How to Make Pay Stubs: A Complete Worked Payroll Example

To make pay stubs, first establish the actual payroll calculation, then show the employee’s earnings, withholding, deductions, payment dates, and applicable year-to-date totals in a readable statement. Verify the finished statement against the payroll register and payment record. A template or online generator can organize those figures; it does not establish that wages were earned, taxes were paid, or every state requirement was met.

This U.S. employer and payroll-preparer guide was reviewed October 7, 2026. It walks through one fictional hourly employee’s statement, including a two-week overtime calculation, distinct taxable wage bases, and a current-to-YTD reconciliation. Federal tax rates below are for 2026. The example is instructional, not a complete state-specific wage-statement template or a personalized withholding estimate.

What must be settled before you make a pay stub?

Start with a completed or properly established payroll calculation, not a target bank deposit. If payroll has already run, use its approved register. If you are calculating a new payment, resolve pay rates, hours, classification, tax elections, benefit treatment, and required deductions before preparing the employee-facing statement. A payment that has not yet occurred should not be presented as an already paid historical wage record.

Use an employer-authorized process. An employee looking for a missing official statement should request it from payroll or the employer’s portal. A new document assembled from an employee’s estimate cannot authenticate the employer’s payroll. Someone preparing records for their own business still needs actual supporting transactions and the correct worker treatment.

Have these inputs available together: approved time and rate records; the employer and employee identifiers; the exact pay-period dates and pay date; the applicable tax year and work locations; the employee’s current withholding elections; benefit and other deduction instructions; the prior payroll ledger; and the current payment’s payroll calculation or register. Our pay-stub preparation checklist maps individual fields to source records.

Keep pay period and pay date distinct. The period identifies the work being paid; the date identifies when the wages are paid. Check the employer’s actual schedule and applicable payday law. A template’s default date does not determine either one. The payroll schedule guide explains the difference between weekly, biweekly, and semimonthly cycles.

Which information should a pay stub contain?

There is no single federal pay-stub layout that satisfies every U.S. employer’s obligations. The Department of Labor’s FLSA FAQ distinguishes accurate employer wage-and-hour records from providing a pay stub: the FLSA requires the records but does not itself require employee pay stubs. State requirements must be checked separately.

As a practical starting structure, separate the statement into identification and dates, earnings, employee taxes and deductions, net pay, and relevant cumulative figures. Keep employer-paid benefits or taxes in an informational area if displayed. Add state-specific fields rather than assuming that an attractive generic template is sufficient.

For example, California generally requires an itemized statement with gross and net wages, deductions, covered dates, employer identity, employee identity, applicable hourly rates and hours at each rate, and other specified information. Its rule has an hours exception for qualifying salaried exempt employees and additional piece-rate requirements. The California Labor Commissioner’s payday FAQ also specifies the last four SSN digits or a non-SSN employee identifier. This is a California illustration, not a national checklist; other rules, including leave disclosures where applicable, still need review.

Confirm electronic-delivery and access rules as well as the fields. A PDF that contains all numbers can still be difficult to access or unsuitable for the required delivery method. Use the state-requirement review guide to compare the template with the applicable agency guidance. Avoid placing full SSNs or bank account numbers on a statement merely because a field is available.

Step 1: Build the earnings section from the actual workweeks

Consider a fictional covered, nonexempt employee earning $24 per hour. The biweekly payment covers two complete employer-defined workweeks: 46 hours worked in the first and 34 in the second. Assume one rate, no paid leave, bonuses, shift premiums, tips, daily state overtime, or special overtime arrangement. The regular rate is $24 under these assumptions.

The ordinary FLSA rule requires at least time and a half after 40 worked hours in a workweek. Do not average the two weeks to erase overtime. The federal workweek regulation prohibits averaging across weeks. This employee has 80 total worked hours, but six of them are overtime hours.

Week one produces 40 regular hours and six overtime hours. Week two produces 34 regular hours. The statement can therefore show 74 regular hours at $24 and six overtime hours at $36. Regular earnings are $1,776; overtime earnings are $216; total gross wages are $1,992.

An alternative presentation may show all 80 hours at $24, or $1,920, plus a separate six-hour half-rate premium of $72. That also totals $1,992. Use one consistent method. Adding the full $216 overtime line to all 80 hours at the base rate would pay the base portion of those six hours twice and incorrectly show $2,136. Label a premium-only line clearly so it is not mistaken for the full overtime payment.

Keep any required 2026 qualified-overtime reporting record separate from the earnings calculation. In this simple FLSA example, the $72 required half-rate premium is already inside the $216 overtime line. It is not another wage payment or a payroll deduction. The 2026 overtime reporting guide explains the annual reporting and personal deduction rules.

