What is on the pay stub template
- Pay period and pay date
- The days the pay covers and the day it was paid. They are not the same; most stubs show both because wage laws require the period to be stated.
- Employer and employee identification
- Business name and address, EIN (optional on the stub, required on the W-2), employee name, address, and an ID. Never print a full Social Security number; last four digits at most.
- Earnings
- Each type of pay on its own line: regular hours and rate, overtime at 1.5 times, holiday or PTO, bonus or commission. Current and year-to-date for each.
- Deductions and taxes
- Federal and state income tax, Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%), then benefits and other deductions. The pre-tax tick marks the ones taken before income tax (most health premiums and traditional 401k contributions).
- Gross, total deductions, net
- Gross is everything earned; net is what reached the employee. The difference is itemised above it; that is the point of the stub.
- Year to date
- Running totals since 1 January. Employees need them for loans, leases and to check the W-2 in January.
- Leave balances and direct deposit
- Vacation and sick hours remaining, and where the money went (bank, last four digits, amount).
- Contractor statement
- Invoices paid, expenses reimbursed separately (not 1099 income), backup withholding if the contractor failed to supply a TIN, and the plain statement that no taxes were withheld.
When a pay stub is required
Federal law (the FLSA) requires employers to keep accurate pay records but does not require them to give employees a stub. Most states do. As of 2026, over 40 states require some form of pay statement, either on paper or electronically; California, New York, Washington, Illinois, Texas, Massachusetts and others specify what it must contain, typically the pay period, hours (for hourly staff), rate, gross pay, each deduction, net pay, and the employer's name and address. California's Labor Code 226 is the strictest and fines employers per stub for omissions. The three designs here include every item on the common state lists; check your own state's wage statement rule for anything extra (New York, for example, wants the regular and overtime rates stated separately).
Employees need stubs for more than curiosity: landlords, mortgage lenders, car dealers and benefits agencies ask for recent stubs as proof of income, and the year-to-date column is how anyone checks their W-2. A stub with current and YTD figures and the employer's name and address is accepted almost everywhere.
Which design to use
- Hourly: non-exempt staff paid by the hour. Hours and rate per earning type, overtime line, standard deductions, PTO and sick balances.
- Salaried with direct deposit: exempt staff. Salary per period, employer contributions shown next to employee deductions, bank deposit details.
- Contractor statement: not a pay stub in law, but contractors ask for one. Invoices paid, reimbursements kept separate, no-withholding statement, YTD for the 1099-NEC.
How to fill it in
- Enter the pay period, pay date and frequency. Weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly and monthly stubs all use the same form.
- Fill the employer and employee blocks. Use an employee ID or the last four digits of the SSN, never the full number.
- Enter hours and rates (hourly) or the salary per period; the Excel version multiplies and totals.
- Enter each tax and deduction for the period and the year to date from your payroll calculation. Tick pre-tax items.
- Net pay calculates. Check it equals the amount actually deposited or written on the check.
- Give the employee a copy (paper or PDF) on or before payday, and keep one for at least three years.
Mistakes that create liability
- Printing the full Social Security number. Several states prohibit it and it is an identity-theft risk on every piece of paper.
- Lumping deductions together as "taxes". Each must be itemised.
- Missing the pay period dates or the hours for hourly staff; both are required in most states.
- Pre-tax and post-tax deductions mixed up, which makes the federal tax figure wrong.
- Treating a contractor like an employee on paper (calling it a pay stub, showing withholding). The contractor statement exists so the paperwork matches the relationship.
Pay stubs, timesheets and the W-2
The timesheet feeds the hours; the stub shows what those hours were paid; the W-2 in January is the sum of the stubs. For contractors the chain is invoice, payment statement, and the 1099 tracker that totals the year for Form 1099-NEC. Leave balances on the stub come from the sick leave tracker.
Editing the Word and Excel versions
The Excel stubs calculate current earnings from hours and rate, gross pay, total deductions, net pay and the year-to-date totals; the contractor sheet totals services and expenses separately. Enter your business block once and save a master; duplicate the sheet per employee per pay period. In Word, the stub is a set of tables for anyone who fills stubs by hand or pastes figures from payroll software. All designs fit one Letter or A4 page.
Questions
Are employers required to give pay stubs?
Not by federal law, but most states require a pay statement with each paycheck, on paper or electronically, listing pay period, gross pay, deductions and net pay (and hours and rate for hourly staff). Check your state's wage statement rule.
What is the difference between gross and net pay?
Gross is total earnings before anything is taken out. Net is what the employee receives after taxes and deductions. The stub lists each deduction so the difference is explained.
Should the Social Security number be on the stub?
No. Use an employee ID or at most the last four digits. Several states prohibit printing full SSNs on pay statements.
Do contractors get pay stubs?
Not in law; they are paid against invoices. Many ask for a statement anyway for loans or their own records. The contractor design is a payment statement that makes clear no taxes were withheld.
Does the PDF calculate net pay?
No. The fillable PDF is for completing and printing. The Excel versions calculate gross, deductions, net and year-to-date totals.
