How to Create Pay Stubs for Employees

1. Gather the payroll source records

Collect the employee identity and address on file, the pay-period dates, the pay date, the approved wage basis, hours or salary, additions, authorized deductions, withholding elections, and prior year-to-date totals. Use the records from the payroll period rather than relying on memory.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s FLSA recordkeeping guidance lists core information for covered nonexempt employees, including hours worked, wage basis, additions and deductions, total wages, payment date, and the period covered.

2. Calculate and itemize the statement

Calculate gross earnings from the verified wage basis. Apply federal withholding using the appropriate Form W-4 entries and current method, then include Social Security, Medicare, and reviewed state or local amounts where applicable.

Show each meaningful deduction separately. The final net pay should reconcile exactly to gross earnings minus the deductions displayed on the statement.

3. Review, deliver, and retain

Have an authorized reviewer compare the preview with the payroll register and supporting records. Check spelling, dates, rates, hours, tax labels, current totals, and year-to-date totals before producing the final document.

Deliver the statement through a method appropriate for payroll information, and retain it with access controls. If an error is found later, document the correction instead of silently replacing the record without an audit trail.

• Do not use a paystub generator to reconstruct unsupported income
• Do not email full Social Security numbers or unnecessary payroll files
• Keep the statement connected to the payroll records that support it