H ow t o Re a d Your Pa y St u b
" For m 1 2 2 3 "
The inform at ion we've pr epared for you is r eliable, but not fail - safe or
guar ant eed. This page is m eant t o be a quick refer ence/ guideline for m ost of t he
m or e com m on codes. No at t em pt has been m ade t o explain ALL t he codes, j ust
t he ones m ost m em bers w ill see. Keep in m ind t hat t he USPS m akes periodic
changes t o t he For m 1223, as you m ight have not iced wit h t he ar r ival of t he new
em ployee I D num ber as of PP14- 03.
For absolut e and guarant eed inform at ion about your payst ub, or if you find a
code on your st ub t hat is not m ent ioned here, please call Hum an Resources for
an exact explanat ion.
Going fr om left t o right , and from t he t op of your st ub t o t he bot t om of it :
PAYLOC
Your pay locat ion code indicat es w her e you are assigned t o w ork, som et im es t he
last t w o digit s of your w ork locat ion ZI P Code.
FI N AN CE N O
Finance num ber for t he facilit y t hat you w ork in.
EM PLOYEE N AM E
Your nam e.
EM PLOYEE I D
Your 8- digit em ployee I D num ber , inst it ut ed in pay per iod 14 of 2003, r eplaces
t he em ployee Social Securit y num ber previously used, t o help st r engt hen pr ivacy
concerns.
PAY PERI OD
This is t he pay period and year in which you r eceive t he paym ent s ( PP- YR or 0100) . Each calendar year is separat ed by t w ent y six ( 26) pay per iods of t w o ( 2)
w eeks each.
SERI AL N UM BER
This is eit her t he serial num ber of t he check issued t o t he em ployee or t he
sequence num ber of t he "Form 1223" earnings issued w hen t he em ployee's net
pay has been dir ect ly deposit ed t o t he financial inst it ut ion of t heir choice.
DETAI L EARNI NGS
This is t he general heading for all of t he colum ns w hich ident ify t he t ype and
num ber of hour s you ar e being com pensat ed for, t he w eek in w hich t hose hours
occurr ed, t he r at e schedule and level, t he designat ion/ act ivit y code, and t he
gr oss paym ent am ount for t he period.
WK - - This specifies t he w eek, eit her 1 or 2, of t he pay per iod in w hich t he
hours were wor ked. I f an adj ust m ent is being m ade, t he week t hat t he
adj ust m ent is m ade for w ill be pr int ed on t hat line.
RSC - - This is t he Rat e Schedule Code for t he hours st at ed. This code will
be t he sam e as on your t im e card.
LEV - - This is t he Gr ade Level for t he hour s st at ed.
RATE - - This t he Base rat e ( annual or hour ly) , including t he cost - of- living
allow ance ( COLA) for t he hour s st at ed.
CODE - - This is t he em ployee's Designat ion/ Act ivit y code. For cler ks, t he
code w ould be 110.
TYP - - This is t he Type of Hour s code. Codes include:
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G - - Guarant eed t im e or guarant eed overt im e hours
H - - Holiday w ork hours
L - - Leave hour s ( eit her paid leave or leave w it hout pay)
N - - Night differ ent ial hour s ( for hour s w orked bet w een 6: 00 PM &
6: 00 AM)
O - - Over t im e hour s
V - - Penalt y over t im e hour s
P - - Out - of- Schedule Prem ium
S - - Sunday Pr em ium
W - - St r aight wor k hours
HOURS - - This space will show t he act ual hours and hundredt hs wor ked for
every hour s t ype list ed.
PAY - - This space w ill show t he t ot al gr oss pay for each t ype of hours
w or ked.
GROSS TO NET
This is t he general heading for t he t wo colum ns which show t he t ot al gross pay,
all deduct ions, and t he result ing net pay for t he cur rent pay period and t he pay
year- t o- dat e.
GROSS PAY - - This is t he gross pay for t his pay period and t he year - t odat e, including COLA.
FED TAX - - This is t he am ount deduct ed for feder al t ax t his per iod and
year - t o- dat e. Your claim ed m ar it al st at us and num ber of exem pt ions w ill
appear next t o FED TAX. M2 w ould m ean m arr ied w it h t w o exem pt ions. S0
w ould m ean single wit h no exem pt ions.
ST TAX - - This is t he am ount deduct ed for st at e t ax t his period and year - t odat e. Again, your claim ed m arit al st at us and num ber of exem pt ions for t he
st at e w ill appear next t o ST TAX. PAO1 would indicat e t he t axes w ere
w it hheld t o t he St at e of Pennsylvania for a per son m arr ied claim ing one
exem pt ion.
RETI RE - - This is t he am ount deduct ed t oward your r et irem ent account for
t he pay per iod and t he year - t o- dat e.
