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All companies are different, but you can generally expect it to take a few weeks. Ask if you can fill out paperwork in advance of your first day in order to speed up the process. 

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Gross pay is your salary, the total dollar amount your employer agrees to pay you over a given time period. Net pay is your “take-home pay”: the amount you earn after your employer makes any deductions for taxes or employee benefit programs. Common deductions include federal and state income taxes, Social Security taxes and the cost of employee-benefit programs like health insurance. In essence, your net pay is the money you have to live on. It’s the money you have to cover necessary expenses – food, housing and savings – and, after that, any “discretionary” purchases like cable TV or movie tickets. In general, net pay is approximately 60 percent to 70 percent of gross pay. So, for example, while you may make a salary of $50,000 a year, you may only get $30,000 a year to live on.

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Paycheck stubs list a lot of numbers and can be difficult to read at first. To help simplify, you should know your paycheck conveys this basic information: your gross pay, an itemized list of deductions and your net pay. Two kinds of deductions are typically made to paychecks, those for mandatory taxes and those for optional benefits. Mandatory federal and state income taxes will probably be the largest deductions you will see on your pay stub. Rather than pay your income taxes all at once in April, most employers help you spread out the payment throughout the year by deducting a portion of the income taxes you owe from every paycheck. Income tax rates vary widely depending on where you live and how much you earn – and some states don’t levy income tax at all. Another mandatory deduction you will see is for the Federal Insurance Contributions Act, also known as the FICA tax. Revenue from this tax goes to pay for U.S. Social Security and Medicare programs – benefits you receive in retirement. The 2010 FICA tax rate is 15.3% of your gross income, only half of which (7.65%) comes out of your paycheck. Your employer pays the other half.

Optional paycheck deductions help cover the cost of your employer’s benefit programs including health and dental insurance, retirement plans (like 401k) or subsidized commuter passes. Opting to participate in these programs is a useful way to pay for necessities and also reduce your taxable income since the money used to pay for these programs is deducted from your paycheck before your income tax is calculated. How big of a chunk optional deductions take out of your paycheck depends on the type of programs your employer offers and which ones you choose.  Overall, the more deductions you have the lower your net pay. 

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Every U.S. citizen owes federal income tax. To estimate your federal income tax rate, refer to the tax bracket tables the IRS releases every year. Generally speaking, you will find that the more money you earn, the higher your income tax rate. So if you are single and your taxable income (the amount of money you earn after deductions and exemptions) was $50,000 in 2009, you are in the 25 percent tax bracket. However, that doesn’t mean all your $50,000 is taxed at 25 percent. The income tax system is progressive, meaning the rate at which you are taxed gets incrementally higher along with your taxable income. So for 2009, of that $50,000, the first $8,350 you earn is taxed at 10 percent, the next $25,600 at 15 percent and the remaining $16,050 at 25 percent. In this case, as a result, the percentage of your income paid in taxes – or your average tax rate – is 17.38 percent. But the tax rate of an additional dollar  – your marginal tax rate – would be 25 percent. On top of federal income taxes you will likely owe state income taxes. Income tax rates vary widely from state to state so the easiest way to figure yours out might be to Google “tax brackets 2010” along with the name of the state where you live. You should also contact a tax adviser.

A: Yes. If you decide to switch jobs you will maintain control over your vested 401(k) account. (Your employer’s 401(k) contributions “vest” or become yours immediately or after a predetermined period of time, depending on your 401(k) terms. You are always entitled to your own contributions). You have a few options for what to do with your 401(k) when you change jobs. You can cash it out, leave it right where it is or transfer it to either your new employer’s plan or a rollover Individual Retirement Account (IRA). Though cashing it out may sound appealing, it comes at a cost: not only will you have to pay federal and state income taxes on the money but if you are younger than 59 ½ you will also be required to pay a penalty equal to 10% of the size of the withdrawal. If you’re happy with the investment opportunities offered by your former employer’s plan and your 401(k) balance is more than $5,000 you can simply let it sit and continue to grow. If you’d like to consolidate your retirement savings in one place or you’d like a different 401(k) plan, you can transfer your 401(k) balance either into your new employer’s retirement plan (if that plan allows transfers) or you can “roll over” the balance into a traditional IRA. A direct rollover is a seamless transfer of the funds from your old account into the new one. The money never passes through your hands – it goes directly from the trustee of one account to the trustee of another – and continues to grow, tax-free.

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If you opt to get employee benefits like health, dental, disability or life insurance, the fees for those benefits will be deducted from your gross pay each payment period. How much of an impact that makes depends on what benefits your employer offers and which ones you decide to take.

Your employer might also offer flexible savings accounts to cover dependent care, train fare, or health care costs that aren’t paid for by insurance (like co-pays for doctor visits). Money also goes to these accounts before tax deductions are made. Typically, the money is taken out of your paycheck a little at a time. You then get reimbursed over the year as you incur the expenses.

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A bonus, often known as supplemental wages, is not to be confused with your regular salary. It is given in addition. A bonus can include things beyond a merit-based extra. It can also include severance pay or sick pay. 

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Some of your paychecks probably have deductions taken out during certain pay periods. For example, money for transportation could be taken out of the first paycheck of the month. Also, another benefit may have upped your gross income during one pay period. This can affect your net income, too.

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The fewer allowances you claim on a Form W-4, the more money you will have taken out of your pay for taxes. If you claim zero allowances you will have the most amount of money deducted for taxes.