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Paycheck guides

Short, plain-English explanations of how U.S. pay works, written from the same official sources as our calculators.

Why Is My Bonus Taxed So High? The two ways employers withhold tax on bonuses, why it looks like more than your paycheck, and how to get the extra back. Read guide How Overtime Pay Works in the U.S. Who gets overtime, how time-and-a-half is calculated, which states add daily overtime and what the new overtime tax deduction means. Read guide How to Read Your Pay Stub Every line on a typical U.S. pay stub explained, from gross pay and FICA to pre-tax deductions and year-to-date totals. Read guide How to Calculate Hours Worked for Payroll Turn clock times into payroll hours: minutes to decimals, unpaid breaks, the 7-minute rounding rule and weekly overtime. Read guide Hourly vs. Salary: How to Compare Job Offers Convert any wage to a yearly number, then compare what really matters: overtime, benefits, paid time off and take-home pay. Read guide