How to Make a Paystub: Step-by-Step Guide

Making a paystub is a matter of collecting the right information, applying a handful of tax rules and laying the result out in the standard format lenders, landlords and employees expect. You can do it by hand in a spreadsheet but a paystub generator does the same job in a few minutes with the current year's tax tables already built in.

This guide walks through both routes: the information you need, the seven steps in an online generator, the math behind every line if you want to check it yourself, a full worked example and the rules to follow so the stub you make is accurate and legitimate. If you are new to the document itself, start with understanding a paystub, then come back here to build one.

What You Need Before You Make a Paystub

Gather these before you start. Missing one of them is the most common reason a paystub comes out incomplete.

Employer information

• Legal business name and address
• Employer Identification Number (EIN), optional on most stubs but useful for lenders
• Logo, if you want it on the document

Employee information

• Full legal name and home address
• Employee ID (optional)
• Last four digits of the Social Security number (optional, never the full number)
• Hire date

Pay details

• Pay type: hourly or salaried
• Hourly rate and hours worked, or annual salary
• Pay frequency: weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, or monthly
• Pay period start and end dates
• Pay date
• Any overtime, bonus, commission, or tips for the period

Tax details

• Work state (and city, if it has a local income tax)
• Whether the employee works from home in a different state than the employer
• Federal filing status from Form W-4 (single, married filing jointly, head of household)
• State filing status and allowances, where the state uses them
• Any tax exemptions (rare and they must be documented)

Deductions

• Pre-tax: health, dental, vision premiums, traditional 401(k), HSA, FSA
• Post-tax: Roth 401(k), union dues, garnishments, loan repayments, charitable contributions

Year-to-date figures

If this is not the first stub of the year, the YTD gross, taxes and deductions from the previous stub for this employee.

How to Make a Paystub Online in 7 Steps

Here is the process in the Online Paystub generator. Other tools follow a similar flow.

Step 1: Enter the Company Details

Business name, address and optionally the EIN and a logo. This becomes the header on every stub you generate.

Step 2: Enter the Employee Details

Name, address, employee ID, hire date and (if you want it shown) the last four digits of the SSN.

Step 3: Set the Pay Schedule and Period

Choose weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, or monthly, then enter the pay period start and end dates and the pay date.

Step 4: Enter Earnings

Select hourly or salary. For hourly, enter the rate and hours; add separate rows for overtime, bonus, or commission if they apply.

Step 5: Set Filing Status and Deductions

Choose the federal and state filing status, tick the multiple-jobs box if it applies and add any pre-tax or post-tax deductions.

Step 6: Review the Calculated Taxes

The generator fills in federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and state and local taxes automatically, using the current year's tables. If a label on the preview is unfamiliar, the list of pay stub abbreviations explains each code.

Step 7: Preview, Add Extras and Download

Check the summary bar (current and YTD gross, deductions, net pay), optionally add a direct deposit slip section, then download the finished PDF. For a line-by-line view of what the finished document should look like, see a sample pay stub explained.

How to Calculate the Numbers on a Paystub

Whether you are making the stub by hand or checking a generator's output, every figure comes from the same sequence.

Step 1: Gross Pay

Gross Pay is everything earned in the period before any deduction:

• Hourly: rate × regular hours, plus overtime hours × 1.5 × rate, plus any bonus, commission, or tips.
• Salaried: annual salary ÷ number of pay periods (52 weekly, 26 biweekly, 24 semimonthly, 12 monthly).

Step 2: Pre-Tax Deductions

Subtract Section 125 benefit premiums (health, dental, vision), traditional 401(k) or 403(b) contributions, HSA and FSA contributions and commuter benefits. Two different taxable bases result:

• Federal and state income tax base: gross minus all pre-tax deductions.
• FICA base: gross minus Section 125 premiums, HSA and FSA only. Traditional 401(k) contributions do not reduce Social Security and Medicare wages.

Step 3: Federal Income Tax

Apply the IRS Publication 15-T percentage method for the employee's filing status, pay frequency and W-4 entries to the income tax base. This is the one line that is impractical to do by hand for every period, which is the main reason to use a generator with the current year's tables.

