A year-end pay stub is simply the last pay stub of the calendar year. Its year-to-date column adds up every paycheck from January, so it shows your full year of gross pay, taxes withheld and deductions. Those totals are what your employer uses to fill in your Form W-2.
That makes the final stub the best way to check your W-2 before it arrives, and a stand-in if it never does. Here is one employee’s last stub of 2026, traced into the W-2 boxes it becomes.
A year-end stub, worked through
This is the final paycheck of the year for an invented office coordinator in Atlanta, paid every two weeks from a salary, with a 401(k) and a pre-tax health premium. The left column is one paycheck; the right column is the whole year.
| Line | This paycheck | Year to date |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $2,100.00 | $54,600.00 |
| Federal income tax | $144.15 | $3,747.90 |
| Social Security | $124.31 | $3,232.06 |
| Medicare | $29.07 | $755.82 |
| Georgia income tax | $66.02 | $1,716.52 |
| 401(k), 5% | $105.00 | $2,730.00 |
| Health insurance, pre-tax | $95.00 | $2,470.00 |
| Net pay | $1,536.45 | $39,947.70 |
Twenty-six paydays fell in the year, so the year-to-date gross equals the salary exactly. In a year with a 27th payday, it would be higher if each paycheck stayed the same; pay periods in a year explains when that happens.
From the stub to the W-2, box by box
Each W-2 box takes a year-to-date figure from that stub, adjusted by the rules for that box. The two that confuse people are box 1 and boxes 3 and 5:
| W-2 box | From the stub | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Box 1, wages, tips, other compensation | $54,600.00 gross, less $2,730.00 401(k) and $2,470.00 health | $49,400.00 |
| Box 2, federal income tax withheld | Year-to-date federal income tax | $3,747.90 |
| Box 3, Social Security wages | Gross less the health premium; the 401(k) stays in | $52,130.00 |
| Box 4, Social Security tax withheld | Year-to-date Social Security | $3,232.06 |
| Box 5, Medicare wages and tips | Same as box 3 here | $52,130.00 |
| Box 6, Medicare tax withheld | Year-to-date Medicare | $755.82 |
| Box 12, code D | Year-to-date 401(k) deferrals | $2,730.00 |
| Box 17, state income tax | Year-to-date Georgia income tax | $1,716.52 |
Box 1 is lower than gross pay because the W-2 instructions leave elective deferrals such as 401(k) contributions out of it. The health premium comes out too, since it was paid through a cafeteria plan. Boxes 3 and 5 drop only the health premium, so they sit between the two.
If your W-2 box 1 is lower than the gross pay on your final stub, this is almost always why. The deferral itself appears again in box 12 with code D; W-2 box 12 codes lists the others.
Which paycheck counts as the last one of the year
Federal payroll rules count wages when they are paid, not when the work was done. A paycheck dated in January belongs to the new year even if every hour on it was worked in December. So the year-end stub is the last one with a pay date in the year.
| Payday | Pay period | Counts in | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 18, 2026 | Nov 30, 2026 to Dec 13, 2026 | 2026 | The year-end stub: its year-to-date column is the year |
| Jan 1, 2027 | Dec 14, 2026 to Dec 27, 2026 | 2027 | Work done in December, but paid in January |
| Dec 31, 2026, if moved for the holiday | Dec 14, 2026 to Dec 27, 2026 | 2026 | Paid a day early, so it joins 2026 and becomes the year-end stub instead |
Holidays can move the line. When a payday lands on New Year’s Day and the employer pays a day early, that paycheck becomes the last one of the old year and its wages go on that year’s W-2.
Check your final stub before the W-2 arrives
Employers must furnish W-2s by February 1, 2027. Between your last payday and then, compare the final stub with what you know:
- Name and address. The W-2 goes to the address payroll has, so update it now if you have moved.
- Gross pay. Salary divided by paydays, plus any bonus or overtime, should match the year-to-date total.
- Deductions. Add up your 401(k) and benefits for the year; they explain the gap between gross pay and box 1.
- State. If you moved or worked in two states, check that state tax went to the right one.
An error is far easier to fix before the W-2 is issued than after, when the employer has to file a corrected form. Our guide to YTD on a pay stub covers what to do when a year-to-date figure looks wrong.
Can you file taxes with your last pay stub?
Not in place of a W-2 that is on its way. If it does not arrive, contact the employer first; if it is still missing by the end of February, the IRS asks you to call it. When the form will not come in time, you can file with Form 4852, a substitute W-2.
Form 4852 asks how you worked out the figures, and tells you to use your final pay stub when you do not have a complete W-2. That is the year-end stub doing its last job: the numbers in its right-hand column become your wages and withholding for the year.
Sources: IRS, General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 (2026), Topic 154 and Form 4852, and Publication 15 (2026); 26 CFR 31.3121(a)-2. Figures from our pay stub engine with the published federal and Georgia withholding tables. Checked October 27, 2026.
