What is a pay stub? Meaning and definition

A pay stub is the statement that comes with a paycheck and shows how the amount was worked out. It lists what the employee earned in the pay period, every tax and deduction that was taken out, and the net amount paid. It also carries running year-to-date totals.

The same document goes by several names: paycheck stub, check stub, pay slip, earnings statement, wage statement or payroll stub. On a paper check it is the detachable part. With direct deposit it is usually a PDF in the employer's payroll portal.

What a pay stub shows

Every pay stub has the same four parts, whatever the layout.

1. Header. The employer's name and address, the employee's name and often an employee ID, the pay period start and end dates, and the pay date.
2. Earnings. Regular pay (hours times rate, or the salary for the period), overtime, bonuses, commissions and tips, each with a current amount and a year-to-date amount.
3. Deductions. Federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, state and local income tax where they apply, then benefit deductions such as health insurance and retirement contributions.
4. Net pay. Gross pay minus total deductions: the amount deposited or written on the check.

Our pay stub examples show four completed stubs with every line explained.

Why pay stubs matter

For the employee, the stub is the proof that wages were paid correctly and taxes were withheld. Lenders, landlords and some government programs ask for recent pay stubs as proof of income. The year-to-date figures help check the W-2 in January.

For the employer, the stub is part of the payroll record. Federal law requires employers to keep accurate records of hours and wages, and most states require that employees receive a statement of earnings and deductions with each payment, on paper or electronically.

For the self-employed, there is no employer to issue a stub. Contractors document their own income with an earnings statement based on the payments they received. Our 1099 pay stub generator creates one.

The federal lines on every stub

Three deductions appear on almost every employee stub in the United States.

• Federal income tax, often abbreviated FIT or FWT. The amount depends on wages, pay frequency and the employee's Form W-4. See what FIT means on a pay stub.
• Social Security, sometimes labelled OASDI or FICA SS. The employee pays 6.20% of wages up to the annual wage base of $184,500 for 2026.
• Medicare, sometimes labelled FICA Med or HI. The employee pays 1.45% of all wages, with an extra Additional Medicare Tax on wages above $200,000 in a year.

Current vs year to date

Each line has two amounts. Current is this pay period. YTD (year to date) is the total since January 1. The YTD column is what lenders look at to judge annual income, and it is what should match the W-2 at year end. Read what YTD means on a pay stub.

How to make a pay stub

Employers with payroll software get stubs automatically. Small employers who run payroll by hand, and self-employed people who need a record, can create one in a few minutes:

Open the free pay stub generator

Enter the company, the employee, the pay and the state. The generator calculates federal, Social Security, Medicare and state tax for the current year and produces a PDF with no watermark. If you prefer a file to fill in yourself, the pay stub templates come in Word, Excel and PDF.