[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":406},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-how-to-make-pay-stubs-for-employees":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"date":394,"description":395,"draft":396,"extension":397,"keyword":398,"meta":399,"navigation":400,"path":401,"seo":402,"stem":403,"updated":404,"__hash__":405},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-make-pay-stubs-for-employees.md","How to make pay stubs for employees",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":379},"minimark",[9,13,18,25,31,53,57,60,162,165,169,172,175,178,182,185,188,192,195,225,232,236,239,246,250,258,262,265,271,277,281,319,323,330,334],[10,11,12],"p",{},"If you have one or two employees and no payroll provider, making a pay stub is a small task wrapped around one hard part: the withholding. This walks through the whole thing in the order you actually have to do it.",[14,15,17],"h2",{"id":16},"before-you-start-three-things-you-need-on-file","Before you start: three things you need on file",[10,19,20,24],{},[21,22,23],"strong",{},"A completed Form W-4 for each employee."," Not a guess at their filing status — the actual form. The 2020 redesign removed allowances and replaced them with dollar amounts, so a W-4 signed in 2019 and a W-4 signed last month feed the calculation differently, and Publication 15-T has separate worksheets for each. If someone never filed one, the IRS default is single with no adjustments.",[10,26,27,30],{},[21,28,29],{},"A state withholding certificate, where the state has one."," Most states with an income tax have their own form and their own version of allowances or exemptions. A few states cannot be calculated from the state certificate alone: Maryland and Indiana need the county the employee lives in, Alabama and Oregon need the actual federal withholding amount, and New Jersey and Connecticut turn on which lettered table applies.",[10,32,33,36,37,42,43,47,48,52],{},[21,34,35],{},"Your pay schedule, written down and posted."," This is not administrative tidiness — several states require it. ",[38,39,41],"a",{"href":40},"\u002Fpay-stub-requirements\u002Fillinois","Illinois"," requires a notice at every place of business showing the regular paydays and the place and time of payment. ",[38,44,46],{"href":45},"\u002Fpay-stub-requirements\u002Ftexas","Texas"," requires payday notices posted where they are easily seen, and if you never designate paydays the law makes them the 1st and the 15th. ",[38,49,51],{"href":50},"\u002Fpay-stub-requirements\u002Fcalifornia","California"," requires a posted notice showing the day, time and location of payment.",[14,54,56],{"id":55},"step-1-pick-a-pay-frequency-your-state-allows","Step 1: pick a pay frequency your state allows",[10,58,59],{},"You have less freedom here than you might think, and it varies by state and sometimes by job:",[61,62,63,76],"table",{},[64,65,66],"thead",{},[67,68,69,73],"tr",{},[70,71,72],"th",{},"State",[70,74,75],{},"Rule",[77,78,79,91,100,111,122,131,140,151],"tbody",{},[67,80,81,88],{},[82,83,84],"td",{},[38,85,87],{"href":86},"\u002Fpay-stub-requirements\u002Fnew-york","New York",[82,89,90],{},"Manual workers weekly, within 7 days of the week ending. Clerical and other workers at least semi-monthly. Commission salespeople at least monthly.",[67,92,93,97],{},[82,94,95],{},[38,96,51],{"href":50},[82,98,99],{},"Twice a month. The 1st–15th paid by the 26th, the 16th–end paid by the 10th of the next month.",[67,101,102,108],{},[82,103,104],{},[38,105,107],{"href":106},"\u002Fpay-stub-requirements\u002Fohio","Ohio",[82,109,110],{},"First half of the month by the 1st of the next, second half by the 15th.",[67,112,113,119],{},[82,114,115],{},[38,116,118],{"href":117},"\u002Fpay-stub-requirements\u002Fmichigan","Michigan",[82,120,121],{},"Twice a month by default; a weekly or biweekly payday complies if it lands within 14 days of the work period ending.",[67,123,124,128],{},[82,125,126],{},[38,127,46],{"href":45},[82,129,130],{},"Twice a month for non-exempt, at least monthly for FLSA-exempt.",[67,132,133,137],{},[82,134,135],{},[38,136,41],{"href":40},[82,138,139],{},"At least semi-monthly; executive, administrative and professional employees and commissions may be monthly.",[67,141,142,148],{},[82,143,144],{},[38,145,147],{"href":146},"\u002Fpay-stub-requirements\u002Fnorth-carolina","North Carolina",[82,149,150],{},"Daily, weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly or monthly — your choice.",[67,152,153,159],{},[82,154,155],{},[38,156,158],{"href":157},"\u002Fpay-stub-requirements\u002Fflorida","Florida",[82,160,161],{},"No state rule at all.",[10,163,164],{},"Biweekly is the common default because it makes overtime arithmetic clean — every pay period is exactly two workweeks — but check your state before