What Is a Pay Stub? Every Line Explained

What is a pay stub?

A pay stub is the statement that comes with each paycheck or direct deposit. It shows what you earned in one pay period, every amount taken out and the pay you actually receive. You may see it called a paycheck stub, check stub, pay slip, pay statement, earnings statement or wage statement, and many employers now deliver it electronically through a payroll portal.

Pay stubs matter beyond payday. They are how you spot a missing overtime hour or a wrong tax setting, how you track benefit and retirement deductions, and what landlords, lenders and benefit offices often ask to see.

Most stubs follow the same order: who and when, earnings, pre-tax deductions, taxes, after-tax deductions, net pay and year-to-date totals.

Pay stub lines, part 1: the header and your earnings

Employer and employee details: the employer's name and address, your name, and often an employee ID or the last four digits of your Social Security number.
Pay period and pay date: the dates you worked and the date you were paid.
Hours and rate: for hourly work, hours multiplied by your hourly rate. For salaried work, your yearly salary divided by the number of pay periods; $52,000 a year paid every two weeks (26 periods) is $2,000.00 per paycheck.
Overtime pay: under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), covered non-exempt employees earn at least one and a half times their regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. Some states add daily overtime or other rules.
Other earnings: bonuses, commissions, tips, holiday or paid-leave pay and reimbursements usually appear on their own lines.
Gross pay (gross earnings): the total of all earnings before anything is taken out, including overtime pay and bonuses.

Pay stub lines, part 2: pre-tax deductions and taxes

Pre-tax deductions come out before some or all taxes are figured, which lowers your taxable wages. They do not all work the same way.

Pre-tax deductions: health, dental and vision premiums paid through a cafeteria plan usually reduce wages for income tax and for Social Security and Medicare. Traditional 401(k) contributions reduce wages for federal income tax but not for Social Security and Medicare. State treatment can differ.
Federal income tax: withheld based on your Form W-4 and IRS withholding methods. It is a prepayment toward your yearly income tax, which is settled when you file your return.
State and local income tax: most states withhold income tax, a few do not tax wages, and some cities, counties or school districts add their own. Some states also take employee contributions for disability or paid family leave programs.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA): according to the IRS, Social Security is 6.2% of wages up to a yearly limit ($184,500 for 2026) and Medicare is 1.45% of all wages, plus 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax withheld on wages over $200,000 in a year. Your employer pays its own matching 6.2% and 1.45%, which does not come out of your check.

Pay stub lines, part 3: after-tax deductions, net pay and year-to-date

Post-tax deductions: Roth 401(k) contributions, some insurance, union dues, charitable gifts and wage garnishments such as child support come out after taxes are figured.
Employer contributions: a 401(k) match or the employer's share of health premiums may be listed for information. They do not reduce your pay.
Net pay (take-home pay): gross pay minus every deduction and tax. This is the amount that should reach your bank account or check; if you split deposits, the parts should add up to it.
Year-to-date (YTD): running totals since January 1 for each earnings, tax and deduction line. Each stub's YTD should equal the previous stub's YTD plus this period.

How to check a pay stub for errors

Payroll mistakes are easiest to fix the week they happen. Compare each stub with your own records, especially after a raise, a schedule change, a move or new benefits.

Confirm your name, the pay period and the pay date.
Match the hours to your own time record and the rate to your offer letter or latest raise.
Check that overtime hours were paid at the right rate.
Compare each deduction with what you elected at enrollment, and question any you did not authorize.
Recalculate Social Security and Medicare (see the example below).
Make sure state and local taxes match where you live and work.
Add this period to the last stub's YTD and compare.
Confirm that net pay equals what you received.

Example: if this period's Social Security and Medicare wages are $1,500.00, Social Security should be $93.00 (6.2%) and Medicare $21.75 (1.45%). A one-cent difference can come from rounding; a larger gap is worth a question.

If federal withholding looks off, review your W-4 and try the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator. For anything else, write to payroll with the stub and your records, and keep copies. If a wage problem is not resolved, contact your state labor department or the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division at 1-866-487-9243.

Do employers have to give you a pay stub?

Not under federal law. The U.S. Department of Labor says the FLSA does not require pay stubs, but it does require employers to keep accurate records of hours worked and wages paid, as Fact Sheet #21 explains.

Many states go further and require an itemized wage statement each payday. The rules vary by state: what the statement must show, whether electronic delivery is allowed and on what terms, and whether you can request copies of past records. Some states have no general requirement. Check the rule where you work with your state labor office.

If you work in one of the states that require employers to provide pay stubs and you are not getting them, ask payroll in writing and keep a copy. If that does not fix it, your state labor office can explain how to file a complaint. Wherever you work, the FLSA still requires employers to keep payroll records for at least three years, open to inspection by the Wage and Hour Division.

