How to verify a Paychex pay stub
What should add up on a Paychex pay stub, and how to confirm it with the employer.A step-by-step check for a pay stub from Paychex: what should add up, what the file can tell you, and how to confirm it with the employer.
Check the math
Like every payroll system, Paychex prints numbers that come from one calculation: gross pay minus all deductions equals net pay. Add the deductions in the current column, subtract them from gross pay and compare with the net pay at the bottom. More than a few cents off is worth a question.
The year-to-date column can never be lower than the current period, and it should be close to the current pay times the number of paychecks so far this year.
Check Social Security and Medicare
Social Security is 6.2% and Medicare is 1.45% of wages after pre-tax health, dental and vision deductions (a 401(k) doesn't reduce them). Both come from the same wages, so they should agree with each other.
Get a fresh copy from Paychex
Employees paid through Paychex can download their own stubs from Paychex Flex. Ask the applicant to download the same stub again while you watch, or to show it in the app. A stub that was edited won't match the one in the system.
If the applicant sent a PDF, the file also records how it was made. A stub saved again later in an online PDF editor is worth asking about, though merging or compressing files can explain it.
Verify with the employer
Find the employer's main number on their official website, not on the stub, and ask HR to confirm employment and the net pay for a specific pay date. Apply the same steps to every applicant who reaches this stage.