Income
Year-to-Date Earnings: Definition & Example
Also called: YTD earnings, YTD income
What Is Year-to-Date Earnings?
Year-to-date (YTD) earnings are the total gross pay an employee has received from January 1 of the current year through the most recent pay date, as shown on a pay stub.
What does year-to-date earnings mean?
Pay stubs usually show two columns: the current period and year-to-date. YTD figures show cumulative gross pay, taxes, and deductions for the year so far.
Reviewers use YTD earnings to check consistency. Dividing YTD gross by the number of pay periods so far should roughly match the current-period gross. A large mismatch can mean a recent raise, irregular hours, unpaid leave, or an edited pay stub.
YTD earnings also help annualize income for someone who changed jobs or whose pay varies.
Year-to-date earnings example
A pay stub dated June 30 shows $3,000 gross for the period and $36,000 YTD. The employee is paid semimonthly, so this is the 12th paycheck of the year: $36,000 ÷ 12 = $3,000. The numbers line up.
Related terms
- Pay StubA pay stub is a document that accompanies a paycheck and itemizes the employee’s gross pay, taxes, deductions, and net pay for the pay period and year to date.
- Annualized IncomeAnnualized income is an estimate of a full year’s income calculated from a shorter period, such as projecting 12 months of earnings from a few pay periods or months of deposits.
- Fake Pay StubA fake pay stub is a fabricated or altered earnings statement used to misrepresent income, often made with online pay stub generators or by editing a real stub.
- Gross Monthly IncomeGross monthly income is the total amount a person earns in a month before taxes, retirement contributions, insurance premiums, or other deductions are taken out.
