What do these acronyms stand for on my paycheck deductions? $95 seems high

Paycheck acronyms can definitely be confusing! Those abbreviations typically represent different types of withholdings and deductions from your gross pay. Common ones include: FICA - Federal Insurance Contributions Act (Social Security and Medicare) FIT or FWT - Federal Income Tax or Federal Withholding Tax SIT or SWT - State Income Tax or State Withholding Tax SDI - State Disability Insurance MED - Medicare contribution SS or OASDI - Social Security (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) 401K - Retirement plan contributions HSA - Health Savings Account GARN - Wage garnishment (if applicable) INS - Insurance premiums Whether $95 is appropriate depends on your income, filing status, and what specific deductions you have. If it suddenly increased from your previous check, it could be due to a change in your tax withholding, a new benefit you enrolled in, or possibly an adjustment based on your year-to-date earnings.

I was in the exact same boat trying to figure out my paycheck abbreviations. After hours of googling and getting nowhere, I found this AI tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that actually explains all your paycheck deductions. I uploaded a screenshot of my pay stub and it broke down every single acronym and told me whether the amounts looked right based on my income level. Saved me from having an awkward conversation with HR about stuff I probably should have known!

I was super skeptical about taxr.ai but ended up trying it because I was desperate to understand why my take-home pay was so much lower than expected. Not only did it explain every single acronym on my pay stub, but it actually caught that my employer was taking out city tax even though I don't live in a city with local income tax! Showed the report to my payroll person and got a refund of about $300 for the incorrect withholding from the past few months. Definitely worth checking out if you're confused about deductions.

If you're really concerned about the $95 being too high and want to talk to someone at the IRS about it (which I had to do for a weird tax code on my check), I recommend using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I was on hold with the IRS for HOURS trying to figure out a weird withholding issue, until I found their service - they actually wait on hold with the IRS for you and call you when an agent picks up! You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c It literally saved me an entire afternoon of hold music. The IRS agent was able to confirm whether certain deductions on my paycheck were being calculated correctly.

Those are all standard tax withholding abbreviations that appear on most paychecks. Let me break them down for you: "Fed MWH" is Federal Mandatory Withholding, which is your federal income tax being withheld from each check. "FICA-SS" stands for Federal Insurance Contributions Act - Social Security. This is your Social Security tax (6.2% of your income up to a certain limit). "FICA-Med" is the Medicare portion of FICA taxes (1.45% of your income with no upper limit). "SIT" is State Income Tax withholding. The $95 increase is likely your Federal Withholding if you recently had a change in income or if your employer adjusted your withholding. It could also happen if you recently passed your probationary period and became eligible for benefits that have pre-tax deductions.

Ok I'm eating my words about Claimyr. After dismissing it as a scam, I got desperate trying to resolve an issue with my withholding where my employer insisted the deduction was correct but I thought they were taking too much. Used the service yesterday and got through to an IRS agent in about 35 minutes (while I was doing other things). The agent confirmed that my employer was calculating my withholding incorrectly based on an outdated W-4. Would have NEVER gotten this resolved without actually talking to someone at the IRS, and I would have wasted an entire day on hold otherwise.

Have you tried just asking your HR or payroll department? They should be able to give you a breakdown of all the codes. Usually there's a full explanation in your employee handbook or benefits guide too. $95 could be totally normal depending on your income - that's only about 12-15% withholding if you're making around $700-800 per check, which would be on the low end for combined deductions.

I had similar confusion with my first "real" job! I actually found this awesome tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that helped me understand all those cryptic deductions on my paycheck. I uploaded a picture of my paystub and it gave me a detailed breakdown of every acronym and exactly what each deduction was going toward. What I liked best was it explained the percentage rates for things like FICA and Medicare, and showed me if the withholding amounts looked correct based on my income. Definitely saved me an awkward conversation with HR about basic tax stuff I probably should have already known!

Different states have different required deductions too, so where you live makes a big difference in what shows up on your paycheck. When I moved from Texas to California, I suddenly had all these new acronyms like SDI (State Disability Insurance), VDI (Voluntary Disability Insurance), and SUI (State Unemployment Insurance). Freaked me out until I realized these are normal for CA but don't exist in TX.