Other earnings require their own review. Paid leave is not automatically time worked for ordinary federal overtime; state rules or an agreement can differ. Multiple rates or includible bonuses can change the regular rate. Salary does not itself establish exemption. See salary and hourly earnings and showing two hourly rates before applying this single-rate illustration elsewhere.

For salaried payroll, use the authorized salary allocation for the actual schedule and any lawful adjustments. A semimonthly payment is not generally the same fraction of annual salary as a biweekly payment. Partial periods, unpaid time, overtime eligibility, and salary-basis restrictions need their own treatment rather than a convenient assumed number of hours.

Step 2: Identify taxable wages and calculate employee deductions

Gross earnings, tax-specific wages, and take-home pay serve different purposes. Continue the fictional example with a properly authorized $100 traditional pre-tax 401(k) elective deferral. Assume the employee is eligible, the contribution is within applicable limits, and there are no other wage-base adjustments. This is not a Roth contribution.

Under the IRS explanation of 401(k) plans, a traditional elective deferral generally lowers the federal income-tax wage base; it leaves the covered compensation in the Social Security and Medicare bases. Here, federal income-tax wages are $1,992 − $100 = $1,892; Social Security and Medicare wages remain $1,992. The gross earnings line stays $1,992. The $100 also reduces the employee’s cash payment, but only once.

For 2026, ordinary employee Social Security withholding is 6.2% on covered wages up to the $184,500 annual wage base. Regular employee Medicare withholding is 1.45% with no wage cap; an employer must also withhold 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on wages it pays above $200,000 in the calendar year. These rules appear in 2026 IRS Publication 15. Assume this employee remains below both thresholds and has no FICA exemption.

The example’s employee Social Security withholding is $1,992 × 6.2% = $123.50, rounded to cents. Medicare withholding is $1,992 × 1.45% = $28.88. Neither calculation begins with the $1,892 federal income-tax wage figure.

Where do federal, state, and local income-tax amounts come from?

Federal withholding depends on the applicable payroll method, wage amount, pay frequency, and Form W-4 information. Use the 2026 IRS withholding methods or the payroll system’s documented calculation. State and local withholding need the applicable jurisdiction’s rules and employee information. Do not apply a single chosen percentage to every tax line or alter withholding to reach a preferred deposit.

For the remaining arithmetic only, assume the fictional approved payroll register supplies $145 federal income-tax withholding and $52 combined state/local withholding. These are assumed inputs, not tax amounts derived from a specific W-4, state, or local schedule. A real statement should identify the actual jurisdictions and separate their required lines. Also assume an authorized, lawful $18 post-tax union-dues deduction. A signed instruction alone does not make every proposed wage deduction permissible.

Net wages equal $1,524.62 under these assumptions. The employer’s matching Social Security and Medicare expense is not another employee deduction. Employer contributions, employer tax costs, and informational tax trackers should not silently reduce this net amount. Our deduction treatment guide covers why different benefits can affect different wage bases.

If payroll allocates these net wages between two accounts, a fictional $300 savings deposit plus a $1,224.62 checking deposit equals the same $1,524.62. The savings allocation is not another deduction from net wages. If the payment includes an expense reimbursement, identify its actual tax treatment and show it separately as appropriate; this example assumes no reimbursement or other nonwage cash item.

Step 3: Roll forward each year-to-date balance separately

YTD is a ledger total, not the newest check multiplied by a count of pay periods. Bring forward the verified balance before this payment, add the corresponding current-period amount, and include legitimate corrections, reversals, and off-cycle payments. Gross wages, taxable wages, each tax withheld, and each benefit deduction have separate histories.

For the same employee, suppose prior 2026 gross wages are $18,000 and prior traditional 401(k) deferrals are $900. Assume no prior taxable-wage adjustments other than those deferrals, and use the prior withheld-tax amounts shown below. The current statement should update each column as follows.

The new federal income-tax wage total of $18,992 is consistent with $19,992 gross wages minus $1,000 traditional deferrals under this example’s narrow assumptions. That relationship may change when other benefits, noncash wages, or exclusions exist. Tax withholding YTD must follow the actual withholding ledger, including rounding and corrections; recalculating it from a single annual multiplication can differ from payroll’s accumulated cents.

Use the correct payment year for wage reporting. W-2 reporting generally follows wages paid during the calendar year, even if the work occurred earlier; see the 2026 IRS W-2 instructions. A December work period paid in January needs the correct January payment-year treatment. The year-end reconciliation guide explains why a final stub and W-2 can have different wage totals.

Step 4: Enter, preview, and issue the pay stub

Choose a template, spreadsheet, payroll statement function, or online pay-stub generator that supports the fields you actually need. A tool is suitable only if its output can represent the employee’s payment accurately and meet the applicable requirements. Verify calculations and settings even when the tool automatically fills a value.