FI CA/ MED - - This is t he am ount of FI CA or Medicar e deduct ions for t his
period and year- t o dat e. I f you wer e hir ed aft er 1984, your r et ir em ent
cont r ibut ion w ill be sm aller and FI CA/ MED w ill be higher.
UN W - - Union Dues.
I N - - I ndicat es your life insurance choice.
ALOT - - I ndicat es an aut horized payr oll deduct ion from your salary t hat is
deduct ed each pay per iod for deposit t o a financial inst it ut ion - - for
exam ple, a set am ount direct ed t ow ar d a savings account .
C SUP or CS/ SS - - This indicat es child suppor t or alim ony paym ent s.
GARN - - This appear s if you have a com m er cial gar nishm ent levied against
you.
HP - - Follow ed by t hr ee ( 3) let t ers or num ber s w ould show your healt h
benefit plan enr ollm ent code.
LEVY - - Show a deduct ion has been m ade for som e sor t of out st anding
t axes.
TSP - - This indicat es a wit hholding for t he Thr ift Savings Plan. I f you
par t icipat e in t he plan, you will see eit her t he per cent age of wit hholdings or
t he dollar am ount aft er t he let t er code.
NET PAY - - This is what is left w hen all is said and done. Enj oy it !
LEAVE STATUS
This is t he general heading ident ifying your usage and balance of Annual and
Sick leave, and Leave Wit hout Pay for t he pay period and year .
AN N UAL LEAV E
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FROM PREV YR - - This is t he num ber of hours car ried over from t he
previous year.
EARNED- THI S YR - - This is t he num ber of hour s earned t o dat e t his leave
year .
EARNED- BAL - - This is t he num ber of hours carr ied over from last year plus
t he hour s ear ned t his year.
USED THI S YR - - This is t he t ot al hour s of annual leave used t his year t o
dat e.
USED THI S PP - - This is t he t ot al hours of annual leave used in t his pay
period ( including adj ust m ent s) .
BALANCE - - This is t he t ot al annual leave available t o you now.
SI CK LEAV E
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FROM PREV YR - - This is t he num ber of hours car ried over from last year.
EARNED THI S YR - - This is t he num ber of hour s of sick leave accum ulat ed
t his year .
USED THI S YR - - This is t he t ot al sick leave used t o dat e t his year .
USED THI S PP - - This is t he t ot al sick leave used t his pay per iod ( including
adj ust m ent s) .
BALANCE - - This is t he t ot al sick leave available t o you now .
LEAV E W I TH OUT PAY
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THI S PP - - This is t he t ot al hours of LWOP used t his pay per iod.
CUMULATI VE - - This is t he t ot al LWOP hour s accum ulat ed t his year . I f you
accum ulat e eight y ( 80) hour s of LWOP wit hin a year , your leave credit s w ill
be r educed by t he am ount of leave ear ned in one ( 1) pay period.
USPS RETI REM EN T
This is t he t ot al am ount cont ribut ed t o t he ret irem ent fund as of t he close of t he
pr ior calendar year.
Ot her im port ant codes ar e:
FLSA
The Fair Labor St andar ds Act is a Feder al St at ut e of gener al applicat ion t hat
est ablishes r equirem ent s for child labor , m inim um wages, equal pay, and
over t im e pay. FLSA wor k hour s and FLSA over t im e pay is print ed on t he For m
1223 w henever wor k hour s for one or bot h weeks of t he pay per iod exceeds for t y
( 40) hours for nonexem pt em ployees.
AD J FOR PP- YR PROCESSED
Show s t hat an adj ust m ent for a specific pay period and year was pr ocessed.
GARN I SH M EN T PAYM EN TS COM PL
Show s t he gar nishm ent balance as zero ( 0) .
GRI EV AN CE OR EEO SETTLEM EN T
Self Explanat ory
I N CLU D ES BON D REFUN D
Self Explanat ory
M ULTI PP AD JS PROCESSED
Show s t hat adj ust m ent s for m ult iple pay per iods w ere pr ocessed.
PERI OD I C STEP I N CREASE
Self Explanat ory
RETROACTI V E PAYM EN T
Show s t his is a special check and For m 1223 for ret r oact ive paym ent .
RETRO PAY I N YTD AM TS
Show s t hat r et roact ive paym ent am ount s have been added t o t he year - t o- dat e
t ot als.
SCH ED ULED COLA I N CREASE
Show s t hat a cost - of- living incr ease has been added t o t he base salar y effect ive
w it h t he pay per iod show n at t he t op of your st ub.
SCH ED ULED CON TRACTUAL I N CREASE
Show s t hat it is now reflect ed in t he base salar y.
UPD T YTD BAL CAN CEL CH K
An adj ust m ent for a cancelled check was pr ocessed t hat updat ed t he year - t odat e ear nings balance, affect ing only t he year - t o- dat e fields.
UPD T YTD BK PAY AW D
An adj ust m ent for a back pay award was pr ocessed, affect ing only t he year - t odat e fields.