Pay stub requirements in Texas
No tax on wages
Texas does have an earnings statement law, and almost every summary of it gets the scope wrong. The requirement sits in the Texas Minimum Wage Act, and Labor Code § 62.151 takes anyone covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act out of that Act entirely — so for the large majority of Texas employees, the pay stub obligation is federal recordkeeping rather than a state stub law. What the Texas Payday Law does police is timing, method and deductions. The minimum wage is the federal $7.25, and cities are forbidden from raising it.
- Pay stub required
- Yes, but only outside FLSA coverage
- Electronic delivery
- Yes, the form is the employer’s choice
- Minimum wage 2026
- $7.25/hour, tied to the federal rate
- Pay frequency
- Twice a month; monthly if FLSA-exempt
01 — The law
What Texas law requires
Earnings statement at the end of each pay period
The statement must be signed by the employer or its agent and show the employee name, the rate of pay, total pay earned in the period, each deduction and the purpose of it, pay after all deductions, and either total hours worked (hourly employees) or units produced (piece rate). Our generator does not print a signature block: the statement becomes a signed one when the employer signs the printed page, which § 62.003(c) leaves in any form the employer chooses.
Texas Labor Code Chapter 62 (Minimum Wage Act, earnings statement) →FLSA-covered employees are outside the requirement
Section 62.151 states that the chapter does not apply to a person covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act. The state earnings statement duty therefore reaches only workers the FLSA does not cover, which is why most Texas employers meet their obligations through federal payroll records instead.
Texas Labor Code Chapter 62 (Minimum Wage Act, earnings statement) →No prescribed format
Section 62.003(c) says the statement may be in any form the employer determines, and that the required information may be printed on a check voucher or bank draft. Electronic delivery is not restricted.
Texas Labor Code Chapter 62 (Minimum Wage Act, earnings statement) →Twice a month, or monthly for exempt employees
Employees exempt from FLSA overtime must be paid at least once a month; everyone else at least twice a month, with semi-monthly periods containing as nearly as possible an equal number of days. Employers must post payday notices, and if no paydays are designated they default to the 1st and the 15th.
Texas Workforce Commission — Texas Payday Law →Final pay: six days if fired, next payday if you quit
A discharged or laid-off employee must be paid in full within six calendar days of the last day. An employee who resigns is paid on the next regularly scheduled payday after the resignation takes effect.
Texas Workforce Commission — Texas Payday Law →Deductions need written authorization
An employer may deduct only what a court orders, what state or federal law authorizes such as tax withholding, or what the employee has authorized in writing for a lawful purpose. An authorization that is too general or too broad does not count, and even an oral agreement to repay a loan is not enough.
Texas Workforce Commission — Texas Payday Law →Cities cannot set a higher minimum wage
Section 62.051 sets the Texas minimum wage at the federal rate under 29 U.S.C. § 206, and § 62.0515 provides that it supersedes any municipal ordinance or charter provision governing wages in private employment, other than wages under a public contract.
Texas Labor Code Chapter 62 (Minimum Wage Act, earnings statement) →
02 — Local rates
Local rates above the Texas minimum
No city or county rate above the Texas 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 Texas
| Withholding line | Source | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Federal income tax | irs.gov | Calculated |
| Social Security | ssa.gov | Calculated |
| Medicare | ssa.gov | Calculated |
| TX state income tax | tlc.texas.gov | Prints 0.00 |
Texas levies no personal income tax on wages, so a stub built here shows federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare, and leaves the state income tax line at zero because there is nothing to withhold.
04 — Questions
Frequently asked questions
- Is my Texas employer required to give me a pay stub?
- It depends on whether the Fair Labor Standards Act covers you. Labor Code § 62.003 requires a written earnings statement at the end of each pay period, but § 62.151 excludes FLSA-covered employees from that chapter. Most Texas workers are FLSA-covered, so in practice the pay records that matter are the federal ones.
- What has to be on a Texas earnings statement?
- Your name, the rate of pay, total pay earned in the period, every deduction and its purpose, the amount left after deductions, and total hours worked if you are paid hourly, or units produced if you are on a piece rate. It also has to be signed by the employer or the employer’s agent. The document this generator makes carries no signature line, because a line adds no compliance on its own: the requirement is met by the employer signing the printed statement.
- How often do Texas employers have to pay?
- At least twice a month if you are non-exempt, at least once a month if you are exempt from FLSA overtime. If your employer never designated paydays, the law makes them the 1st and 15th of each month.
- Can my employer deduct a cash shortage or a broken tool from my check?
- Not without your written authorization for that specific lawful purpose, unless a court order or a state or federal law requires the deduction. The Texas Workforce Commission treats broad or open-ended authorizations as ineffective.
- Does any Texas city have a higher minimum wage?
- No. Texas Labor Code § 62.0515 makes the state rate supersede local ordinances governing wages in private employment, so the federal $7.25 applies statewide except under public contracts.
Sources
- Texas Labor Code Chapter 62 (Minimum Wage Act, earnings statement)
- Texas Workforce Commission — Texas Payday Law
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.