How do I read my payslip line by line?

Find the period

A payslip separates earnings, amounts taken out and the amount paid to you. Copy the pay period and payment date. Mark whether each figure describes this payment or a total so far this year. These columns answer different questions. The payment date shows when money was paid; the pay period shows which work it covers.

Worked example with made-up figures

Repeating

Fictional sample rent: A$270.97 / week
Telco One: A$11.06 / week
Fictional sample groceries: A$9.65 / week
Streamly: A$3.16 / week

Together A$294.84 a week.

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Add gross earnings

Gross pay is earnings before amounts taken out. Copy regular earnings, overtime, bonuses and other earnings into a list. Where hours and rates appear, multiply them to check the earnings line. Add the earnings lines. Reimbursements may appear separately, so follow the labels rather than treating every positive line as wages. Keep unclear items under their printed labels.

Separate tax and retirement

Tax withheld is the amount recorded as taken from that payment for tax. It describes withholding rather than a final tax calculation. Retirement contributions may include amounts taken from your pay and amounts added by the employer. Copy each into its own row. Only contributions taken from your pay belong in the subtraction from gross when checking net pay.

Example: made-up figures

Imagine regular earnings of 900 and overtime of 100 currency units. Gross pay is 1,000. Tax withheld is 150, an employee retirement contribution is 50 and another deduction is 20. The calculation is 1,000 minus 150 minus 50 minus 20, giving net pay of 780. A separate employer retirement contribution of 80 sits outside this subtraction when the slip labels it as employer-paid.

Reconcile net pay

List remaining deductions using the printed labels. Add all amounts taken from gross and subtract that total. Include any separately labelled addition to the payment. Compare the calculated net pay with the payslip total, then match it to the payment or split payments on your statement. Rounding, adjustments and multiple receiving accounts can explain differences. Keep the amounts and labels together so the arithmetic can be repeated.

Keep a record of your check

Write the document dates and page numbers beside your notes. Trace each copied amount back to its original row, then repeat the addition and subtraction once. Keep estimates visibly labelled and retain the original units. This leaves a clear record of which numbers came from documents and which came from your calculation, so another person can follow the same steps with the same papers.