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Your first paycheck, line by line

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Your first paycheck, line by line

Gross to net: what FICA is, what withholding really means and the 60-second payday check.

Your offer said one number. Your paycheck says another. Both are right.

Gross vs net

Gross is the offer; net is the deposit. In between: taxes, Social Security, Medicare and your benefits. Every line has a name.

«FICA» on your stub


Social Security plus Medicare: 6.2% and 1.45% of your pay. Your employer pays the same again on top.

Your federal withholding looks huge. What is it really?

  1. AA fee you lose
  2. BA prepayment of your income tax, settled at tax time
  3. CA union due
  4. DYour health insurance

Withholding is tax paid in advance. Too much means a refund; too little means a bill in April. Your W-4 controls the dial.

The lines that are yours

401(k) and health premiums reduce your pay but buy you something. Know which deductions are taxes and which are benefits.

Net looks wrong — check what first?


Hours and rate on the stub against your offer. Most paycheck surprises are hours, not taxes.

Every payday, 60 seconds

  1. Check hours times rate
  2. Scan each deduction's name
  3. Compare the net with last stub

Read one pay stub well and you'll never fear one again.

Now do it with yours.

Paste your own study material and Claude writes the deck on your phone.

With Pablitos, any document — or anything you ask Claude or ChatGPT — becomes training you will actually do, in seconds.

  • Certifications and licences — CompTIA, NCLEX, the DMV test, as daily practice
  • Job interviews — paste the posting and walk in knowing what they will ask
  • Exams — SAT vocabulary, the citizenship questions: the parts that repeat
  • Homework help — explain it without just giving the answer

Built from a photo of a real pay stub, sent to Claude

Quiz answers, audio and your progress live in the app — where the AI adapts the deck to your own situation.

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