Pay Stub Generator
Create a professional pay stub in seconds — hourly or salary, with auto-calculated FICA taxes, federal and state withholding, and net pay. Download as PNG or PDF. No signup, runs entirely in your browser.
⏱ 5 min read · Complete guide below
FICA auto-calculated: Social Security 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%
Live preview — updates as you type
How the Pay Stub Generator Works
- 1Choose Hourly or Salary pay type using the toggle at the top, then enter company and employee names.
- 2Set the pay period dates and pay date. For hourly workers, enter regular hours and hourly rate — add overtime hours if applicable.
- 3Enter federal and state tax percentages. Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%) are calculated automatically. Add health insurance, 401(k), or other pre-tax deductions as dollar amounts.
- 4Click Download PNG for a high-resolution image or Print / PDF to save or print a full-page pay stub document.
Understanding Pay Stub Deductions
A standard US pay stub shows two categories of deductions: taxes and voluntary withholdings. Federal income tax and state income tax are percentage-based and vary by income level, filing status, and state. FICA taxes — Social Security and Medicare — are fixed by federal law and apply to virtually all employees. Voluntary deductions such as health insurance premiums and 401(k) contributions are pre-tax, meaning they reduce your taxable gross pay before federal and state taxes are applied. The net pay shown on the stub equals gross earnings minus all of these deductions combined.
Gross Pay vs Net Pay: Why the Gap Surprises People
The single most common source of confusion on a pay stub is the difference between gross payand net pay. Gross pay is the headline figure — the salary or hourly earnings you agreed to — while net pay, often called “take-home,” is what actually lands in your bank account after every deduction. The gap between them can be substantial: between federal and state income tax, the mandatory 7.65% for FICA (6.2% Social Security plus 1.45% Medicare), and voluntary items like health insurance and retirement contributions, it is normal for take-home to be 20–35% below gross. Reading a stub top to bottom makes this concrete — you can see gross earnings at the top, each deduction listed in the middle, and net pay at the bottom, which is why a pay stub is the clearest way to understand where your money actually goes each period.
Why Pre-Tax Deductions Are Worth Understanding
One detail on a pay stub quietly saves employees real money: the order in which deductions are applied. Pre-tax deductions — most commonly traditional 401(k) contributions and employer health insurance premiums — come out of your gross pay before income tax is calculated, which lowers your taxable income and therefore the tax withheld. That means a dollar contributed to a pre-tax retirement plan costs you less than a dollar of take-home pay, because part of it would otherwise have gone to tax. On the stub this tool produces, entering those amounts in the pre-tax deduction fields reproduces that effect: taxes are figured on the reduced gross. Understanding this is useful well beyond generating a document — it is the reason financial advisers so often recommend maximising pre-tax benefits before taking additional taxable income.
Tips for Accurate Pay Stubs
Use bi-weekly periods
Most US salaried employees are paid bi-weekly (26 pay periods per year). The salary mode divides annual salary by 26 to match this standard frequency.
Enter pre-tax deductions correctly
Health insurance and 401(k) contributions are typically pre-tax. Enter them as dollar amounts per pay period, not annual totals. Your actual payslip will show the per-period amount.
Check your state tax rate
State income tax rates vary from 0% (Texas, Florida, Nevada) to over 13% (California top bracket). Look up your state's flat or marginal rate before entering the figure.
Print on letter-size paper
When printing via the PDF dialog, use Letter (US) or A4 paper in portrait orientation. Set margins to None for a full-bleed print that fills the page cleanly.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are federal and state taxes calculated?
You enter the tax rate as a percentage and the tool multiplies it by the gross pay for that pay period. For example, a 22% federal tax rate on $2,000 gross pay produces a $440 federal withholding. This mirrors the percentage method used by most payroll systems. The tool does not apply tax bracket tables — it uses a flat rate you supply, which is appropriate for a single pay period estimate.
What is FICA and why is it automatically included?
FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions Act) taxes fund Social Security and Medicare. They are mandatory for virtually all US employees and are always withheld at fixed rates: Social Security at 6.2% of gross pay and Medicare at 1.45%. Because these rates are set by federal law and do not vary, the tool calculates them automatically. You do not need to enter them manually.
What is the difference between hourly and salary pay types?
Hourly pay calculates gross earnings as regular hours × hourly rate, plus any overtime hours at 1.5× the regular rate. Salary pay divides the annual salary by 26 to produce a bi-weekly gross — the standard US payroll frequency for salaried employees. Switch between modes using the Hourly / Salary toggle at the top of the form.
Is my data stored or sent anywhere?
No. All calculations happen entirely in your browser. Employee names, salary figures, company names, and tax rates are never transmitted to a server or stored anywhere. Closing or refreshing the page clears all entered data.
How do I download the pay stub as a PDF?
Click "Print / PDF". A preview window opens and the browser print dialog appears automatically. Select "Save as PDF" as the destination (available in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari). Set margins to None or Minimum and paper size to A4 for the cleanest result.
How do I find the right federal tax withholding rate to enter?
The IRS Withholding Estimator at irs.gov is the most accurate source. As a rough guide: single filers in the 22% bracket earn roughly $47,150–$100,525 in 2024. If you are unsure, use 22% as a starting estimate for middle-income employees. Actual withholding depends on the employee's W-4 filing status, allowances, and additional withholding elections.
Can I use this pay stub for official purposes?
The pay stub is a calculation aid and document template — it is not a certified payroll record issued by a licensed payroll provider. For official employment verification, loan applications, or legal proceedings, use pay stubs generated by your payroll software (ADP, Gusto, QuickBooks Payroll, etc.) or issued directly by your employer's HR department.