# Pay stub template for small employers: every line from gross to net

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By [Arthur Teboul](/authors/arthur-teboul), Founder, DokuTrak. Published 2026-10-30, updated 2026-10-30.

> **In brief:** A paystub template is a blank pay statement an employer fills in each payday: pay period and pay date, hours and rate, gross pay, each tax and deduction, and net pay, with year-to-date totals. Keep the year-to-date column adding up period after period, because that is the first thing a reader checks.

## What is a pay stub template?

**A pay stub** is the statement that goes with each paycheck or direct deposit, showing how gross pay became net pay. If you want the employee’s view of one, read the pay stub guide. This page is for the employer who has to produce it.

Federal law sets out the payroll records an employer keeps, rather than a stub layout. Under the FLSA recordkeeping rule, that includes the basis of pay, hours worked each workday and workweek, overtime earnings, additions and deductions, total wages and the pay date and period ([29 CFR 516.2, Employees subject to minimum wage or overtime](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/516.2)). A stub that carries those lines covers part of that record; keep the time records and the employee details the rule lists, such as home address and occupation, alongside it ([29 CFR 516.2, Employees subject to minimum wage or overtime](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/516.2)).

Many states go further and require a written wage statement with specific items. Check your state labor department’s list before you settle on a layout, and add any line it names.

## Who sends it, and when

The employer issues pay stubs, usually through payroll software or a payroll provider, on every payday. A small business that runs payroll by hand fills in a template like this one. An employee never makes their own: a self-employed person proves income with tax returns, 1099 forms and bank statements instead.

## Where to get a pay stub template

1. Set up the header once: legal business name, address, and the employee’s name with an ID or the last four digits of the SSN.
2. Each payday, enter the pay period dates, pay date, hours and rate, or the salary for the period, for example two weeks of a yearly salary.
3. Work out each tax from the employee’s Form W-4, the IRS withholding methods in Publication 15-T and your state’s rules.
4. Enter every deduction on its own line, then net pay.
5. Add this period to last period’s year-to-date figures for every line.
6. Give the stub to the employee and keep a copy with your payroll records.

## Wrong files people send instead

- Year-to-date totals that do not equal last period’s totals plus this period.
- Social Security and Medicare that do not match the published rates on taxable wages.
- The full Social Security number printed on the stub.
- Overtime hours lumped into regular hours at the regular rate.
- A stub made by someone who is not the employer, to show a landlord or lender.

## Every line of the stub, and what goes in it

Work top to bottom. Each line has a current-period figure and a year-to-date figure.

| Line | What to enter |
| --- | --- |
| Pay period and pay date | Start and end dates of the period, and the date paid ([29 CFR 516.2, Employees subject to minimum wage or overtime](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/516.2)) |
| Regular earnings | Hourly rate times regular hours, or salary for the period |
| Overtime earnings | Overtime rate times overtime hours, on its own line |
| Other earnings | Bonus, commission, tips, holiday or paid leave, each on its own line |
| Gross pay | Total of all earnings lines |
| Federal income tax | From the employee’s Form W-4 and Publication 15-T ([IRS Publication 15 (2026), Employer’s Tax Guide](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p15)) |
| Social Security tax | 6.2% of taxable wages up to the wage base ([IRS Publication 15 (2026), Employer’s Tax Guide](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p15)) |
| Medicare tax | 1.45% of all taxable wages ([IRS Publication 15 (2026), Employer’s Tax Guide](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p15)) |
| State and local taxes | State and local income tax, and any state disability or leave contribution |
| Pre-tax deductions | Retirement plan, health premiums, HSA |
| After-tax deductions | Roth contributions, garnishments, union dues |
| Net pay | Gross pay minus every tax and deduction |

## Payroll tax rates for 2026

For 2026, social security tax is 6.2% each for the employer and the employee, on wages up to $184,500 ([IRS Publication 15 (2026), Employer’s Tax Guide](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p15)). Medicare tax is 1.45% each, with no wage base limit ([IRS Publication 15 (2026), Employer’s Tax Guide](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p15)).

**Additional Medicare Tax** is an extra withholding on high earners. You withhold 0.9% from wages you pay an employee above $200,000 in a calendar year, starting in the pay period they cross it ([IRS Publication 15 (2026), Employer’s Tax Guide](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p15)). Only the employee’s share shows on the stub.

Income tax withholding has no single rate. It depends on the employee’s Form W-4 and the withholding methods in Publication 15-T ([IRS Publication 15 (2026), Employer’s Tax Guide](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p15)), so a template cannot fill it in for you.

## Records to keep after payday

A stub is one copy of a record you have to keep anyway. The FLSA rule asks you to keep payroll records for at least 3 years ([29 CFR 516.5, Records to be preserved 3 years](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/516.5)). The IRS asks you to keep employment tax records for at least 4 years ([IRS Publication 15 (2026), Employer’s Tax Guide](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p15)).

In practice, keep the stubs, the time records behind them and each employee’s Form W-4 together, and keep them for the longer of the two periods.

