A basic principle of overall financial literacy is being able to understand where the numbers on your paystub come from and how they relate to each other to reduce your gross pay to your net pay. This video makes an attempt to clear all that up.

0:00 Introduction
0:39 Gross vs. Net Pay
1:06 Introducing "Marta"
2:02 Earnings
2:43 Pre-tax Deductions
3:23 Tax Withholding
5:00 After-tax Deductions and Net Pay
5:27 Checking your Paystub and Conclusion

For more information on filling out W4 Forms, click here:    • How to fill out a W4 (Revised and Upd...  
and here:    • How "Checkbox Withholding" can transf...  

To learn more about your W2 Form, click here:    • What are all those numbers on my W2?  

Additional Information and Resources:

The Balance: "Median Salary in the U.S.": https://www.thebalancemoney.com/avera...

IRS Form W-4: "Employee's Withholding Certificate": https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf

IRS Publication 15T: "Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods": https:/www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p15t.pdf

If you want to check your state withholding, go to your state's Department of Revenue and search for "withholding tables."

The Tax Geek on Twitter: www.twitter.com@taxgeekusa

The Tax Geek on Reddit: www.reddit.com/r/askataxgeek

Image/Video Sources:

Storyblocks.com

The image of "Marta" was generated by thispersondoesnotexist.com (stability.ai) and any resemblance between these images and any person, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended. No other artificial intelligence was used to research, write, animate, voice, or edit this video

Intro Music: "Bluesy Vibes" - Doug Maxwell - YouTube Creator Music

Outro Music: "Modern Attempt" - Track Tribe under license from YouTube Creator Music

DISCLAIMER: This video is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to render tax advice or financial advice for individual situations. If you have questions regarding your particular situation, please consult with a qualified tax or financial professional.

The information in this video is current as of date of publication, and is subject to changes.