Pay stub requirements in South Carolina
Calculated
South Carolina asks for very little on the stub and quite a lot before the job starts. The Payment of Wages Act obliges an employer to furnish an itemized statement of gross pay and the deductions made for each pay period, and nothing else: no hours, no rates, no net figure. What it does insist on is a written notice at hiring covering the normal hours, the wages agreed, the time and place of payment and the deductions to expect, with seven days written warning before any of those terms change. Employers with fewer than five people are outside the rule entirely, and there is no state minimum wage.
- Pay stub required
- Yes, once the employer has five employees
- Electronic delivery
- No state rule either way
- Minimum wage 2026
- No state rate; federal $7.25 applies
- Pay frequency
- No state interval; the employer sets and posts it
01 — The law
What South Carolina law requires
An itemized statement of gross pay and deductions
Section 41-10-30(C) requires every covered employer to furnish each employee with an itemized statement showing gross pay and the deductions made from wages for each pay period. The statute stops there, so net pay, hours worked and rates of pay appear on a South Carolina stub only because the employer or its payroll software chose to add them.
South Carolina Code of Laws — Title 41, Chapter 10, Payment of Wages →Employers under five people are outside the rule
Section 41-10-20 exempts two groups from the notice, recordkeeping and itemized statement duties: employers of domestic labour in private homes, and employers who had fewer than five employees at all times during the preceding twelve months. Everything else in the chapter, including the deadlines for final pay, still applies to them.
South Carolina Code of Laws — Title 41, Chapter 10, Payment of Wages →Written notice at hiring, and seven days before terms change
At the time of hiring the employer notifies the employee in writing of the normal hours and wages agreed, the time and place of payment, and the deductions that will be made, including payments to insurance programmes. Posting the terms conspicuously at the workplace is an accepted substitute. Changes must be in writing at least seven calendar days ahead, though pay rises are exempt.
South Carolina Code of Laws — Title 41, Chapter 10, Payment of Wages →Direct deposit brings its own statement and a free withdrawal
An employer may deposit wages at an insured financial institution doing business in the state, but an employee paid that way must be furnished a statement of earnings and withholdings, and the deposit plan has to entitle the employee to at least one withdrawal per deposit free of any service charge.
South Carolina Code of Laws — Title 41, Chapter 10, Payment of Wages →No statutory payday interval, and none needed to sue
South Carolina sets no minimum pay frequency. The employer designates the time and place of payment in the hiring notice and must then pay at that time. Wages after separation are due within 48 hours or by the next regular payday, and that payday may not be more than thirty days out.
South Carolina Code of Laws — Title 41, Chapter 10, Payment of Wages →A warning first, then $100 a time, then triple damages
A first violation of the notice and statement rules brings a written warning from the Director of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, and each later offence a civil penalty of up to $100. Failing to pay wages is separate: an employee may recover three times the unpaid wages plus costs and attorney fees within three years.
South Carolina Code of Laws — Title 41, Chapter 10, Payment of Wages →
02 — Local rates
Local rates above the South Carolina minimum
No city or county rate above the South Carolina minimum is listed here. Where one exists it is set by a local ordinance, so an employer in a city with its own should check that ordinance before relying on the state figure.
03 — What we calculate
What this generator calculates for South Carolina
| Withholding line | Source | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Federal income tax | irs.gov | Calculated |
| Social Security | ssa.gov | Calculated |
| Medicare | ssa.gov | Calculated |
| SC state income tax | dor.sc.gov | Calculated |
State withholding for South Carolina 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.
See the South Carolina withholding tables and work out take-home pay →04 — Questions
Frequently asked questions
- Does my South Carolina employer have to give me a pay stub?
- If it employed five or more people throughout the last twelve months, yes: an itemized statement of your gross pay and the deductions taken, once per pay period. Household employers in private homes and employers under that headcount owe you no statement at all.
- Why does my South Carolina stub not show my hours?
- Because the state never asked for them. The Payment of Wages Act names gross pay and deductions and stops, so hours, rates and net pay are on your stub only by your employer choice. Federal law requires the employer to record your hours, not to print them for you.
- What is the minimum wage in South Carolina?
- There is no state minimum wage law, so employers covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act pay the federal $7.25 an hour. South Carolina is one of a handful of states that has never enacted a rate of its own.
- How often does South Carolina say I have to be paid?
- It does not. The state sets no weekly, biweekly or monthly interval. Instead the employer designates the time and place of payment when you are hired, tells you in writing or by posting it, and is then legally bound to pay at that time.
- Can my employer change my payday or my deductions without telling me?
- No. Any change to the agreed hours, wages, time and place of payment or deductions has to be given to you in writing at least seven calendar days before it takes effect, and no deduction may be taken unless law requires it or you were given that written notice.
Sources
- South Carolina Code of Laws — Title 41, Chapter 10, Payment of Wages
- U.S. Department of Labor — State minimum wage laws
- U.S. Department of Labor — State payday requirements
Wage and hour law changes. Check the linked source before relying on any figure here, and treat this page as a starting point rather than legal advice.