These three codes appear on nearly every pay stub in the country — here’s exactly what each one stands for and what it’s telling you.
If you’ve ever squinted at your pay stub trying to figure out what “FIT,” “FICA,” or “YTD” actually means, you’re far from alone — these three abbreviations show up on nearly every pay stub in the country, but almost nothing on the stub itself explains them.
Here’s the short version: FIT is your federal income tax, FICA is your Social Security and Medicare tax combined, and YTD just means “this year so far” next to whatever number it’s attached to. Below is the fuller explanation of each, plus a worked example showing all three together on one paycheck.
The amount withheld from this paycheck toward your federal income tax liability for the year. Unlike FICA, FIT is not a flat percentage — it’s calculated based on your income, your Form W-4 elections (filing status, dependents, other adjustments), and the federal tax brackets for the year.
This withholding is essentially a running estimate of what you’ll owe in federal tax for the year, spread across your paychecks. It’s reconciled when you file your tax return — if too much was withheld, you get a refund; if too little, you owe the difference.
You may also see this labeled as “FED,” “FWT” (Federal Withholding Tax), or simply “Federal” depending on your employer’s payroll setup. For a full walkthrough of how this figure is actually calculated, see our federal tax withholding guide.
FICA is actually two taxes bundled under one name: Social Security tax (6.2% of wages, up to the annual wage base) and Medicare tax (1.45% of all wages, no cap). Together, they total 7.65% of your gross wages, and your employer matches that amount separately.
Unlike FIT, FICA is a flat rate that applies the same way to nearly every employee regardless of filing status or W-4 elections — it funds Social Security retirement/disability benefits and Medicare hospital insurance specifically, not general government spending.
Some pay stubs show one combined “FICA” line; others break it into two separate lines: “SS” or “OASDI” for Social Security, and “MED” for Medicare. For the complete breakdown — including the Additional Medicare Tax for high earners — see our full FICA tax guide.
YTD isn’t a tax or a deduction at all — it’s a running total. Next to any figure on your pay stub (gross pay, FIT, FICA, a 401(k) contribution, and so on), a “YTD” column shows the cumulative amount from January 1 of the current calendar year through this specific pay period.
Most pay stubs show two columns for each line item: one for “This Period” (just this paycheck) and one for “YTD” (everything so far this year). This makes it easy to track progress toward things like annual retirement contribution limits without adding up every prior stub yourself.
YTD resets to zero at the start of each new calendar year. For more on how to use YTD figures — including spotting errors and estimating your annual tax picture — see our complete YTD guide.
| FIT | FICA | YTD | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A tax | A tax (two combined) | A running total, not a tax |
| Rate | Varies (10%–37% brackets) | Flat 7.65% | N/A |
| Appears next to | Its own line | Its own line(s) | Every line item on the stub |
| Resets when? | Recalculated each pay period based on income; annual liability resets each tax year | Recalculated each pay period; Social Security portion may stop once the wage cap is reached | Resets to $0 every January 1 |
In short: FIT and FICA are both things being taken out of your check, while YTD is a lens you can apply to almost any number on the stub — including FIT and FICA themselves — to see the year’s total so far.
Scenario: An employee earning $1,800 gross on a biweekly paycheck, six pay periods into the year (this is their 6th paycheck).
Notice FICA (7.65%) is a consistent percentage of gross pay every period, while FIT is a smaller, differently-calculated amount based on the employee’s W-4 and tax bracket. The YTD columns simply add up six periods’ worth of each figure.
For the full list of deduction codes beyond taxes — retirement, health insurance, HSA/FSA, and more — see our payroll deductions guide.
It’s common to notice that FIT and FICA withholding rarely match, even on the same paycheck. That’s expected, not an error:
FICA is a fixed 7.65% of nearly all your wages. FIT depends on your income level, filing status, and W-4 elections, and is calculated using progressive tax brackets — so it moves differently than FICA does as your pay changes.
A raise, a bonus, or a change to your W-4 can shift your FIT noticeably, while your FICA rate stays essentially fixed (aside from the Social Security wage cap late in the year for higher earners).
Enter your gross pay and filing details into our free ADP Salary Calculator to see estimated FIT, FICA, and net pay for any pay period.
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