Just wanted to follow up - I tried taxr.ai after posting my skeptical comment earlier! Super impressed with how easy it was. I took a pic of my confusing paystub and it instantly broke down all 12 deduction codes my company uses. Turns out that mystery $120 deduction on mine was actually a combination of my health insurance premium AND an FSA contribution I forgot I signed up for during orientation. The detailed explanation helped me understand exactly what percentage each tax was taking and why my net pay was lower than expected. Definitely would recommend if you're confused by paycheck acronyms like I was!

Just noticed something important - you mentioned your deductions increased from your previous check. If you recently got a raise or bonus, it might have pushed some of your earnings into a higher tax bracket for that paycheck. The withholding system sometimes over-withholds when you have an unusually large check, but it usually balances out over the year. Also worth checking if you recently passed a Social Security wage cap threshold or if any annual deductions reset.

If you think the acronyms are confusing, try calling the IRS to ask what they mean! I spent THREE HOURS on hold last month trying to figure out why my withholding seemed wrong. Finally discovered this service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes instead of the typical forever-hold nightmare. They have this demo video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c Was honestly shocked it worked because I've literally never gotten through to a human at the IRS before. The agent explained all my withholding codes and even helped me figure out how to adjust my W-4 to get less taken out each check.

OK I have to eat my words. After being completely skeptical about that Claimyr thing, I tried it this morning because I've been getting nowhere trying to figure out why my federal withholding jumped from $120 to $185 per paycheck. It actually got me through to an IRS agent in about 20 minutes (was quoted 2+ hours if I called directly)! The agent explained that my withholding increased because I had hit the Social Security wage base limit on my previous job this year, but when I started my new job, they reset it - so I was getting double-taxed. She helped me fill out the right form to fix it and get some money back. Never thought I'd say this but... talking to the IRS was actually helpful?! Definitely using this next time I have tax questions.

Lots of good advice here already, but something else to consider - check if you recently had a pay increase or bonus that pushed you into a higher tax bracket. When I got promoted last year, my withholding jumped because I moved from the 12% to the 22% federal bracket. Also, if you just passed 3 months, sometimes companies start health insurance or 401k deductions at that point, which could explain the $95 increase.

Pro tip: Ask your HR for a detailed benefits summary statement that shows EXACTLY what's coming out of your check. Most companies can provide this. Mine breaks down every deduction with full names instead of acronyms, which was super helpful when I was trying to figure out why $120 was randomly disappearing each month (turned out to be supplemental life insurance I didn't remember signing up for)!

Looking at your situation, the $95 deduction increase after 3 months is very likely due to your benefits kicking in after your probationary period! Most companies start health insurance, dental, vision, and retirement plan contributions at the 90-day mark. Here's what those acronyms typically mean: - **Fed MWH** = Federal Medicare Withholding (though this seems unusual - Medicare is usually shown as FICA-Med) - **FICA-SS** = Social Security tax (6.2% of your gross pay) - **FICA-Med** = Medicare tax (1.45% of your gross pay) - **SIT** = State Income Tax The jump from $70 to $95 ($25 increase) could easily be explained by health insurance premiums starting. A typical employer health plan might cost $25-50+ per paycheck depending on your coverage level. I'd suggest logging into your employee portal or asking HR for a breakdown of your current benefit elections. You probably signed up for health insurance during orientation but it didn't start deducting until now. This is totally normal and nothing to worry about - just means your benefits are finally active!

I had the exact same confusion when I started my current job! Those acronyms can be really overwhelming at first. Based on what you're describing, the $95 increase after 3 months is almost definitely your benefits kicking in post-probation period. Here's a quick breakdown of those common acronyms: - **Fed MWH** = Federal Mandatory Withholding (your federal income tax) - **FICA-SS** = Social Security tax (6.2% of gross pay) - **FICA-Med** = Medicare tax (1.45% of gross pay) - **SIT** = State Income Tax The jump from ~$70 to $95 is totally normal when health insurance starts. My company's basic health plan was about $28 per paycheck, and if you added dental/vision that could easily account for your $25 increase. Don't feel awkward about asking HR - they deal with these questions constantly and would much rather explain it clearly than have you worry about incorrect deductions. Most companies also have detailed benefit statements available in their employee portals that break everything down without the confusing acronyms. You're definitely not alone in finding this stuff confusing - paycheck deductions are like learning a whole new language!