Your USPS earnings statement is packed with numbers, codes, and abbreviations that can be hard to decipher. Most employees glance at the net pay and move on. But understanding every line helps you catch errors, optimize your deductions, and make better financial decisions. Here’s what each section means.
Where to Find Your Pay Stub
Your earnings statement is available electronically through PostalEASE on the USPS LiteBlue portal (liteblue.usps.gov). Log in with your Employee ID and USPS Self-Service Password, then navigate to PostalEASE > Employee Self-Service > Earnings Statement. You can view current and past statements going back several years.
If you receive paper statements, they arrive with your paycheck or are available at your installation. Going electronic is faster and gives you access to historical data for tax planning.
Earnings Section (Top Half)
The top portion of your pay stub shows everything you earned during the pay period. Here are the common line items:
Base Pay / Regular — Your straight-time earnings for the pay period. For full-time employees, this is typically 80 hours at your hourly rate. This is the core of your paycheck and the basis for most other calculations.
Overtime (OT) — Hours worked beyond 8 in a day or 40 in a week, paid at 1.5x your base rate. Shown separately from regular hours.
Penalty Overtime (V-Time) — Hours beyond 10 in a day or 56 in a week, paid at 2x your base rate. Only applies to full-time bargaining unit employees. This is often the biggest line item on heavy weeks.
Night Differential — The 10% premium for hours worked between 6 PM and 6 AM. Shown as a separate earnings line, not rolled into your base rate.
Sunday Premium — The 25% premium for non-overtime hours worked on Sunday. Only shows up if you worked straight-time hours on a Sunday during the pay period.
Holiday Worked Pay — Additional base-rate pay for hours worked on a designated federal holiday. This is on top of your regular holiday leave pay, effectively making it double time.
Holiday Leave — Your regular pay for the holiday itself (8 hours for full-time employees), whether you worked the holiday or not.
Annual Leave / Sick Leave Used — Hours of leave taken during the pay period, paid at your regular rate.
For a deeper dive into how each premium type is calculated, see our overtime rules guide.
Deductions Section
The bottom half is where your money goes. These are the standard deductions you’ll see:
Mandatory Deductions (You Can’t Avoid These)
Federal Income Tax (FIT) — Withheld based on your W-4 elections (filing status, allowances/deductions claimed). This is the biggest variable deduction and the one most employees can optimize. If you’re getting large tax refunds every year, you’re overwithholding — consider adjusting your W-4.
State Income Tax — Varies by state. Nine states have no income tax (Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wyoming). Pennsylvania has a flat 3.07% rate. Your state withholding is based on your state’s tax form, not your federal W-4.
Social Security (OASDI) — 6.2% of your gross pay up to the wage base ($176,100 in 2026). Once you hit the cap, this deduction stops for the rest of the year — most postal employees never reach it.
Medicare — 1.45% of all gross pay with no cap. If you earn over $200,000 annually (unlikely but possible with heavy overtime), an additional 0.9% Medicare surtax applies.
FERS Retirement — Your pension contribution. The rate depends on when you were hired: 0.8% (hired before 2013), 3.1% (hired 2013 — RAE), or 4.4% (hired 2014+ — FRAE). This is pre-tax, meaning it reduces your taxable income.
Voluntary/Elected Deductions
PSHB / Health Insurance — Your share of Postal Service Health Benefits premiums. The amount depends on your plan choice and enrollment type (self only, self plus one, family). This is pre-tax.
TSP (Thrift Savings Plan) — Your retirement savings contribution. Can be a fixed dollar amount or a percentage of pay. Traditional TSP contributions are pre-tax; Roth TSP contributions are after-tax. USPS matches up to 5% of your salary — make sure you’re contributing at least 5% to get the full match.
FEDVIP (Dental/Vision) — If you’re enrolled in Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance, this premium shows as a separate deduction.
FSA (Flexible Spending Account) — Pre-tax deductions for health care FSA, dependent care FSA, or limited-purpose FSA if you’re enrolled.
Union Dues — Your APWU, NALC, NPMHU, or NRLCA dues if you’re a union member. Shown as a payroll deduction.
FEGLI (Life Insurance) — Federal Employees Group Life Insurance premiums, if enrolled. Basic coverage is relatively cheap; Option A, B, and C add cost.
Allotments — Any voluntary payroll deductions you’ve set up, such as savings bonds, charitable contributions (CFC), or additional savings transfers.
Leave Balances
Your pay stub also shows your current leave balances: annual leave earned, used, and available; sick leave earned, used, and balance. These are critical numbers to track, especially as you approach retirement. See our sick leave retirement credit guide for why your sick leave balance matters more than you think.
How to Spot Errors
Check your hours. Compare the hours on your pay stub against your own records (clock rings, Form 1260, your personal log). Overtime and penalty overtime hours are the most common source of discrepancies.
Verify your rate. After a COLA or general increase, make sure your hourly rate updated correctly. Cross-reference against the official pay scale for your grade and step.
Watch for missing premiums. If you worked night differential or Sunday premium hours and don’t see those lines on your stub, something may not have been coded correctly. Report it to your supervisor and follow up with a pay adjustment request if needed.
Monitor your TSP match. USPS should be contributing its matching amount each pay period. The agency match is shown separately from your own contributions. If it’s missing or seems low, check that your contribution percentage is at least 5%.
Model your take-home pay with different deduction scenarios — adjust grade, step, TSP, filing status, and premium hours.
Open the Pay Calculator →Sources: USPS Employee and Labor Relations Manual (ELM) Chapter 430 (pay administration), PostalEASE earnings statement format, IRS W-4 instructions, OPM FERS contribution rate tables.