Step 4: Social Security and Medicare (FICA)

For 2026:

• Social Security: 6.2% of FICA wages, until year-to-date wages reach $184,500. After that, $0 for the rest of the year.
• Medicare: 1.45% of FICA wages, no cap.
• Additional Medicare: 0.9% on FICA wages above $200,000 year-to-date.

The employer matches the 6.2% and 1.45% separately; those employer amounts do not appear as employee deductions.

Step 5: State and Local Taxes

Depends entirely on the work state:

• No state income tax: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wyoming. The line is $0 or omitted.
• Flat-rate states: apply the single rate to the state taxable base.
• Bracketed states (California, New York, New Jersey and others): use that state's withholding tables and the state filing status.
• State-specific lines: California SDI, New Jersey SDI/FLI, New York PFL, Washington PFML and similar programs appear as their own rows.
• Local taxes: some cities and counties (New York City, Philadelphia, many Ohio and Pennsylvania municipalities) add a separate line.

Step 6: Post-Tax Deductions

Subtract Roth retirement contributions, union dues, wage garnishments, child support, loan repayments and after-tax insurance premiums. These do not change any tax figure.

Step 7: Net Pay and Year-to-Date

Net pay = Gross pay − pre-tax deductions − federal tax − FICA − state/local tax − post-tax deductions

Then add every current-period figure to the previous stub's YTD totals to produce this period's YTD column. On the first stub of the year, current and YTD are identical.

Worked Example: Making a Paystub From Scratch

An hourly employee in Texas, paid biweekly, single filer on a 2020-or-later W-4 with no extra entries, one pre-tax health deduction and one traditional 401(k) contribution. Second pay period of the year.

• Step 1: Gross pay. Regular: 80 × $24.00 = $1,920.00. Overtime: 5 × $24.00 × 1.5 = $180.00. Gross pay = $2,100.00.
• Step 2: Pre-tax deductions. Health: $80.00. 401(k): 5% × $2,100.00 = $105.00. Income tax base: $2,100.00 − $80.00 − $105.00 = $1,915.00. FICA base: $2,100.00 − $80.00 = $2,020.00 (401(k) does not reduce FICA).
• Step 3: Federal income tax. Using the IRS 2026 Percentage Method Tables, a single employee paid biweekly with $1,915 in federal taxable wages and no additional Form W-4 adjustments would have approximately $145.95 withheld for federal income tax under the automated percentage method. The math: $1,915.00 × 26 = $49,790.00 a year, minus the $8,600 Worksheet 1A adjustment = $41,190.00. The 2026 single table gives $1,240.00 plus 12% of the $21,290.00 above $19,900, or $3,794.80 a year. Divided by 26 pay periods, that is $145.95.
• Step 4: FICA. Social Security: 6.2% × $2,020.00 = $125.24. Medicare: 1.45% × $2,020.00 = $29.29.
• Step 5: State tax. Texas: $0.00.
• Step 6: Post-tax deductions. None.
• Step 7: Net pay. $2,100.00 − $80.00 − $105.00 − $145.95 − $125.24 − $29.29 = $1,614.52.

Resulting stub:

The YTD column adds the first pay date of 2026 (Jan 16): 80 regular hours with no overtime, the same $80.00 health premium and a 5% 401(k) contribution of $96.00. That leaves $1,744.00 of federal taxable wages, which the same IRS method turns into $125.43 of federal income tax. Social Security and Medicare for that period are figured on $1,840.00 ($1,920.00 minus the Section 125 health premium), or $114.08 and $26.68. YTD federal income tax is therefore $125.43 + $145.95 = $271.38.

Here is the same stub laid out the way a generator prints it:

The same inputs entered into a generator produce this stub in about two minutes. Other IRS methods and rounding choices can move the federal line by a few cents.

Three Ways to Make a Paystub Compared

A generator sits between the other two: it does the tax math correctly without the cost and set-up of full payroll software but it does not file or remit payroll taxes for you. Whoever makes the stub is still responsible for depositing the withheld amounts if there is an employer-employee relationship.

