Free Pay Stub Template: Printable Examples for Hourly and Salaried Employees

What is on a pay stub template

• Employer name and address, and an employee name (with at most the last 4 digits of a Social Security number).
• Pay period start and end, the pay date and the pay frequency.
• Earnings: regular pay, overtime, bonuses or commission, each with hours, rate and amount.
• Gross pay: the total of all earnings for the period.
• Taxes: federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and state income tax where it applies.
• Deductions: pre-tax items such as retirement or health premiums, and post-tax items such as garnishments.
• Net pay: gross pay minus taxes and deductions.
• Year-to-date totals for each line from January 1 through this pay period.

Hourly vs salaried: what changes on the stub

An hourly stub shows hours worked and an hourly rate for each earnings line, including overtime at its own rate. A salaried stub shows the salary for the period instead, often with no hours at all. Everything below gross pay works the same way for both: taxes, deductions, net pay and year-to-date totals.

Our hourly vs salaried pay stub guide explains the two layouts side by side.

How to fill in the template, step by step

• Write the employer and employee details, the pay period and the pay date.
• Enter earnings. For hourly pay, multiply hours by the rate. For salary, divide the annual salary by the number of pay periods.
• Add any overtime, bonus or commission lines and total them as gross pay.
• Subtract pre-tax deductions to find the wages income tax is figured on.
• Work out each tax. Social Security is 6.2% and Medicare is 1.45% of wages. Federal and state withholding come from tax tables and the employee's W-4.
• Subtract post-tax deductions.
• Net pay is gross pay minus every tax and deduction.
• For year-to-date, add this period's amount to the previous stub's year-to-date amount, line by line.

Reading the sample with year-to-date

The sample stub shows an employee paid $2,000 gross every two weeks in a state with no income tax. Social Security is $124.00 (6.2%), Medicare is $29.00 (1.45%) and federal income tax is $156.15, which leaves $1,690.85 net. The year-to-date column is three times each amount because it is the third pay period of the year.

If your year-to-date gross does not equal the sum of your earlier stubs, one of the stubs has a mistake.

What the free template does not do

A pay stub generator can do these things for you. Enter pay details, check a live preview with federal, Social Security, Medicare and state tax already calculated, and download a finished PDF.

• It does not calculate federal or state tax. You have to look up or compute withholding yourself.
• It has one plain layout with no logo, designs or direct deposit slip.
• It does not keep year-to-date totals consistent across several stubs for you.
• It is not a payroll service and does not withhold, pay or file taxes.

When to use the free template, and when to use a generator

• Use the template if you only need a record layout and are comfortable doing the tax math or already have the numbers from payroll.
• Use a generator if you want the withholding calculated, several stubs with correct year-to-date totals, a company logo, or a choice of designs.
• Either way, a pay stub should only show pay that was actually earned and paid.

More pay stub guides and free downloads

• Pay stub template: what to include and how to fill it in
• Hourly vs salaried pay stub: what is different
• Pay stub examples: 10 sample designs
• How to read a pay stub, section by section
• Pay stub requirements, abbreviations and record keeping
• Free paycheck calculator for every state
• All free downloads and templates