1. Set identity, jurisdiction, and dates first. Confirm the legal employer, employee, pay schedule, work locations, covered dates, and payment date. Do not let a saved template carry an old employee or year into the next statement.
2. Enter earnings with a consistent presentation. In this example, use 74 regular hours at $24 and six full overtime hours at $36. Check that the gross becomes $1,992 without an extra duplicated premium.
3. Carry over the approved tax and deduction lines. Confirm each employee deduction and its wage-base treatment. A benefit name alone does not tell the software which taxes to exclude.
4. Enter verified cumulative balances. Determine whether the tool expects prior YTD or current-inclusive YTD. Entering $19,992 into a field expecting the prior $18,000 balance would add this payment twice.
5. Preview the actual PDF or delivery view. Check identity, dates, rates, units, decimals, current/YTD labels, wrapped descriptions, totals, and page breaks. Keep amount columns consistently aligned and currency figures together.
6. Reconcile before release. Compare gross and each deduction with the payroll register, the YTD columns with the ledger, and net wages with the wage-payment allocation. Resolve a discrepancy in the underlying payroll calculation rather than manually forcing a total.
7. Issue through the required delivery process and preserve the record. Confirm employee access and retain the statement with its supporting payroll information and any correction history.

If using GeneratePayStub, prepare the verified inputs before entering them and inspect the completed output against those inputs. This guide does not assume that every specialized field, tax treatment, or state-specific disclosure is available in every template. A document generator’s role should be distinguished from payroll processing, tax deposits, and return filing; see generator versus payroll service.

Protect the exported file and share it through an appropriate secure channel. Check the downloadable version, not just the data-entry screen: a clipped deduction label can make correct numbers unclear. Our PDF review guide provides a focused final document check.

How long should the employer keep the supporting records?

Retention rules overlap. The federal rules generally require three years for payroll records from the last entry and two years for supporting time and earnings records from the last entry, with specified rules for other records. The IRS employment-tax recordkeeping guidance requires at least four years for employment-tax records and longer for specified credit documentation. Check each applicable retention period and its starting point, as well as state rules and pending disputes, before deleting records. Keeping only the employee PDF loses the calculations and approvals behind it.

What changes when the payroll situation is unusual?

A payment needs correction or reissue

Separate a replacement copy from a payroll correction. A duplicate of a lost correct stub describes the same payment; it is not a second payment to add to YTD. If hours, wages, or withholding were wrong, correct the payroll records through the employer’s process and determine whether an additional payment or tax-form correction is needed. Preserve what changed and why. Editing a PDF alone does not amend a filed return or move money.

An employee needs a historical stub but the details are missing

Reconstruct the payment only from reliable authorized records, with the employer resolving gaps. A bank deposit provides the received amount but usually not the gross, individual deductions, or hours. Do not work backward by inventing a tax percentage. Request the payroll register, archived statement, or employer explanation before issuing a replacement that purports to be accurate.

A freelancer or business owner needs income documentation

A contractor payment or sole proprietor’s owner draw should not be relabeled employee wages merely to produce a familiar-looking document. Identify the actual business and worker arrangement. Invoices, payment records, business ledgers, and tax documents may be appropriate evidence of self-employment income; ask the recipient what it accepts. An owner who genuinely receives employee payroll through the business has a different situation. Our contractor classification guide explains why the word “employee” needs care.

The pay includes tips, noncash benefits, garnishments, or a final paycheck

Use the rules for those items before choosing their display. Noncash taxable benefits can increase taxable wages without increasing cash available for deposit. A garnishment needs the applicable order and withholding limits. Final-pay deadlines, leave payouts, and state overtime rules can differ from ordinary payroll. None of these situations is solved by copying the simple assumptions in this guide.

Common questions about making pay stubs

Can I make pay stubs myself as an employer?

You can prepare an employee wage statement from accurate authorized payroll records using a suitable tool. You still need the applicable wage calculation, lawful deductions, required statement fields, proper delivery, and payroll-tax process. Formatting the document is one part of that work.

Can a spreadsheet be used instead of a generator?

A spreadsheet can organize and calculate a statement, but its formulas, tax settings, required fields, and output must be checked. A generator also needs review. Choose based on whether the final record correctly represents the payroll, not solely how quickly a PDF appears.

Should all 80 biweekly hours be entered as regular hours?

Not in this example. The 46-hour workweek creates six overtime hours, even though the second week has only 34 hours. The chosen full-rate presentation is 74 regular hours plus six overtime hours. Do not mix it with a premium-only method.

Is the $1,524.62 net amount a tax estimate I can reuse?

No. It results from this guide’s exact assumptions, including two assumed income-tax withholding inputs and specified deductions. A different W-4, jurisdiction, benefit election, wage history, or earnings pattern can change the payment.

Does a generated pay stub guarantee acceptance by a lender or landlord?

No. The recipient sets its documentation and verification requirements. Submit truthful records that match actual earnings and payments, and obtain employer-issued documentation when requested. A polished layout does not guarantee acceptance.