Read a Payslip and Check Every Pay and Deduction Line

Start with the pay period

Confirm the month, employer name and employee identifier before checking any amount. A correction for an earlier month can make a current payslip look wrong even when payroll has applied the adjustment correctly.

Rebuild the calculation

Layer	What belongs here	What to check
Gross earnings	Basic salary, overtime, allowances, commission and bonus	Rate, units and the correct pay period
Statutory deductions	Employee retirement contribution, social insurance, unemployment coverage and payroll tax withholding	Employee category and current contribution schedule
Other deductions	Unpaid leave, advances, benefits or approved deductions	Written basis and whether it is recurring
Net pay	Gross earnings less all deductions	Exact match to the bank credit

A worked reconciliation

Suppose gross earnings are $6,200. Do not compare net pay with basic salary alone. Add every earning line first, then subtract each employee deduction. Employer-funded retirement contribution is not normally subtracted from the employee's gross pay, so keep it outside the net-pay equation.

When to ask payroll

Raise a query when the pay period is wrong, a recurring allowance disappears, an unexplained deduction appears, or the net figure does not reconcile. Ask for the calculation basis rather than assuming which line is wrong.

Check earnings before deductions

Basic salary is only one part of gross earnings. A payslip may also contain fixed allowances, overtime, commission, bonus, arrears, reimbursements and taxable benefits. Mark each line as recurring, variable or one-off. This makes it easier to explain why gross pay changed from the previous month and stops a reimbursement from being mistaken for salary.

Compare quantities as well as totals. For overtime, check the hours and rate. For commission, match the credited amount to the employer's statement. For unpaid leave, identify the affected dates and the daily-rate method. A total can look reasonable while the underlying units are wrong.

Separate employee deductions from employer contributions

Employee retirement contribution, social insurance, unemployment coverage and payroll tax withholding reduce the amount payable to you. Employer-funded retirement contribution and employer portions of social protection are additional employment costs. They may appear on the same document, but subtracting the employer share again understates net pay.

• Circle every amount that reduces the bank payment.
• Put employer-only amounts in a separate total-compensation column.
• Identify deductions authorised by contract or written consent separately from statutory deductions.
• Recalculate net pay using only the employee-side lines.

Compare year-to-date values

Year-to-date columns reveal errors that a one-month check can miss. Add monthly gross pay, payroll tax withholding and employee retirement contribution from your own saved payslips, then compare them with the employer's cumulative figures. A difference may come from a correction, a late-posted bonus or a payroll migration. Ask for a line-by-line reconciliation when the reason is not visible.

Use a payslip review worksheet

Question	Evidence	Action if different
Was the correct pay period used?	Contract and attendance record	Ask payroll to identify the period and correction date
Are earnings complete?	Salary letter, overtime approval, commission report	List the missing earning line and amount
Do deductions reconcile?	Contribution schedule and payroll explanation	Ask which employee category and wage band were applied
Does net pay match?	Bank statement	Report the exact difference and payment date

Keep a clean evidence trail

Save the original PDF, not only a screenshot. Use a filename containing employer, year and month. Keep the related bank credit, approved overtime and salary-change letter with it. If payroll corrects an error later, retain both versions and the explanation so the year-end figures can be reconciled.

Official context: the relevant labour authority publishes guidance on wage payment, payslip information and claims under the the employment law that applies where you work. Employment coverage and calculation rights can depend on the employee and claim type.

Follow one payslip from contract to bank

Consider an employee whose contract states $5,800 monthly basic salary. The payslip also shows $400 overtime and $120 reimbursement. Start by asking what each line represents. Basic salary and earned overtime belong in the earnings bridge. A supported reimbursement repays an employee expense and should not be treated as recurring salary merely because it arrives with payroll.

Next, rebuild gross earnings from the lines payroll treated as pay. Place employee retirement contribution, social insurance, unemployment coverage, payroll tax withholding and any authorised non-statutory deduction in a separate deduction column. Keep employer-funded retirement contribution outside this subtraction. The test is simple: gross earnings less employee deductions should equal payslip net pay, and payslip net pay should equal the bank credit unless payroll clearly made separate payments.

If the difference appears here	Check this record first	Useful question for payroll
Earnings	Contract, time record or commission statement	Which rate, units and earning period produced this line?
Statutory deduction	Employee category and current agency schedule	Which contributable wage and schedule row were used?
Other deduction	Written authorisation or benefit terms	What is the basis, duration and remaining balance?
Bank credit	Payslip net pay and payment reference	Was any part paid separately or carried forward?

Do not close the review after one arithmetic match. Compare the month with year-to-date totals and the later retirement plan or the relevant social insurance authority posting. A current payslip can be internally correct while carrying a cumulative error from an earlier period. Save the original payslip, correction, bank record and payroll explanation together so the history remains reproducible.