Pay stub requirements in Michigan

01 — The law

What Michigan law requires

1. 01

   What the statement must show

   At the time wages are paid, the employer furnishes a statement of the hours worked, the gross wages paid, identification of the pay period the payment covers, and a separate itemization of deductions. Hand harvesters paid on a piece work basis also get the total number of units harvested.

   MCL 408.479 — Records; statement of wages →
2. 02

   Hours may be omitted for some employees

   Payroll records and wage statements need not show total hours worked for employees in a bona fide executive, administrative or professional capacity, for holders of public elective office, or for political appointees.

   MCL 408.479 — Records; statement of wages →
3. 03

   The record behind the statement, kept three years

   For each employee the employer maintains name, address, birth date, occupation or classification, total basic rate of pay, total hours worked in each pay period, total wages paid each pay period, a separate itemization of deductions and a listing of fringe benefits. The records are kept at least three years and are open to inspection by the director of labor at any reasonable time.

   MCL 408.479 — Records; statement of wages →
4. 04

   Twice a month by default

   Wages earned in the first fifteen days of a month are due on or before the first day of the following month; wages earned from the sixteenth through the end of the month are due on or before the fifteenth.

   MCL 408.472 — Payment of wages; pay periods →
5. 05

   Weekly, biweekly and monthly schedules that comply

   A regularly scheduled weekly or biweekly payday complies if it falls on or before the fourteenth day after the end of the work period. A monthly pay period complies if all wages earned in it are paid within 15 days of its end. Hand harvesters are paid within two days of the end of the work week unless a written contract says otherwise.

   MCL 408.472 — Payment of wages; pay periods →
6. 06

   Minimum wage $13.73, with four separate rates

   From January 1, 2026 the rate is $13.73 an hour. Employees aged 16 and 17 get 85 percent of it, or $11.67. The tipped rate is $5.49, which is 40 percent of the full minimum, provided the employee receives at least $8.24 an hour in tips. A training wage of $4.25 applies to newly hired employees under 20 for their first 90 calendar days.

   Michigan LEO — Minimum wage increase effective January 1, 2026 →

02 — Local rates

Local rates above the Michigan minimum

03 — What we calculate

What this generator calculates for Michigan

State withholding for Michigan is calculated from the 2026 figures the state publishes, and our test suite holds those figures against the state's own published calculation rather than against arithmetic of ours.

04 — Questions

Frequently asked questions

Does a Michigan pay stub have to show net pay?

The statute does not ask for it. MCL 408.479(2) lists hours worked, gross wages, the pay period and an itemization of deductions. Net pay appears on virtually every real Michigan stub because payroll software prints it, not because the statute requires it.

What is Michigan’s minimum wage in 2026?

$13.73 an hour from January 1, 2026. Sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds are entitled to 85 percent of that, $11.67. The tipped rate is $5.49, and a $4.25 training wage applies to new hires under 20 for their first 90 days.

How does the Michigan tipped rate work?

The tipped hourly rate is 40 percent of the full minimum wage — $5.49 against the $13.73 rate — and it applies only where the employee actually receives at least $8.24 an hour in tips. Otherwise the employer owes the difference.

How often does my Michigan employer have to pay me?

The default is twice a month: the first half of the month paid by the 1st of the next, the second half by the 15th. A weekly or biweekly payday complies if it lands within 14 days of the end of the work period, and a monthly period complies if paid within 15 days of its end.

How long does my employer have to keep my payroll records?

At least three years, and they must be open to inspection by the director of labor at any reasonable time. The record is more detailed than your stub — it includes your classification, birth date and a listing of fringe benefits.