How to Make a Paystub Online for Free (and Keep It Legal)

To make a pay stub online for free, work out the real gross pay and the amounts actually withheld, enter them with the employer, employee and pay period details into a paystub generator, and download the PDF. A pay stub must match a payment that really happened: creating one with invented pay or deductions to prove income is fraud.

A pay stub, also called a check stub or pay statement, explains a paycheck: what was earned, what was taken out, and what was paid. Small employers, household employers and people paying a single hourly worker often need one without running a full payroll system. This guide covers what a stub should show, how to work out the numbers for the US and Canada from official sources, how to make the PDF for free, and where the legal lines are.

Note: This guide explains general rules for the US and Canada and links to official sources. It is not tax or legal advice. Check your state or provincial rules, and ask an accountant if you are unsure how much to withhold.

Key takeaways

• US federal law requires employers to keep pay records, but the US Department of Labor says "the FLSA does not require an employer to provide employees pay stubs" (US Department of Labor). Many states have their own rules, so check yours.
• The employee share of US Social Security tax is 6.2% and of Medicare tax 1.45% (IRS). Federal income tax withholding comes from IRS Publication 15-T.
• In Canada, the CRA's Payroll Deductions Online Calculator works out federal, provincial and territorial deductions, except Quebec provincial ones (Canada Revenue Agency).
• Siliph's Paystub Generator calculates regular pay and net pay, but you type each tax amount. It is free, and the PDF is built in your browser.
• Never make a stub for pay that was not received. False income documents given to a lender can be a federal crime in the US.

What a pay stub shows

A clear stub answers four questions for the person reading it:

1. Who paid whom: employer name and address, employee name and address, and an employee ID. Show only the last digits of a Social Security Number (SSN) or Social Insurance Number (SIN), never the full number.
2. For what period: the period start and end dates, and the check or pay date.
3. What was earned: hourly rate, hours worked, regular pay, and any overtime or bonus as separate lines.
4. What was withheld: each tax and deduction by name, the total deductions, and the net pay that was actually paid.

Year-to-date totals are common on payroll-provider stubs. Some lenders and landlords ask for them, so check what the reader needs before you choose a tool.

Work out the numbers first

A paystub generator formats numbers; it does not decide them. Work out each figure from a reliable source before you open any tool.

Gross pay

Regular pay is the hourly rate multiplied by hours worked. Overtime is separate. The IRS summarises the federal rule: "The FLSA provides that employers must generally pay covered, nonexempt employees at least one-and-a-half times their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 hours per week" (IRS Publication 15-T).

US withholding

The IRS states: "The current tax rate for Social Security is 6.2% for the employer and 6.2% for the employee, or 12.4% total. The current rate for Medicare is 1.45% for the employer and 1.45% for the employee, or 2.9% total" (IRS Topic 751). On a stub, show the employee share.

For federal income tax, IRS Publication 15-T "describes how to figure withholding using the Wage Bracket Method or Percentage Method", based on the employee's Form W-4 (IRS). State income tax follows each state's own tables, and some states have none.

A worked example for one week, using only the fixed federal rates: 40 hours at $20.00 is $800.00 gross. Social Security at 6.2% is $49.60, and Medicare at 1.45% is $11.60. Federal and state income tax are then added from the tables for that employee, along with any agreed deductions such as health insurance or a 401(k) contribution.

Canada

The CRA says its calculator lets you "calculate federal, provincial (except for Quebec), and territorial payroll deductions", and that "It will confirm the deductions you include on your official statement of earnings" (Canada Revenue Agency). The calculation types it lists include salary, commission, pension, and verifying CPP and EI amounts. For Quebec, the CRA points employers to Revenu Quebec's WebRAS program.

How to make a pay stub for free with Siliph

Paystub Generator works in any browser on Windows, Mac, Chromebook, iPhone and Android.

1. Choose United States or Canada. Fill in Company Name, Company Address, Employee Name, Employee Address, SSN (last 4 digits) or SIN (last 3 digits) and Employee ID. Empty boxes are left off the stub.
2. Pick Period Start, Period End and Check Date.
3. Enter Hourly Rate and Hours Worked; regular pay is calculated for you. Add Overtime Pay and Bonus Pay as amounts if there were any; those lines print only when they are above zero.
4. Type the amount for each deduction row. The US rows start as Federal Income Tax, State Income Tax, Social Security Tax, Medicare Tax, Health Insurance and Retirement 401(k); the Canadian rows as Federal Income Tax, Provincial Income Tax, CPP and EI. Rename or remove rows, or use Add deduction for another one.
5. Check gross pay, total deductions and net pay in the Check Stub summary, then click Download Paystub.

The PDF is titled PAYCHECK STUB for the US or PAY STATEMENT for Canada. It is built in your browser, so names, addresses and SSN or SIN digits never leave your device, and nothing is kept after you reload the page. Download the PDF before you close the tab.

Two limits to know: the generator does not calculate taxes, and it has no year-to-date columns. For a fixed salary, enter the period's pay as the hourly rate with 1 in Hours Worked, or use the Salary Slip Generator, which takes earnings as amounts and has presets for other countries. Track hours before pay day with the Timesheet Generator.

Stay on the right side of the law

A pay stub is a record of a payment. Every figure on it should match what was actually paid and withheld, and the employer named on it should be the one who paid.

Using a made-up stub to get a loan, a mortgage or an apartment is fraud. In the US, 18 U.S.C. 1014 covers anyone who "knowingly makes any false statement or report" to influence certain lenders, including federally insured banks and "a mortgage lending business", with penalties of up to $1,000,000 in fines or 30 years in prison (18 U.S.C. 1014). Other countries have their own fraud laws.

Legitimate uses look like this:

• A small business or household employer gives an hourly worker a written breakdown of each payment.
• An employer reissues a lost stub with the original, correct figures.
• A self-employed person records a pay run for their own books, clearly as their own record.

If you need proof of income and your employer uses a payroll provider, ask them for official stubs. If you are self-employed, ask the lender or landlord which documents they accept.

Common problems and fixes

To keep a year of stubs together, combine them with Merge PDF, and add a password with Protect PDF before you email them, since they contain personal details.

Frequently asked questions

Can I make a pay stub for free?

Yes. Paystub Generator is free with no account. Enter the employer, employee, pay period, hours, rate and deductions, check the summary and click Download Paystub. The PDF is built in your browser.

Does the paystub generator calculate taxes?

No. It calculates regular pay from rate times hours and subtracts the deductions you enter to show net pay. Work out US withholding with IRS Publication 15-T and the Social Security and Medicare rates, or Canadian deductions with the CRA calculator.

Are employers required to give pay stubs?

Under the US federal FLSA, no, but employers must keep accurate pay records, and many states require a wage statement. In Canada, rules vary by province and by federal or provincial jurisdiction. Check the labour department where the employee works.

Is it legal to make your own pay stub?

It is legal to record real pay accurately, for example as an employer or for your own books. Creating a stub with false income, or naming an employer that did not pay you, and using it to get credit or housing is fraud.

Can I make a check stub on my phone?

Yes. The generator works in Safari on iPhone and Chrome on Android. Fill in the form, tap Download Paystub and the PDF saves to your phone. A larger screen makes checking the numbers easier.