Name: ______________________ Date: __________ Partner: ______________________
This pay stub is made up for class. The bagel shop, the worker, and the numbers are fictional. The hourly rate is the Long Island minimum wage for 2026 [update each September].
The pay stub
HARBOR BAGEL SHOP, 2140 Montauk Highway, Bay Shore, NY 11706
EARNINGS STATEMENT
| Employee | Pay period | Pay date | Check number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dana Rivera | Sept 14 to Sept 27, 2026 | Oct 2, 2026 | 10488 |
| Line | Earnings | Hours | Rate | This period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Regular pay | 24.00 | $17.00 [update] | $408.00 |
| GROSS PAY | $408.00 |
| Line | Deductions (what came out) | This period |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Federal income tax | $24.48 |
| 3 | New York State income tax | $12.24 |
| 4 | Social Security (6.2 percent) | $25.30 |
| 5 | Medicare (1.45 percent) | $5.92 |
| TOTAL DEDUCTIONS | $67.94 |
| Line | This period | |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | NET PAY (what you keep) | $340.06 |
Paid by direct deposit to checking account ending in 4471.
Plain-words guide: Line 1 is what Dana earned. Lines 2 to 5 are what came out. Line 6 is what landed in her bank account.
Part A: Sources of income
List six ways a person can get money. Mark each one E (earned: you did work for it) or N (not earned: it came to you another way).
| # | Source of income | E or N |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||
| 2 | ||
| 3 | ||
| 4 | ||
| 5 | ||
| 6 |
Part B: The four deductions (copy from the slides)
| Deduction | What it pays for | Fixed percent? |
|---|---|---|
| Federal income tax | no | |
| New York State income tax | no | |
| Social Security | yes: ______ percent | |
| Medicare | yes: ______ percent |
Part C: Be the detective
Show your math in the boxes.
- Gross pay. Hours x rate = gross.
______ hours x $______ = $______ Does it match line 1? yes / no
- Total deductions. Add lines 2, 3, 4, and 5.
$______ + $______ + $______ + $______ = $______
- Net pay. Gross minus total deductions.
$______ minus $______ = $______ Does it match line 6? yes / no
- Percent taken out. Total deductions divided by gross, times 100. Round to a whole number.
$______ divided by $______ = ______ x 100 = ______ percent
(Grade 6 short version: do items 1, 2, and 3 and questions 5 and 6 only.)
Detective questions
- Which deduction is the largest? _________________________ How do you know? ______________________
- Dana gets 26 of these paychecks in a year. What is her net pay for the year? Show the math.
26 x $______ = $______
- Dana pays her own phone plan, $35 a month [update], and a monthly bus pass, $60 [update]. She gets two paychecks a month. Does her take-home cover those two needs? Write two sentences with the numbers.
- Dana's friend earns the same $17 an hour but works 30 hours in two weeks. Without doing all the math, will the friend's Social Security deduction be larger, smaller, or the same? Why?
Grade 8 stretch
- Check the stub for errors. 6.2 percent of $408 = $______. 1.45 percent of $408 = $______. Do lines 4 and 5 match?
- About 17 percent comes out of every paycheck. What gross pay does Dana need in two weeks to take home $500? (Hint: net is 83 percent of gross.)
$500 divided by 0.83 = $______
- A job posting says "$52,000 a year, paid every two weeks." What is the gross pay per paycheck? $52,000 divided by ______ paychecks = $______
Exit card (3-2-1)
3 sources of income I could have in the next two years: ________________, ________________, ________________
2 deductions that come out of every paycheck in the country: ________________, ________________
1 sentence: "Net" means ________________________________________________________
Teacher key
Part A: any six, for example allowance (N), chores paid by a relative (E), babysitting (E), dog walking (E), birthday money (N), selling old games (E), tips (E), interest on savings (N), hourly job (E), salary (E). Accept "allowance" as E if the student says chores are required.
Part B: federal income tax pays for national government services (defense, highways, weather service, national parks); New York State income tax pays for state services (state roads, aid to schools, state parks); Social Security, 6.2 percent, pays retired and disabled workers and their families; Medicare, 1.45 percent, pays health coverage for people 65 and over.
Part C: 1. 24 x $17.00 = $408.00, yes. 2. $24.48 + $12.24 + $25.30 + $5.92 = $67.94. 3. $408.00 minus $67.94 = $340.06, yes. 4. $67.94 divided by $408.00 = 0.1665, about 17 percent.
- Social Security, $25.30; it is the largest number in the deductions list. 6. 26 x $340.06 = $8,841.56. 7. Yes. Two paychecks a month is about $680.12; the phone ($35) and bus pass ($60) total $95, which leaves about $585 for everything else. 8. Larger; Social Security is a fixed percent of gross, and the friend's gross is higher (30 x $17 = $510; 6.2 percent is $31.62).
Grade 8 stretch: 9. $25.30 (25.296 rounded) and $5.92 (5.916 rounded); both match. 10. $500 divided by 0.83 = $602.41; accept $600 to $605. 11. 26 paychecks; $2,000.
Exit card: any three future sources; Social Security and Medicare; net means what you keep after deductions (accept "take-home pay").