Pay stub arithmetic checks a reviewer runs, and what a pass means
Pay stub arithmetic checks test whether the printed numbers agree with each other: earnings lines add up to gross, gross minus taxes and deductions equals net, and year-to-date totals grow by each period's pay. A pass means the figures are internally consistent. A fail is a question to ask. Neither result shows that a document is genuine or that income is verified.
Published . General information, not lending, legal or tax advice.
What an arithmetic check is, and is not
A stub is a small ledger, and a ledger should add up. The checks below compare the numbers printed on the stub with each other. They find typing errors, misread digits, missing lines and missing stubs. They cannot tell a genuine document from one altered with its arithmetic kept consistent, and they cannot show that the employer or the job is real.
That makes the result a question list, not a verdict. A fail sends the reviewer back to the original page, and a pass means only that the figures agree. Gross vs net pay works the biggest check through line by line, and pay stub deductions explained covers the lines that feed it.
The order a reviewer works in
Start inside one stub, then move across stubs.
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Work stub by stub first
Within-stub checks need nothing but that page, so they come first.
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Use printed figures to the cent
Do not round before comparing. Keep the stub's own precision.
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Allow for payroll rounding
Payroll rounds each line, so a difference of a cent or two is normal. Anything larger is a difference to explain.
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Then check across stubs
Order by pay date, one employee and employer at a time, and test the YTD chain and the dates.
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Open the original for every fail
Look for a misread digit, a line the sheet missed, or an ordinary cause before asking anyone.
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Write down the result
Record pass, fail or not applicable, with the difference in dollars, so the file shows the working.
The checks, and what usually causes a miss
The last column shows which checks VerifyStub runs and which stay manual.
| Check | Formula | Allowance | Common causes of a miss | VerifyStub runs it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earnings add up | Earnings lines sum to gross | $0.02 | A missed line, imputed income, a misread digit | Yes |
| Hours × rate | Hours × rate = line amount | A cent or two | A rate change in the period, a rounded rate | No |
| Net pay | Gross − taxes − deductions + reimbursements = net | $0.02 | A missing deduction line, a reimbursement, a misread digit | Yes |
| Printed totals | Tax lines = total taxes; deduction lines = total deductions | $0.02 | A total that includes different items | Yes |
| Payroll tax rates | Social Security about 6.2% and Medicare about 1.45% of their wage bases | Not exact | Pre-tax benefits, the wage cap, rounding | No |
| YTD sanity | YTD gross is at least this period's gross; YTD earnings lines sum to YTD gross | $0.02 | The wrong column read, a year-end reset | Yes |
| YTD chain | Previous YTD + this gross = this YTD | $0.02 | A missing stub, an extra payment, a correction | Yes |
| Period dates | Each period starts the day after the last one ends | Exact | A missing stub, a schedule change | Yes |
What goes wrong
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A pass read as authenticity
A stub changed with care to keep its arithmetic consistent passes everything here. A pass shows agreement among printed numbers, nothing more.
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A fail read as a finding
Most fails have ordinary causes: a photo that blurred a digit, a reimbursement, an extra payment, a missing stub. Treat each as a question.
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Checking one stub in isolation
A single stub can add up and still not follow from the last one. The chain across stubs catches missing and extra pay, as missing pay stub periods shows.
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Tolerance set too tight or too loose
Zero tolerance flags rounding. A dollar of tolerance hides small real differences. A few cents is the usual middle.
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Trusting the extracted number from a photo
A scan or phone photo can turn a 3 into an 8. Compare any flagged figure with the page, not with the extracted number.
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No record of what was checked
Without notes, the next reviewer repeats the work or assumes it was done. Record each check's result.
How VerifyStub helps
VerifyStub runs the checks marked Yes above on every stub and writes the results next to each row: net_math_check with its dollar difference, earnings_sum_check, the YTD chain status with the expected and printed YTD, and a plain-language flags column that also carries failed printed-total and YTD-sanity checks. It does not test hours times rate or the Social Security and Medicare percentages. A pass means the numbers agree; it does not detect altered documents or verify employment or income. Try the pay stub to CSV page (free: 1 file per day, up to 10 pages, no account), read the YTD consistency check page, or see pricing.
Scope. VerifyStub checks arithmetic on the pay stubs you upload. It does not detect altered documents, verify employment or income, or give lending, legal or tax advice. Rules and policies differ by lender, program, landlord and jurisdiction.
Pay stub arithmetic checks: common questions
What arithmetic checks should I run on a pay stub?
Earnings lines add up to gross, gross minus taxes and deductions plus reimbursements equals net, printed totals match their lines, YTD gross is at least the period's gross, and across stubs the YTD chain holds and the pay periods are consecutive.
How much difference is acceptable?
Payroll rounds each line to the cent, so a cent or two is normal. VerifyStub treats $0.02 or less as a match. A larger difference is shown in dollars so you can look at the lines involved.
Does a passing check mean the stub is genuine?
No. A pass means the printed figures agree with each other. A document altered with its arithmetic kept consistent will pass, and nothing here confirms that the employer or the job exists.
Why might a genuine stub fail a check?
Typical reasons are a reimbursement added after net pay, a total that includes taxes, imputed income in gross, a corrected earlier period, a missing stub and a misread digit in a photo.
Should I check the Social Security and Medicare amounts?
It can be a useful reasonableness test. The rates are 6.2 percent and 1.45 percent of the wages subject to each tax, but pre-tax benefits and the annual Social Security wage base mean the result is not exact.
What do I do after a failed check?
Open the original page and compare the figures involved. If the difference remains, ask the applicant or the employer's payroll contact for the missing document or an explanation, and keep both with the file.
Is checking arithmetic the same as verifying income?
No. Verifying employment and income means confirming them with the employer or an approved verification service. Arithmetic checks only test whether the numbers on a document agree.
Keep reading
Related guides, or all of the pay stub guides.
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Gross vs net pay
Gross to net, line by line, with a worked stub and the lines most often misread.
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Pay stub deductions
Pre-tax and post-tax, 401(k), health premiums and garnishments, and what each does to taxable wages and net pay.
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Missing pay stub periods
How a gap shows up in the dates and the YTD, what to request, and what is not a gap.
Run the next stack of stubs through the checks
Free: 1 file per day, up to 10 pages, no account. One CSV row per stub, with the net-pay math and the YTD chain checked.
Convert pay stubs