Pay stub requirements in Mississippi

01 — The law

What Mississippi law requires

1. 01

   The payday statute reaches manufacturers and utilities only

   The federal Wage and Hour Division records that the Mississippi payday requirement applies to every entity engaged in manufacturing of any kind in the state employing fifty or more employees and employing public labour, and to every public service corporation doing business in the state. Those employers must pay once every two weeks or twice during each calendar month; everyone else falls outside the rule.

   U.S. Department of Labor - Table of state payday requirements, Mississippi footnote →
2. 02

   There is no state minimum wage to put on the stub

   The federal listing of state minimum wage laws records that Mississippi has no state minimum wage law and that employers subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act must pay the current federal minimum wage of seven dollars twenty five cents an hour. A Mississippi employer outside federal coverage has no statutory wage floor at all.

   U.S. Department of Labor - State minimum wage laws, Mississippi →
3. 03

   Federal recordkeeping fills the gap, without mandating a stub

   Every employer covered by the federal act must keep records for each non exempt worker showing the basis on which wages are paid, hours worked each day and each week, straight time and overtime earnings, additions to and deductions from wages, total wages per period and the date of payment. The act prescribes no particular form for those records and does not oblige the employer to hand any of it to the employee.

   U.S. Department of Labor - Fact Sheet 21, recordkeeping under the Fair Labor Standards Act →
4. 04

   A Wage and Tax Statement is owed to every employee by 31 January

   By 31 January each year, employers must give each employee two copies of the Mississippi Wage and Tax Statement showing total wages and the amount, if any, of Mississippi income tax withheld for the preceding calendar year. Employers may use the federal Form W-2 combination packet containing both federal and state withholding forms.

   Mississippi Department of Revenue - Computer payroll accounting and income tax withholding instructions →
5. 05

   A departing employee gets that statement within thirty days

   A Wage and Tax Statement must be furnished to each terminated employee within thirty days of the date of termination, rather than waiting for the January deadline. If a statement already handed over turns out to be wrong and the Mississippi withholding figure changes, a corrected statement has to be issued to the employee and filed with the Department of Revenue in the same format as the original.

   Mississippi Department of Revenue - Computer payroll accounting and income tax withholding instructions →
6. 06

   Withheld state tax is money held in trust

   The amount of income tax withheld by an employer is by law deemed to be held in trust for the State of Mississippi, and the withholding statutes carry a penalty of the amount due for failing to withhold or to file, together with criminal penalties for wilful refusal. That is why the state tax line on a Mississippi stub is not a courtesy figure.

   Mississippi Department of Revenue - Computer payroll accounting and income tax withholding instructions →

02 — Local rates

Local rates above the Mississippi minimum

03 — What we calculate

What this generator calculates for Mississippi

State withholding for Mississippi 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 Mississippi law require employers to issue pay stubs?

No state statute requires one. The floor is the federal recordkeeping rule, which obliges a covered employer to record hours, pay basis, earnings, additions and deductions and the date of payment, but prescribes no form for those records and does not require any of them to be handed to the employee.

What is the minimum wage in Mississippi in 2026?

There is no state figure. The federal listing of state minimum wage laws records that Mississippi has no state minimum wage law, so employers covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act owe the federal rate of seven dollars twenty five cents an hour and an employer outside federal coverage has no statutory floor.

How often does a Mississippi employer have to pay wages?

Only two kinds of business are told. Manufacturers with fifty or more employees and public service corporations doing business in the state must pay once every two weeks or twice during each calendar month. For every other employer the interval is a matter of the employment agreement rather than the statute book.

When do I get my Mississippi W-2 if I leave mid year?

Within thirty days of the date your employment ends. The Department of Revenue does not let a departing employee wait for the January deadline that applies to everyone still on the payroll, and if the Mississippi withholding figure on the statement later changes the employer has to reissue a corrected one to you and to the department.

Why does my Mississippi stub still show a state tax deduction?

Because Mississippi taxes wage income even though it sets no minimum wage. The withheld amount is deemed by law to be held in trust for the state, and the withholding statutes back that up with a penalty equal to the amount due for failure to withhold or file, plus criminal penalties for wilful refusal.