Create pay stubs online
Create pay stubs online: type your pay once, watch every line fill in, and download the PDF when it is right. Taxes and YTD included.
No subscription required • Instant preview • Secure checkout
How to create pay stubs online here
The form above is the whole tool. You fill it in from top to bottom, the preview on the right redraws with every keystroke, and nothing is charged until you choose to download. Here is the order most people follow.
- Pick a design. Every design costs the same, so choose the layout that reads best to you. You can switch later and your details stay in place.
- Add the company and the person paid. Type the employer's legal name and address, add a logo file if you have one, then the employee's name and address. An employee number or the last four digits of an ID are optional.
- Enter the pay for this period. Use an hourly rate and hours, or a yearly salary, and pick how often pay goes out: weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly or monthly. Overtime hours sit on a line of their own.
- Let the taxes fill in. Choose the state where the work is done and the filing status from the W-4. Federal and state income tax, Social Security and Medicare appear on the preview straight away.
- Check, pay and save the PDF. Read the preview one line at a time and fix anything that is off. Then check out with your email; the file downloads at once and a copy lands in your inbox.
Pay stub or paycheck: what is the difference?
A pay stub, also called a check stub, earnings statement or pay statement, is the written record that comes with a single wage payment. The check or the direct deposit moves the money. The stub explains it: how much was earned, what was held back for taxes and benefits, and what was left. Because most pay now arrives by direct deposit, the stub is often the only paper that shows how the net figure was reached.
| Record | What it shows | What it leaves out |
|---|---|---|
| Paycheck or deposit | The net amount that reached the worker | Hours, rate, every tax line and the year so far |
| Pay stub | Gross pay, each tax and deduction, net pay and year-to-date totals | Proof that the money arrived (a bank statement shows that) |
| Bank statement line | The date and the amount deposited | Why the amount is what it is |
The parts of a pay stub you fill in
A complete stub answers four questions: who paid, who was paid, for which dates, and how the money splits. This is what you type and what the builder works out for you.
| Part of the stub | What you enter | What the builder works out |
|---|---|---|
| Company header | Employer name, address and an optional logo | Layout in the design you picked |
| Employee block | Name, address, optional ID digits | Placement on the stub |
| Pay period and pay date | Period start, period end and the pay date | The period count used for year-to-date totals |
| Earnings | Rate and hours, or salary; overtime hours | Regular pay, overtime pay and gross pay |
| Taxes | Work state and W-4 filing status | Federal and state income tax, Social Security and Medicare |
| Net pay and YTD | Nothing, unless you started mid-year | Net pay and a running total for each line since January 1 |
Want bonus, tip or commission lines, your own deductions, time-off hours or typed tax amounts? Those are optional add-ons from $1.00 each. A stub without them is complete.
Who creates pay stubs online
Large companies run payroll software that prints stubs on its own. The people who use a stub maker are usually paid, or paying, outside that system.
Small employers without a payroll service
An owner paying one or a few people still has to keep pay records. Federal rules ask employers to hold payroll records for three years or more, and a clear stub for each payment is an easy way to build that file. Source: DOL Fact Sheet #21, Recordkeeping Requirements.
Household employers
Families who pay a nanny, a caregiver or a housekeeper often want a record that shows the same numbers every payday. The guide for nannies, truck drivers and cash jobs covers those lines.
Workers paid by an app or in cash
Delivery and rideshare apps send statements, not stubs. Turning those statements into one record makes them easier for someone else to read.
The self-employed and 1099 contractors
Tick Contractor / 1099 mode and the stub shows earnings with no payroll tax taken out, which is how contractor pay works. The self-employed guide explains what to set aside yourself.
Do employers have to give pay stubs?
Not under federal law. The Fair Labor Standards Act tells employers to keep accurate pay records, but it does not make them hand a statement to the worker. Source: US Department of Labor, FLSA FAQ.