## How landlords and lenders check a stub

Employees hand stubs to landlords and lenders, who read them with care. **A year-to-date total** is the running sum since the start of the calendar year, and readers check it first.

- Year-to-date gross divided by the pay periods elapsed should look like the current gross.
- Social Security and Medicare should equal the published rates on taxable wages ([IRS Publication 15 (2026), Employer’s Tax Guide](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p15)).
- Pay dates should fall on a regular schedule, such as every other Friday.
- Net pay should match the deposits on the employee’s bank statement.
- The employer named on the stub should answer a call on a number the reader finds itself.

## The template: Pay stub template

For employers running payroll by hand. Fill one copy per employee each payday, keep the earnings and deduction lines that apply, and carry year-to-date figures forward from the last stub.

```text
[Business legal name]
[Business address]
Employee: [Employee name]   Employee ID: [ID or last four digits of SSN]
Pay period: [start date] to [end date]   Pay date: [pay date]

Earnings
Regular: [hours] hours at $[rate] = $[amount] (year to date $[amount]). Salary for the period, if salaried: $[amount] (year to date $[amount]).

Overtime (optional)
Overtime: [hours] hours at $[overtime rate] = $[amount] (year to date $[amount]).

Other earnings (optional)
[Bonus / commission / tips / paid leave]: $[amount] (year to date $[amount]).

Gross pay
Gross pay: $[amount] (year to date $[amount]).

Taxes withheld
Federal income tax: $[amount]. Social Security: $[amount]. Medicare: $[amount]. State income tax: $[amount]. Local tax: $[amount]. Year-to-date total taxes: $[amount].

Deductions (optional)
Pre-tax: [plan name] $[amount], [health premium] $[amount]. After-tax: [Roth / garnishment / union dues] $[amount]. Year-to-date total deductions: $[amount].

Net pay
Net pay: $[amount] (year to date $[amount]), paid by [direct deposit to account ending in [last four digits] / check number [number]].

Leave balances (optional)
Paid time off available: [hours]. Sick leave available: [hours].

Questions about this statement: [payroll contact name], [phone or email]
```

Download: [Word](https://dokutrak.com/downloads/pseo-v2/f6-document-guides/pay-stub-template.docx) · [PDF](https://dokutrak.com/downloads/pseo-v2/f6-document-guides/pay-stub-template.pdf) · [Excel or Google Sheets](https://dokutrak.com/downloads/pseo-v2/f6-document-guides/pay-stub-template.xlsx)

## Questions people ask

### Are employers required to give employees pay stubs?

Federal law sets the payroll records you keep rather than a stub format ([29 CFR 516.2, Employees subject to minimum wage or overtime](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/516.2)). Many states require a written wage statement each payday, so check your state labor department.

### Can I make my own pay stub if I am self-employed?

You can track your pay however you like, but a stub you make for yourself is not proof of income. Landlords and lenders want your tax returns, 1099 forms and bank statements instead.

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

No. A stub covers one pay period with year-to-date totals; the W-2 is the yearly summary the employer files and sends after the year ends.

### Which format works best: Excel, Word or PDF?

The Excel file, which also opens in Google Sheets, if you run payroll yourself: one row per payday, and gross, net and year-to-date totals add up by formula. The Word file prints one stub at a time for an employee, and the PDF is a blank to read or print.

### How long do I keep payroll records?

At least 3 years under the FLSA rule ([29 CFR 516.5, Records to be preserved 3 years](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/516.5)), and at least 4 years for employment tax records under IRS guidance ([IRS Publication 15 (2026), Employer’s Tax Guide](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p15)).

**Not advice.** This page is general information, not tax, legal or HR advice. Rules change: check the cited source and ask your own professional before you rely on it. Last reviewed October 25, 2026.

## Sources

- [29 CFR 516.2, Employees subject to minimum wage or overtime](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/516.2): An FLSA employer must keep, for each covered employee, the basis of pay, hours worked each workday and workweek, straight-time and overtime earnings, additions and deductions, total wages paid each pay period, and the pay date and period.
- [29 CFR 516.5, Records to be preserved 3 years](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/516.5): Payroll records must be preserved for at least 3 years.
- [IRS Publication 15 (2026), Employer’s Tax Guide](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p15): For 2026, social security tax is 6.2% each for employer and employee up to a $184,500 wage base, Medicare is 1.45% each, Additional Medicare Tax of 0.9% applies to wages over $200,000, employment tax records are kept at least 4 years, and employers use Pub. 15-T to figure income tax withholding.

## More on this topic

- [Proof of income](/documents/proof-of-income)
- [Self-employed proof of income](/documents/proof-of-income/self-employed)

## About the author

Arthur Teboul (Founder, DokuTrak) is building DokuTrak after watching professionals lose hours chasing clients for documents over email. [Arthur Teboul](/authors/arthur-teboul).

How this page was made (methodology): it is built from the primary sources listed under Sources, and every rule and figure on it links to the source it comes from. Last updated October 25, 2026. Spotted an error or a rule that changed? [Contact us](/contact).

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