The eight steps
- 1
Collect employer and employee details
Legal business name, address and employer tax ID; employee full name, address, the last four digits of the tax/social number, and employee ID. Most state wage-statement laws require the employer legal name and address on every stub.
- 2
Set the pay period and pay date
Write the exact period start and end dates plus the date wages were paid. The pay date determines the tax year and the year-to-date column, not the period end date.
- 3
List earnings line by line
Show each earnings type separately: regular hours × hourly rate, overtime hours at 1.5× (or the local statutory premium), plus bonus, commission, tips and reimbursements. Salaried workers show the salary amount for the period. The total is gross pay.
- 4
Subtract pre-tax deductions
Health, dental and vision premiums, HSA/FSA and traditional retirement contributions come out before income tax. Gross pay minus these equals taxable wages — the base for income-tax withholding.
- 5
Calculate the tax lines
In the US: federal income tax from the W-4 and IRS Publication 15-T, Social Security at 6.2% up to the wage base, Medicare at 1.45% with no cap, plus state and local income tax and any state disability or paid-leave contribution. Outside the US, use the local statutory lines (PAYE and National Insurance in the UK, CPP/EI in Canada, social security in the EU).
- 6
Subtract post-tax deductions
Roth retirement contributions, union dues, wage garnishments, loan repayments and charitable payroll giving are taken after tax and shown as separate lines.
- 7
Show net pay and year-to-date totals
Net pay equals gross minus all taxes and deductions. Add a year-to-date column for gross, each tax, each deduction and net pay — this is the figure landlords, lenders and immigration reviewers verify.
- 8
Add the statutory footer, then issue and store it
Include any legally required notice (accrued sick leave, pay-rate statement, employer registration number). Deliver the stub on or before payday and keep copies — most jurisdictions require payroll records to be retained for three to seven years.
Checklist of required fields
- Employer legal name and address
- Employee name and partial tax/social number
- Pay period start and end dates
- Pay date
- Hours worked and rate of pay for hourly workers
- Each earnings type shown separately
- Gross pay for the period
- Every tax withheld, itemised
- Every other deduction, itemised
- Net pay
- Year-to-date totals
Requirements differ by jurisdiction — several US states mandate extra items such as accrued sick leave, and EU payslips must itemise each social-security contribution. Check the rules that apply to you before issuing stubs.
Mistakes that get a stub rejected
- Year-to-date totals that do not equal the sum of the periods issued so far.
- Social Security or Medicare at a rate other than 6.2% and 1.45% of the correct wage base.
- A pay date that falls outside the stated pay period, or overlapping periods between stubs.
- Net pay that does not match the deposit on the bank statement a reviewer also sees.
- Round numbers everywhere — real payroll produces uneven cents.
- A missing employer address or tax ID, which most wage-statement laws require.
Templates and tools
Frequently asked questions
Can I make my own pay stub?+
Yes. Employers, accountants and self-employed people routinely produce their own wage statements, and no law requires payroll software. What matters is accuracy: the stub must reflect wages that were actually earned and paid, with correct tax calculations. Creating a stub for income you did not earn is document fraud.
What information is legally required on a pay stub?+
There is no single federal US standard, but most state laws require the employer name and address, employee name, pay period dates, hours and rate for hourly staff, gross wages, each deduction itemised, and net wages. Several states add accrued sick leave or the pay-rate statement. Requirements vary — check our state pay stub requirement guides.
How do I calculate net pay from gross pay?+
Start with gross pay, subtract pre-tax deductions to get taxable wages, apply federal, state and local income tax withholding to those taxable wages, then subtract Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%) calculated on gross minus only pre-tax benefit premiums, and finally subtract post-tax deductions. What remains is net pay.
How can a self-employed person make a pay stub?+
Pay yourself a consistent amount from business revenue, then document each payment with a stub showing the period, gross amount, self-employment tax set aside, and net. Pair it with bank statements, 1099s and a profit-and-loss statement — most landlords and lenders want that combination rather than a stub alone.
Do I need a pay stub if I am paid by direct deposit?+
In most jurisdictions yes. Direct deposit does not remove the obligation to provide a wage statement; an electronic stub the employee can access and print is generally acceptable where state law allows electronic delivery.
What is the easiest way to make a pay stub?+
Use a generator that already knows the local format. Pick your country, enter the employer, employee, period and earnings, and the tax lines, currency, date format and statutory footer are laid out for you — then download as PDF or PNG. Free templates in Excel, Word and PDF are also available if you prefer to fill things in manually.
How many pay stubs should I keep?+
Keep at least the last 12 months so you can reconcile with your W-2 or annual statement, and keep the final stub of each year permanently. Employers should retain payroll records for three years under the FLSA and longer in several states.
Is a handwritten pay stub valid?+
It can satisfy the law if it contains every required item and the figures are accurate, but reviewers treat handwritten stubs with suspicion. A typed, consistently formatted stub with year-to-date totals is far more likely to be accepted by landlords and lenders.