Paycheck Summary

The Paycheck Summary section provides an overview of what you were paid, both gross pay and net pay.  Your year-to-date (YTD) amounts show on your current pay statement only.

Gross Earnings

Total gross earnings from the Earnings section of your pay statement.  Note: Taxable fringe benefits are not included in gross earnings.

Fed Taxable Gross

Your federal taxable gross reflects the amount used to calculate your income taxes.  Your taxable gross wages may be less than your gross earnings because some of your gross pay was not taxable. See Understanding Taxable Gross below for more detail.

Total Taxes

The total taxes withheld from your pay shows here.  The total includes both federal and state tax withholdings.

Total Deductions

The total of both your before-tax deductions and after-tax deductions withheld from your pay shows here.

Net Pay

Your gross earnings minus your total taxes and total deductions equals your net pay.

Understanding Taxable Gross

Your federal taxable gross is shown in the Paycheck Summary section on your pay statement and it reflects the amount that will show in Box 1 on your W-2. Your federal taxable wages are determined by the following calculation.

1. Add Total Gross Earnings (Paycheck Summary section)

   • The total gross earnings line in that section of your pay statement does NOT include any taxable fringe ;benefits listed in the earnings section. They must be added to your total gross pay.

2. Add Taxable Fringe Benefits (Earnings section)

   • Taxable fringe benefits are not included in the total line for Current and Calendar Year-to-Date (YTD) Earnings. However, these are included in the Federal Taxable Gross.

   • Taxable Fringe Benefits include, but are not limited to:

     • Regents Tuition Benefit
     • Car Leasing Benefit
     • Gift Cards
     • Moving expenses

3. Add Taxable Employer-Paid Benefits (*)

   • Employer paid benefits noted with an asterisk (*) on the Pay Statement are taxable and subject to Federal, State, Social Security, and Medicare tax withholding.
   • The value of employer-provided group-term life insurance in excess of $50,000 is considered a taxable benefit that's added to your taxable wages and reported on your Form W-2.

4. Subtract Before-Tax Deductions Total

   • Before-tax deductions will reduce your Federal and State taxable gross wages, and some will also reduce your Social Security and Medicare wages.

   • Before-Tax deductions include, but are not limited to:

     • Faculty Retirement Plan
     • Minnesota State Retirement System
     • Optional retirement Plan
     • Medical and Dental
     • Parking

5. Equals Federal Taxable Gross