For your convenience, the Controller's Office has put together the following information to better understand your pay stubs.
What are pay stubs and why should you be reviewing yours regularly?
A pay stub is a document that states how much you earned, how much was deducted, and your net pay for each pay period. Reviewing them regularly will allow you to confirm that the correct deductions are being withheld. Additionally, reviewing your pay stubs is a great way to perform mid-year checkups on your tax withholding, so that you can make changes as necessary. It is important to make corrections to deductions and update withholding in a timely manner.
How to View Your Paystub
Access your KSU pay stub in Flashline by selecting the View and Print Pay Stubs icon at the top of the Employee Dashboard. Once it is open, you will notice that your pay stub is comprised of several sections. All the sections provide both current pay and year-to-date (YTD) amounts.
- Payment Summary condenses the information shown in the next two sections. The Net Amount in this section is often referred to as your “take home pay."
- Earnings lists the details of your earnings for the pay period. The total shown in this section matches the Gross Amount in the Payment Summary section. Any Non Cash Earnings that you have accrued will be listed below the totals in this section.
- Benefits, Deductions, and Taxes has three subsections, the total of which is listed as Total Personal Deductions in the Payment Summary
- Deductions before Federal Tax – deductions that reduce your federal taxable income (or “applicable gross”)
- Taxes – federal, FICA (Medicare), local, and state taxes
- Deductions after Federal Tax – deductions that do not reduce your federal taxable income
- Federally Taxable Benefits are those that increase your taxable income. The amount in this section is usually Imputed Income for Life Insurance. This is the cost of university-provided life insurance coverage whose value exceeds $50,000.
- Check or Direct Deposit shows the banks and account types (checking or savings) into which your pay has been deposited, as well as the amounts of the deposit(s).
- Filing Status displays your filing status for both federal and state taxes. It also shows any amount of tax(es) that you have elected to have withheld in addition to what is calculated based on your applicable gross(es). These amounts are included in the federal and Ohio tax amounts listed in the Taxes section of your pay stub.
As a final note, it is helpful to understand how your Applicable Gross, or taxable income, is calculated for each type of tax that is withheld from your pay:
- Federal/Ohio Applicable Gross is calculated using this formula: Gross Amount – Deductions before Federal Tax + Federally Taxable Benefits
- FICA Medicare Applicable Gross is calculated by taking your Federal/Ohio Applicable Gross and adding back all retirement deductions that are listed under Deductions before Federal Tax (e.g., OPERS, STRS, ARP, 403b, and 457).
- The Applicable Gross for each local (Ohio) tax is based on your FICA Medicare Applicable Gross. If you work at multiple locations, it may be prorated across those locations, for the period during which you work in them.
Questions about pay stubs can be directed to payroll@kent.edu.