Division of Financial Services
Payroll
Below is an example of a Cornell paper pay stub. Each box is marked with a number, and each number has a corresponding explanation in the Pay Stub Details below.
Displays the employee's name, address, ID number and social security number. The employee ID number is a unique identifier for employees that is used by Cornell and the payroll processing system instead of the social security number. Use of the employee ID promotes personal security for all employees. If your social security number is not correct, contact the Payroll office immediately.
Note: When contacting the Payroll office or the Office of Human Resources, please have your employee ID number ready.
Provides information regarding the department the employee is employed in, as well as the employee's job title. For multiple job employees (more than one job with Cornell), the information will be based on the lowest paying job record number, which is not always the primary job the employee works.
Provides the federal and state tax withholding status based on withholding certificate data on file with the Payroll office. The claimed status, in conjunction with current payroll withholding tables, determines federal and state income tax withholding as reported in Box 5. If certificates are not on file with the Payroll office, the default status of "single" and "zero (0)" are used. If a federal certificate (W-4 form) has been filed, but not a state certificate (e.g., IT-2104 for New York), the state withholding status will be equal to the federal status filed. Withholding certificates are available on the Withholding Certificates page. Most employees can also make changes using Workday.
Caution: Special withholding rules apply to foreign nationals. For more information, contact the Tax office.
Displays compensation information, such as the rate for nonexempt employees. At this time, hours are displayed for all employees, although they are applicable only to nonexempt employees. The most common earning type used is "Regular," but below are other commonly used earning types:
Reflects the employer- and employee-paid federal, state, local, and social security taxes. Tax law requires Cornell to display both components of social security taxes: Medicare (FICA), and Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI).
Most common tax withholdings:
Displays the deductions withheld that are exempt from taxation, such as health insurance, select benefits, etc. However, retirement deductions and tax-deferred annuity (TDA) contributions listed in Box 6 are not exempt from social security taxes.
Displays deductions withheld that are not exempt from taxation.
Displays the employer's cost for the employee's benefits, such as health insurances, life insurance, etc.
Note: The formulas used below apply unless there is non-cash income.
Leave balances are displayed only for nonexempt staff, because PeopleSoft, Cornell's payroll system, only manages hourly accrual balances.
Displays the distribution of direct deposit amounts.
