why FICA matching, FUTA, and SUTA stay off employee pay stubs, and how true labor costs add up.

Oct 26, 202615 min read

Diagram showing the difference between federal payroll recordkeeping rules and state-mandated employee pay stub laws.

Paystub Basics

Are Employers Required to Provide Pay Stubs? State Rules

Federal law requires payroll records but not employee pay stubs. Discover how state wage statement rules mandate delivery, itemized lines, and electronic access.

Oct 23, 202610 min read

A year-to-date column on a final earnings statement next to a substitute tax document, showing how figures are transferred.

Taxes and Deductions

Can You File Taxes With Your Last Pay Stub? Form 4852 Explained

Learn what to do when your W-2 is missing and how to use Form 4852. Your final year-to-date totals can serve as a fallback for your return.

Oct 22, 202611 min read

A clean document showing regular earnings lines next to reported tips, tax deductions, and net cash pay lines.

Taxes and Deductions

Tips on a Pay Stub: Reported Tips and the Tip Credit

Understand how reported tips, the tip credit, and allocated tips are recorded on your pay stub, how they alter your taxes, and why your cash paycheck changes.

Oct 21, 20269 min read

A clear landscape image showing paycheck documents, payroll records, and tax statement folders on an office desk.

Taxes and Deductions

Workers' Comp Payroll Deductions: Who Pays the Premium?

Discover why workers' compensation rarely appears as an employee deduction on a pay stub, who pays the premiums, and explore the rare state exceptions.

Oct 20, 202614 min read

A professional retirement planning document laying out the math of pre-tax traditional and post-tax Roth contributions on an earnings statement.

Taxes and Deductions

401k on a Paystub: Traditional vs Roth Deduction Lines

Discover how traditional and Roth 401(k) deductions are recorded on your pay stub, how they alter taxable wage calculations, and how to verify employer matching contributions.

Oct 19, 202613 min read

Diagram showing 23-hour and 25-hour shift adjustments during daylight saving clock changes and their impact on recorded payroll hours.

Paystub Basics

Daylight Saving Time Pay 2026: 23- and 25-Hour Night Shifts

When clocks change for Daylight Saving Time, overnight shift pay depends on actual hours worked rather than wall-clock schedules, directly affecting overtime.

Oct 16, 20267 min read

A checklist illustrating the step-by-step audit comparing final pay stub year-to-date figures, Box 3 of Form W-2, and the Social Security Administration earnings history statement.

YTD and Pay Details

Social Security Earnings Record: Check It Against Your W-2

Verify your Social Security earnings record matches your W-2 Box 3 and final pay stubs with our comprehensive 3-way reconciliation audit checklist.

Oct 15, 202613 min read

Diagram showing how open enrollment benefit elections separate into pre-tax and post-tax payroll deductions.

Taxes and Deductions

Open Enrollment 2027: How Benefit Elections Hit Your Pay Stub

See how open enrollment choices alter your take-home pay. Compare pre-tax medical, HSA, and FSA deductions against taxable wages on your first January stub.

Oct 14, 202611 min read

Diagram showing the difference between federal Form W-4 and state withholding certificates on employee payroll records.

State Guides

State W-4: How State Withholding Certificates Work

Discover how state withholding certificates work alongside federal Form W-4, which states require their own form, and how elections shape paystub deductions.

Oct 13, 20267 min read

A clean earnings statement comparison demonstrating regular hourly pay, holiday worked hours, and seasonal overtime calculations side by side.

Paystub Basics

Time and a Half for Holidays: Is It Required in 2026?

Understand how holiday premium rates, regular hours, and seasonal overtime are calculated and displayed as distinct earnings lines on your 2026 pay stub.

Oct 12, 202611 min read

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