Many states go further and require a written or electronic statement each payday, sometimes with a set list of items. Rules differ, so check with the labor office of the state where the work happens. Source: US Department of Labor, State Labor Offices.
Employment tax records have their own clock: the IRS asks employers to keep them for at least four years after the fourth-quarter return for the year is filed. Source: IRS, Employment tax recordkeeping.
What a pay stub is used for
- A rental application, where the landlord compares monthly income with the rent.
- A mortgage or car loan, where the lender reads the pay date, the employer and the year-to-date totals.
- Benefit, insurance or court forms that ask for recent proof of earnings.
- Tax planning: comparing the federal tax withheld so far with what you expect to owe.
- Your own budget, so you know what each check really leaves you.
Real pay stubs and fake ones
A real stub describes money that actually changed hands. Anyone who relies on a stub can check it: they compare it with bank deposits, with the W-2 at year end, and often with a call to the employer. Putting invented figures on a stub to get a lease, a loan or benefits is fraud, whatever tool made the file.
Readers tend to spot the same warning signs: totals that do not add up, year-to-date figures that do not fit the number of paydays, a Social Security line that is not the published rate of the wages, and an employer nobody can reach. The builder keeps the arithmetic right, but it prints what you type, so enter your real pay.
Mistakes to catch before you download
Most corrections people ask for come from the same few slips. Run down this list on the preview first:
- The pay date falls on or after the end of the pay period, not before it.
- Hours times the rate equals the regular pay line.
- The state is where the work was done, which decides the state tax.
- The filing status is the one on the W-4, not a guess.
- Names and the employer's address are spelled exactly as on official papers.
- If you are matching a past check, the net pay equals the deposit in the bank.
After you download
The PDF saves to your device straight after payment, and the same file is emailed to the address you used at checkout. Lost it? Sign in to My Account with a one-time code and download it again: each pay stub stays there for 1 year from the day it was made.
Keep every stub you make, together with the bank record of the payment. Employers have to hold on to pay records anyway: the records that wages are worked out from, such as time cards, for two years, and the payroll records themselves for three. Source: DOL Fact Sheet #21, Recordkeeping Requirements.
Sending a stub to a landlord or lender? Send the PDF as it is rather than a photo or screenshot, so every line stays sharp and readable.
Why people make their stubs here
- $3.49 for one stub and $2.99 per stub from three stubs up, with no subscription.
- Every design at the same price, your logo included.
- Taxes and current-year YTD totals worked out in the base price.
- A free paycheck calculator first, if you want to see the numbers before you start.
- Your email is your account: sign in later with a one-time code to download again.
What's on every stub
- Federal, state and FICA taxes worked out
- Current-year YTD totals
- Regular and overtime pay lines
- Every design at the base price
- Your logo
- Corrections and the PDF download
FAQ
Can I create pay stubs online without an account?
Yes. There is no sign-up form. You give your email at checkout, your account is made from it, and you sign in later with a one-time code sent to that address.
What does one pay stub cost here?
$3.49 for one stub and $6.49 for two. From three stubs up, each one costs $2.99. Every design is the same price and nothing renews.
Can I see the whole stub before I pay?
Yes. The preview shows every line as you type, and you pay only when you choose to download.
Which pay frequencies and filing statuses can I use?
Weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly and monthly pay, with Single, Married or Head of household as the filing status.
Does it work for every state?
Yes. State withholding follows each state's own published method for all 50 states and DC, and states with no wage income tax withhold none.
Can I create a stub for a 1099 contractor?
Yes. Tick Contractor / 1099 mode and the stub shows the earnings with no payroll taxes withheld.
What if I spot a mistake after downloading?
Corrections are part of the stub price. Write to support from the email you used, with the order ID, and say which line is wrong.
Can I make several stubs at once?
Yes. The multi-stub builder gives each pay date its own stub and runs the year-to-date totals forward from one to the next.
Can I print the stub?
Yes. The PDF is ready to print at home, and you can also email it as it is.