PayslipIQ Learn

The 2020 W-4 redesign removed allowances and replaced them with a five-step worksheet. This guide unpacks each step, the math your employer applies after you submit it, and the most common mistakes that produce a surprise tax bill in April.

A bonus check often loses 30-45% to withholding before it hits your account, even if your effective annual tax rate is much lower. This is the supplemental wage rule at work. Here is the IRS framework, the two methods employers use, and how the difference is reconciled at filing.

They look similar on a stub but they are computed by different rules, with different bases, different brackets, and different treatments of pre-tax deductions. This guide untangles the two so you can sense-check both.

In 2025 the wage base is $176,100. Once cumulative wages cross it, Social Security stops withholding for the year and your take-home jumps. Here is the timing logic, the multi-job edge case, and the year-end planning move.

Restricted Stock Unit vesting events are paychecks in disguise. Here is what shows up on the stub, how withholding actually works, why "sell-to-cover" can leave a tax shortfall, and what to do before the next vest.

When a court orders an employer to deduct wages, federal law caps the exposure to a percentage of disposable earnings. Here is the framework, the caps, and the questions to ask if a deduction you do not recognize appears on your stub.

Federal overtime kicks in over 40 hours a workweek for non-exempt workers. Several states require more. The "regular rate" calculation can change overtime pay even on a flat hourly job. Here is what to verify on your stub.

Eleven jurisdictions now run a payroll-funded paid family/medical leave program. The deduction is small per paycheck but consistent — and it is often misread as a mystery line. Here is the per-state breakdown for 2025.

Cross-state workers face withholding from one, sometimes both states. This guide unpacks reciprocity agreements, the convenience-of-the-employer rule, the credit for taxes paid to other states, and what to verify on your stub.

Both reduce your savings rate. Only one reduces your taxable wages today. Here is exactly how each appears on a US pay stub, what changes for federal vs FICA wages, and the rule of thumb that matters most.

A self-serve audit you can run on a single Saturday morning. Pull the most recent pay stub, the previous one, and your last W-2. Walk this checklist top to bottom and you will catch 90% of common payroll errors and surprises.

A diagnostic flowchart you can run in five minutes to identify the most likely cause of a paycheck change. Walk it top to bottom and the answer is almost always one of nine items.