committing.",[14,166,168],{"id":167},"step-2-work-out-gross-pay","Step 2: work out gross pay",[10,170,171],{},"Hours worked at the regular rate, plus overtime at time-and-a-half for hours over 40 in a workweek, plus anything else — bonuses, commissions, reimbursements.",[10,173,174],{},"Two traps here. First, \"workweek\" is a defined term: a fixed, recurring 168-hour period you adopt in advance. Overtime is computed per workweek, not per pay period, so a biweekly stub with 82 hours does not automatically mean 2 hours of overtime — it depends on how those hours fell across the two weeks. Ohio's pay stub statute defines workweek exactly this way and requires hourly employees' over-forty hours to be shown.",[10,176,177],{},"Second, the minimum wage that applies may not be your state's. In 2026 that means $16.90 in California but $20.00 for employees of covered fast food chains; $17.00 in New York City, Long Island and Westchester against $16.00 upstate; $15.00 across Illinois but $17.05 in Chicago for employers with four or more employees. Where a local rate is higher, the local one governs.",[14,179,181],{"id":180},"step-3-calculate-federal-withholding","Step 3: calculate federal withholding",[10,183,184],{},"Federal income tax withholding is not \"a percentage of pay.\" Publication 15-T's percentage method annualizes the pay period, subtracts a fixed amount depending on filing status — $8,600 for single and head of household in 2026, $12,900 for married filing jointly — applies a bracket table to what remains, then divides back down to the pay period.",[10,186,187],{},"The W-4 boxes feed in at specific points: the dependents amount reduces the annual tax, other income increases the annualized wage, deductions reduce it, and extra withholding is added flat at the end. If the employee checked Step 2(c) because they hold multiple jobs, you use a different table entirely — not a reduced adjustment.",[14,189,191],{"id":190},"step-4-calculate-fica","Step 4: calculate FICA",[10,193,194],{},"This part is genuinely simple arithmetic, and it is where hand-built payrolls most often go wrong.",[196,197,198,209,215],"ul",{},[199,200,201,204,205,208],"li",{},[21,202,203],{},"Social Security: 6.2%"," of wages, up to a 2026 wage base of ",[21,206,207],{},"$184,500",". Once year-to-date Social Security wages pass that, withholding stops for the rest of the year.",[199,210,211,214],{},[21,212,213],{},"Medicare: 1.45%"," of all wages, with no cap.",[199,216,217,220,221,224],{},[21,218,219],{},"Additional Medicare: 0.9%"," on wages above ",[21,222,223],{},"$200,000"," in the calendar year. This threshold is $200,000 for withholding purposes regardless of filing status. The $250,000 figure people quote is the threshold for the tax owed on a return, not for what you withhold.",[10,226,227,228,231],{},"The mistake worth naming: ",[21,229,230],{},"a 401(k) deferral does not reduce the FICA base."," It reduces federal income tax wages, but Social Security and Medicare are still computed on the full amount. Section 125 cafeteria plan deductions — most health premiums — do reduce both. Getting this backwards produces a stub that looks perfectly ordinary and under-withholds all year.",[14,233,235],{"id":234},"step-5-calculate-state-withholding","Step 5: calculate state withholding",[10,237,238],{},"Most states follow the same shape: annualize the wage, subtract a state standard deduction, subtract exemptions for whatever the state's version of allowances is, apply the state schedule, then subtract credits for those same allowances. The variations are real, though — Maine and Wisconsin phase the deduction out as income rises, South Carolina makes it a percentage of earnings with a cap, Kansas prices the first exemptions higher than the rest, and Rhode Island stops giving exemptions any value above a threshold.",[10,240,241,242,245],{},"Three states changed rates part-way through 2026: Georgia on May 11, Utah on June 1, and Ohio on August 1. If you are producing a stub for an earlier pay period, use the table that was in force on the ",[21,243,244],{},"pay date",", not the one in force today.",[14,247,249],{"id":248},"step-6-lay-out-the-stub","Step 6: lay out the stub",[10,251,252,253,257],{},"Everything from ",[38,254,256],{"href":255},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-to-include-on-a-pay-stub","what to include on a pay stub"," applies. Minimum: employer name and address, employee name with no more than the last four SSN digits, pay period dates and pay date, hours and rates split by regular and overtime, gross, each deduction itemized with its purpose, net, and year-to-date columns.",[14,259,261],{"id":260},"step-7-deliver-it-and-keep-it","Step 7: deliver it, and keep it",[10,263,264],{},"Electronic is fine almost everywhere, with conditions — see the state pages. But keep two things in