How to Make a Paystub for Yourself (Self-Employed)

Freelancers, sole proprietors, single-member LLC owners and S corporation owners often need a stub for a mortgage, auto loan, or rental application even though no employer issues one. If you work for clients as a 1099 contractor instead of paying yourself from your own business, the record looks different: nothing is withheld and pay stubs for independent contractors have to line up with each client's 1099-NEC rather than with payroll.

The right income record depends on how you work:

If you operate as a sole proprietor or independent contractor, document your income using actual business records, invoices, bank statements and tax filings. An owner's draw is not the same as employee wages and should not be presented as a W-2 salary. The IRS explains that a sole proprietor is not an employee of their own business, which is why an owner's draw should not be treated as regular payroll wages. Business owners who receive wages through formal payroll, such as qualifying S corporation shareholder-employees, should use their actual payroll records when creating pay stubs.

If you make quarterly estimated tax payments, keep those payments separate from employee payroll withholding. The IRS estimated tax guidelines explain how self-employed individuals generally pay income tax and self-employment tax through estimated payments rather than employer payroll withholding. You may include estimated tax payments in a personal cash-flow or income summary but you should not label them as taxes withheld from wages unless actual payroll withholding occurred.

Keep the supporting records (bank statements, invoices, estimated tax payments) together. Lenders will ask for them and any summary you prepare must match your real income and your tax filings.

How to Make Paystubs for Employees (Small Business)

If you have one or a few employees and run payroll yourself:

• Collect a Form W-4 from each employee and, where required, the state equivalent. The filing status and entries on these forms drive the withholding.
• Make a stub for every pay period, for every employee, even if they are paid by direct deposit. Most states require it; California, for example, specifies exactly which fields must appear.
• Keep YTD running correctly. Generate stubs in date order for each employee so the YTD column accumulates. Never create a mid-year stub with YTD equal to current unless it is the first pay of the year.
• Deposit what you withhold. The federal income tax and FICA you show as deducted must be sent to the IRS on your deposit schedule, along with the employer match. State withholding goes to the state.
• Keep records for at least three years, as required under the Fair Labor Standards Act and give employees access to their stubs (paper or electronic, depending on your state's rules).

Common Mistakes When Making a Paystub

• Wrong pay frequency. Selecting biweekly for a semimonthly employee changes the withholding table and the number of periods per year.
• Applying 401(k) to the FICA base. Traditional 401(k) reduces income tax, not Social Security and Medicare.
• Forgetting the Social Security cap. Once YTD wages pass $184,500 in 2026, that line must drop to $0.
• Using the employer's state instead of the employee's. Remote employees are generally taxed where they work, which is where they live.
• Skipping state-specific lines. A California stub without SDI, or a New Jersey stub without SDI and FLI, is incomplete.
• Resetting YTD. Every stub after the first of the year must carry the previous totals forward.
• Rounding the gross. $25.00 × 37.5 hours is $937.50, not $940. Small rounding breaks the reconciliation with the W-2 at year end.
• Leaving the pay date before the period end without meaning to. It happens (some employers pay early) but it should be deliberate.

Is It Legal to Make Your Own Paystub?

Yes, as long as the stub is accurate. There is no federal law that says a pay stub must come from a payroll company. An employer can produce stubs with any tool and a self-employed person can document their own income in stub form.

What is illegal is producing a stub that misrepresents income, employer, or employment status in order to obtain credit, housing, benefits, or a government program. That is fraud, whether the document was made in a generator, a spreadsheet, or by hand. Lenders and employers may verify pay stubs by comparing payroll records, tax calculations and actual payments. However, FICA withholding does not always equal 7.65% of gross pay because the Social Security wage base, Additional Medicare Tax and certain pre-tax benefits can change the amount withheld. The IRS Social Security and Medicare withholding rules explain why Social Security withholding has an annual wage limit while Medicare tax does not.

Made honestly, a self-generated stub is a normal, accepted document. Made dishonestly, it is evidence.

Make Your Paystub Now

If you have the information from the checklist above, you are five minutes away from a finished stub. Enter the company and employee details, the pay period and earnings and the work state; review the calculated taxes; download the PDF.