How to make a pay stub from real payroll records

A pay stub is only as accurate as the records behind it. Whether you are a small employer paying a few people, an owner recording your own draws, or a worker rebuilding records an employer never provided, start with source documents, not memory:

The employer's legal name and address, and the worker's name
Time records and the pay rate for the period
Benefit and retirement elections, garnishment orders and any other authorized deductions
The worker's Form W-4 and any state withholding form
The tax amounts actually withheld, figured with official methods such as IRS Publication 15-T
The previous statement's year-to-date totals and the payment record for this period

Then work in the same order as the stub: gross pay, pre-tax deductions, taxes, after-tax deductions, net pay and YTD. Net pay should match the money that actually moved. If you prepare the stub yourself, label it as self-prepared and keep the source records with it.

A stub records payroll; it does not pay taxes. Employers still deposit withheld taxes and file payroll returns, as Publication 15 explains. StubSafe, described below, is one free way to produce the document. For a step-by-step walkthrough, see Make a Pay Stub PDF from Accurate Payroll Records.

What never to do with a pay stub

A pay stub is a record of money that was actually paid. Treat it that way.

Never enter hours, wages or bonuses that were not paid, or round figures up.
Never edit a stub an employer issued. If it is wrong, ask for a corrected one.
Never present a stub you made yourself as if your employer issued it.
Never use a pay stub to misrepresent income, employment, taxes, benefits or eligibility to a landlord, lender, agency or court. That can be treated as fraud under federal and state law.
Never show an estimated tax figure as tax that was actually withheld.
Never put a full Social Security number on a stub you share; the last four digits are enough.

If someone needs to confirm your income, they will usually check with your employer or ask for records such as an IRS tax transcript or bank statements. A self-made document cannot replace those.

Using a pay stub as proof of income

A pay stub is one of the most common kinds of proof of income. Landlords use it to compare rent with your take-home pay, lenders to confirm current earnings, and benefit offices, child support agencies and courts may ask for it when income affects a decision.

Whoever asks will usually check that:

the employer's name and your name match the application
the stubs are recent and the pay dates follow your pay schedule without gaps
gross pay, hours and the pay rate fit the income you reported
the year-to-date totals add up from one stub to the next
net pay matches the deposits on your bank statements, if they ask for those too

How many stubs to send depends on who asks and how often you are paid. Many requests cover roughly the last month, which can mean one monthly stub or four or five weekly ones; others want two or three months.

For a mortgage, lenders following Fannie Mae's employment documentation standards need a stub dated no more than 30 days before the application that shows year-to-date earnings, plus W-2s for the most recent one or two years.

Other documents are often accepted with, or instead of, pay stubs:

Form W-2, for last year's total wages and withholding
An employer letter confirming your job, start date, pay rate and usual hours, or a call to your employer
An IRS transcript, such as a wage and income transcript or a tax return transcript, from Get Transcript
Bank statements showing payroll deposits
Benefit award letters, such as for Social Security or unemployment, and, if you are self-employed, tax returns, 1099 forms and a profit-and-loss statement

Requirements vary by landlord, lender and agency, and some confirm income directly with your employer or another source. Ask which documents and dates they need, send only what they ask for, and use the secure delivery method they give you.

Where StubSafe fits

StubSafe is a free pay stub maker for documents built from real payroll records. It needs no account to make a stub, keeps payroll information on your device and exports a PDF.

The quick builder is one page: employer and worker, pay period, regular and overtime hours, other earnings, five deduction fields, live totals and a PDF.
The full app adds worker types, categorized deductions (tax, pre-tax, post-tax, garnishment or other), year-to-date figures that roll forward, corrections and voids, an optional tax adviser and Spanish. It stops an export when deductions exceed gross pay, unless you are deliberately marking the statement voided.
Tax adviser figures are estimates for you to confirm against the official sources it cites. They are not tax advice.

Every document is printed as self-generated and independently unverified. StubSafe does not verify employment or income, and it is not a payroll provider: it does not move money or file taxes. Read StubSafe's features and limits.

Frequently asked questions

What is a pay stub used for?

It documents one paycheck. People use it to check their pay, track taxes and benefits, and answer requests from landlords or lenders, who may also confirm income in other ways.

Is a pay stub the same as a W-2?

No. A pay stub covers one pay period. A W-2 is the yearly wage and tax statement your employer sends after the year ends. Your final stub's YTD figures should line up with it, although W-2 wages can differ from gross pay because of pre-tax deductions.

What is the difference between gross pay and take-home pay?

Gross pay is the total amount earned before deductions, including overtime pay and bonuses. Take-home pay, or net pay, is what is left after federal and state income tax (where your state has one), Social Security, Medicare and other deductions.

Does my employer have to give me a pay stub?

Federal law does not require one, but many states do. The rules vary by state, so check with your state labor office.

How do I make a pay stub?

Start with real payroll records. Figure gross pay, subtract pre-tax deductions, taxes and after-tax deductions, confirm that net pay matches the actual payment, and update the YTD totals. Label a stub you prepare yourself clearly.

Is there a free pay stub maker?

Yes. StubSafe is free, needs no account to make a stub and keeps payroll data on your device. Like any generator, it formats the figures you enter; it does not confirm them.

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What Is a Pay Stub? Every Line Explained, Plus How to Check One