mind:",[10,266,267,270],{},[21,268,269],{},"Retention is longer than people assume."," Federal law: payroll records three years, computation records two. California: statements and deduction records three years. Illinois: every pay stub three years, whether it was paper or electronic, even after the employee leaves. Michigan: three years, open to inspection by the director of labor.",[10,272,273,276],{},[21,274,275],{},"Access has to outlive employment in some states."," Illinois requires that if your electronic stubs will not stay reachable for a full year after separation, you offer a departing employee a record of the past year by their final pay period — and document whether they accepted. That is easy to comply with and easy to forget entirely.",[14,278,280],{"id":279},"what-goes-wrong-on-small-payrolls","What goes wrong on small payrolls",[196,282,283,289,295,301,307,313],{},[199,284,285,288],{},[21,286,287],{},"FICA base confusion",", as above. The most expensive quiet error.",[199,290,291,294],{},[21,292,293],{},"Overtime computed per pay period"," rather than per workweek.",[199,296,297,300],{},[21,298,299],{},"A local minimum wage overlooked"," because the state rate was checked and the city rate was not.",[199,302,303,306],{},[21,304,305],{},"No posted payday notice",", which is a standalone violation in several states even when every paycheck was correct.",[199,308,309,312],{},[21,310,311],{},"Deductions taken without written authorization."," Texas is explicit: outside court orders and legally required withholding, deductions need the employee's written authorization for a lawful purpose, and an authorization that is too general does not count.",[199,314,315,318],{},[21,316,317],{},"Stubs that stop at gross and net."," An employee who cannot reconstruct the arithmetic will ask, and in New York they can require a written explanation of how the wages were computed.",[14,320,322],{"id":321},"doing-it-without-a-payroll-provider","Doing it without a payroll provider",[10,324,325,329],{},[38,326,328],{"href":327},"\u002Fgenerator","The generator"," applies the 2026 Publication 15-T tables, the SSA wage base, and the state withholding table in force on the pay date you enter, then lays the result out as a stub you can print or save. Pick your state and it selects the right table automatically. For the handful of states whose formula needs data outside the model, it says so on the document rather than printing a zero that looks like an answer.",[14,331,333],{"id":332},"sources","Sources",[196,335,336,344,351,358,365,372],{},[199,337,338],{},[38,339,343],{"href":340,"rel":341},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.dol.gov\u002Fagencies\u002Fwhd\u002Ffact-sheets\u002F21-flsa-recordkeeping",[342],"nofollow","U.S. Department of Labor — Fact Sheet #21: Recordkeeping Requirements under the FLSA",[199,345,346],{},[38,347,350],{"href":348,"rel":349},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ssa.gov\u002Foact\u002Fcola\u002Fcbb.html",[342],"SSA — Contribution and Benefit Base",[199,352,353],{},[38,354,357],{"href":355,"rel":356},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.irs.gov\u002Ftaxtopics\u002Ftc751",[342],"IRS Topic No. 751 — Social Security and Medicare withholding rates",[199,359,360],{},[38,361,364],{"href":362,"rel":363},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.twc.texas.gov\u002Fprograms\u002Fwage-and-hour\u002Ftexas-payday-law",[342],"Texas Workforce Commission — Texas Payday Law",[199,366,367],{},[38,368,371],{"href":369,"rel":370},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ilga.gov\u002Flegislation\u002Filcs\u002Ffulltext.asp?DocName=082001150K10",[342],"820 ILCS 115\u002F10",[199,373,374],{},[38,375,378],{"href":376,"rel":377},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.dir.ca.gov\u002Fdlse\u002Ffaq_paydays.htm",[342],"DLSE — Paydays, pay periods, and final wages",{"title":380,"searchDepth":381,"depth":381,"links":382},"",2,[383,384,385,386,387,388,389,390,391,392,393],{"id":16,"depth":381,"text":17},{"id":55,"depth":381,"text":56},{"id":167,"depth":381,"text":168},{"id":180,"depth":381,"text":181},{"id":190,"depth":381,"text":191},{"id":234,"depth":381,"text":235},{"id":248,"depth":381,"text":249},{"id":260,"depth":381,"text":261},{"id":279,"depth":381,"text":280},{"id":321,"depth":381,"text":322},{"id":332,"depth":381,"text":333},"2026-08-21","A practical walkthrough for a small employer issuing pay stubs: what you need before you start, how the 2026 withholding actually works, and where small payrolls go wrong.",false,"md","how to make pay stubs for employees",{},true,"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-make-pay-stubs-for-employees",{"title":5,"description":395},"blog\u002Fhow-to-make-pay-stubs-for-employees",null,"q2Psm1C7yCgnjffpwQhRLfc0Qbk42O5jXqajdtbdZ0U",1789202124834]