How to prepare a check stub, step by step

Preparing a check stub is an exercise in getting the order right. Do the steps in this sequence and the totals reconcile every time.

Step 1: Identify the employer and the employee

Write the employer's legal name and address. Add the employee's name, an employee ID if you use one, and at most the last four digits of the Social Security number. Never put a full SSN on a stub.

Step 2: Set the pay period and pay date

The pay period is the span of work being paid: for example September 1 to September 14. The pay date is the day the money is paid, usually a few days later. State the pay frequency (weekly, biweekly, semimonthly or monthly) because the tax tables depend on it.

Step 3: Enter the earnings

For hourly employees, list regular hours and the rate, then overtime hours and the overtime rate (usually one and a half times the regular rate). For salaried employees, enter the salary for the period: the annual salary divided by the number of pay periods in the year. Add bonuses, commissions and tips on separate lines.

Step 4: Total the gross pay

Add every earnings line. This is gross pay, the base for the taxes.

Step 5: Work out the pre-tax deductions

Retirement deferrals and Section 125 benefits come out before tax. Retirement deferrals reduce income tax wages only; health premiums and HSA contributions reduce Social Security and Medicare wages as well. Note the two taxable wage figures before moving on.

Step 6: Calculate federal income tax

Use the percentage method in IRS Publication 15-T with the employee's Form W-4 (filing status, Step 2 checkbox, Step 3 credits, Step 4 adjustments) and the pay frequency. The FIT guide walks through the method.

Step 7: Calculate Social Security and Medicare

Social Security is 6.20% of FICA wages until the employee's year-to-date wages reach $184,500 for 2026. Medicare is 1.45% of all FICA wages, plus the Additional Medicare Tax above $200,000 of year-to-date wages.

Step 8: Add state and local tax

Apply the state's withholding formula, if the state has an income tax, and any city or county tax for the work location. Nine states have no income tax on wages.

Step 9: List after-tax deductions

Roth contributions, union dues, garnishments and other after-tax items go here.

Step 10: Subtract to get net pay

Gross pay minus all taxes minus all deductions equals net pay. This must equal the check or deposit amount. If it does not, one of the earlier steps is wrong.

Step 11: Fill in the year-to-date column

Add this period's amounts to the previous stub's YTD figures for every line. For the first stub of the year, YTD equals current. Read what YTD means.

Step 12: Check and issue

Confirm the pay period, pay date and tax year, then give the stub to the employee with the payment and keep a copy in the payroll record.

The fast way

The pay stub generator does steps 4 through 11 for you: enter the details from steps 1 to 3, choose the state, and it calculates the taxes, fills in YTD from the pay date and frequency, and produces a PDF. For a printable layout to fill in by hand, use the pay stub templates or the payroll check with stub.

Prepare a check stub in the generator