What to include on a pay stub

There is no federal list of what belongs on a pay stub. The Fair Labor Standards Act tells employers what to keep, not what to hand over, and the Department of Labor is explicit that "the Act requires no particular form for the records." Everything about the document itself — its layout, its wording, whether it exists at all — comes from state law, and state law varies more than almost anyone expects.

This guide covers three layers: the records federal law makes you keep, the lines a usable stub carries regardless of state, and the items individual states add on top.

Layer one: what federal law makes you keep

For every non-exempt worker, an employer must maintain:

full name and Social Security number
address, including ZIP code
birth date, if younger than 19
sex and occupation
the time and day of the week the workweek begins
hours worked each day and total hours worked each workweek
the basis on which wages are paid — "$9 per hour", "$440 a week", "piecework"
the regular hourly pay rate
total daily or weekly straight-time earnings
total overtime earnings for the workweek
all additions to and deductions from wages
total wages paid each pay period
the date of payment and the pay period it covers

Payroll records are kept at least three years. The records the wage computations are based on — time cards, piece work tickets, wage rate tables, work schedules, records of additions and deductions — are kept two years.

Read that list next to any real pay stub and the overlap is obvious. Federal recordkeeping does not require a stub, but it requires assembling almost everything a stub would show. That is why employers in states with no stub law usually issue one anyway: the data already exists.

Layer two: the lines a usable stub carries anywhere

Whatever your state says, a stub that anyone can act on shows these:

Identification. Employer legal name and address, employee name, and — this matters — no more than the last four digits of a Social Security number. California makes that a statutory rule; everywhere else it is simply the sane default. A full SSN on a document that travels through email and filing cabinets is a liability with no upside.

The pay period, stated as dates. "Period ending 08/15" is ambiguous. "August 1–15, 2026, paid August 21, 2026" is not. Ohio, New York and California all require the inclusive dates rather than a label.

Hours and rates, separated. Regular hours at the regular rate, overtime hours at the overtime rate, each on its own line. A single "gross pay" figure with no arithmetic behind it is the single most common reason a stub gets questioned.

Gross pay for the period.

Every deduction, itemized, with what it was for. Federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, state income tax, and anything else — health premiums, 401(k), garnishments. Ohio's statute asks specifically for "the amount and purpose of each addition to or deduction from" wages, which is a good standard to hold yourself to even outside Ohio.

Net pay.

Year-to-date columns. Not universally required, but they are the reason a stub is accepted as proof of income at all. Illinois now writes year-to-date wages and deductions into its statutory definition of a pay stub.

Layer three: what your state adds

The states diverge sharply, and in both directions.

States that specify a long list. New York requires the most: dates covered, employee name, employer name, employer address and phone number, the rate or rates of pay and the basis of them, gross wages, deductions, allowances claimed against the minimum wage, and net wages — plus regular and overtime rates and hours for anyone not exempt from overtime. It also requires the employer to explain in writing how the wages were computed if the employee asks.

California names nine items in Labor Code § 226 and prices mistakes per pay period: $50 for the first, $100 for each after, capped at $4,000, plus fees.

States that specify a short list. Michigan asks for hours worked, gross wages, the pay period and itemized deductions — and never mentions net pay. Nearly every Michigan stub shows it anyway, because payroll software prints it, but the statute does not compel it.

States that require only part of a stub. North Carolina requires an itemized statement of deductions, and only for pay periods in which deductions were actually made. No gross, no net, no hours.

States that require nothing. Florida and Georgia have no pay stub statute at all. Texas is the subtlest case: § 62.003 does require an earnings statement, but § 62.151 removes anyone covered by the FLSA from that chapter, which is most of the workforce.

States that changed recently. Ohio had no pay stub law until April 9, 2025. Illinois rewrote its rules effective January 1, 2025, adding a three-year retention duty and a right for former employees to demand copies for a year after they leave. If your compliance notes are more than two years old, they are wrong about at least one state.

Two items that cause most of the trouble

Overtime shown as a lump. If a non-exempt employee cannot see how many hours were paid at which rate, the stub fails in New York and California outright and invites a wage claim everywhere else. Split the lines.

Deductions without a purpose. "Misc — $84.00" is not an itemization. Several states require the purpose beside the amount, and every state's wage claim process starts with an employee who could not tell what came out of their pay.

Electronic versus paper

Almost every state now accepts electronic delivery, but the conditions differ enough to matter:

Ohio writes it into the statute — a written statement, an electronic statement, or access to a statement all comply.
California allows it on conditions from the Labor Commissioner: the employee can switch back to paper at any time, can print at work at no charge, and former employees get paper copies free on request.
New York requires that workers be able to reach statements on a computer the employer provides and print a copy.
Illinois goes furthest: if electronic stubs stop being reachable after someone leaves, the employer must offer them a record of the past year by the final pay period — and write down whether the offer was accepted.

The common thread is that "electronic" cannot mean "unreachable." A portal an ex-employee is locked out of is not delivery.

A working checklist

Build every stub with these, then add whatever your state requires on top:

Employer legal name and address
Employee name and no more than the last four SSN digits
Pay period start and end dates, plus the pay date
Regular hours × regular rate
Overtime hours × overtime rate, on separate lines
Gross pay
Each deduction, itemized, labelled with its purpose
Net pay
Year-to-date gross, deductions and net

Open the generator and it lays out exactly this, applies the 2026 federal, FICA and state withholding tables to the figures you enter, and lets you check the result before you commit to a payroll run.