How to Create a Personal Pay Record: Step-by-Step Guide

Updated: August 26, 2026

Published by DG Paystub Editorial Team. Learn how to organize genuine pay information in a personal record, review common fields and 2026 federal references, and know when payroll software is...

There are different tools for different jobs: an online generator can create a personal pay-record preview, a spreadsheet can help with internal reconciliation, and payroll software or a payroll professional is the appropriate route for employers who must withhold and remit taxes, file returns, and issue required wage statements. Start from genuine source records and keep the status of any generated draft clear.

Key Takeaways

• A complete pay stub contains five sections: employer/employee info, pay period dates, gross earnings, itemized deductions, and net pay with YTD totals.
• For 2026, Social Security withholding is 6.2% on wages up to the $184,500 wage base, and Medicare is 1.45% on all wages, per the Social Security Administration's announced figures.
• Federal overtime under the FLSA is at least 1.5x the regular rate for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek.
• Federal law imposes payroll recordkeeping duties, while state pay-statement rules vary. Confirm the current rule with the relevant state labor agency.
• A user-generated draft does not verify employment or income and may not satisfy payroll or recipient requirements. Never use false information or misrepresent who issued a document.

The 3 Ways to Make a Pay Stub

A generator can help organize genuine inputs and provide supported estimates, but it does not run employer payroll, file returns, remit taxes, or verify the information. A free pay-record preview lets you inspect those estimates before deciding whether to download. Employers should verify federal and state duties and use an appropriate payroll process.

What You Need Before You Start

Collect the source records for the fields that actually apply. No visual field list proves that a document is legitimate:

Employer / business information

• Legal business name (or your own name if you're a sole proprietor)
• Business address
• EIN only when the authorized payroll process and applicable reporting rules require it; never add one merely to make a draft look official

Employee information

• Full legal name and address
• Employee ID, if one exists
• A worker identifier only when genuinely required; avoid Social Security data unless the applicable payroll process requires it
• Filing status and W-4 details, which drive federal withholding

Pay details

• Pay period start date and end date
• Pay date (the day the money is actually paid)
• The actual pay frequency shown in the employer or payer records
• Hourly rate and hours worked, or annual salary
• Any overtime hours, bonuses, commissions, or tips

How to Make a Pay Stub in 7 Steps

Step 1: Enter Employer and Employee Details

Copy payer, payee, address, and identifier details only from records you are authorized to use. If you are self-employed, do not present a client as an employer or imply W-2 employment that did not exist. Our self-employed pay-record guide explains which invoices, deposits, accounting records, and tax forms remain authoritative.

Step 2: Set the Pay Period and Pay Date

Copy the actual frequency, period boundaries, and pay date from source records. The pay date and period end are separate fields, and off-cycle or correction payments can break an apparent pattern.

Step 3: Calculate Gross Pay

Hourly:

Add regular earnings, correctly calculated overtime compensation, bonuses, commissions, tips, leave, and other applicable earnings from the source records.

Under the federal FLSA, many nonexempt employees must receive at least 1.5 times the regular rate after 40 hours in a workweek, but the regular rate can include more than the base hourly rate. Exemptions, workweek boundaries, credits, and state rules can change the result. See the Department of Labor overtime guidance.

Salaried:

`` Annual salary / number of pay periods = gross pay per period ``

Use the employer's actual annual salary and payroll calendar. Do not assume a generic number of periods when an off-cycle payment, partial period, or 27-payday year applies.

Step 4: Calculate Tax Withholdings (2026 Rates)

• Social Security (OASDI): generally 6.2% of Social Security wages up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500, not automatically 6.2% of gross pay. See the SSA wage-base table.
• Medicare: generally 1.45% of Medicare wages, with additional Medicare withholding rules above the IRS threshold. See IRS Topic 751.
• Federal income tax: this is not a flat rate. It depends on taxable wages, pay frequency, Form W-4 information, and the IRS method in Publication 15-T.
• State and local tax: rules vary by jurisdiction and may include state programs, city, county, school-district, reciprocity, or other deductions. Check the current state revenue and labor sources for the actual work and residence locations.

Step 5: Subtract Voluntary Deductions

Add any that apply, each as its own line item:

• Health, dental, or vision insurance premiums
• 401(k) or other retirement contributions
• HSA or FSA contributions
• Life insurance, garnishments, union dues

Step 6: Compute Net Pay

`` Gross pay - federal tax - state tax - Social Security - Medicare - voluntary deductions = NET PAY ``

This simplified relationship must be adapted for reimbursements, corrections, taxable benefits, different tax wage bases, and after-tax additions. Do not invent a state rate or federal amount to complete a record.

Step 7: Add Year-to-Date Totals and Generate

YTD means the running total through the current pay period. Sum prior employer-issued or other authoritative period records and documented corrections rather than multiplying one example period. See what YTD means on a pay stub for reconciliation guidance.

Finally, label the result accurately. A personal preview can use a clear header, earnings table, itemized deductions, net pay, and applicable YTD columns, but formatting does not make it employer-issued or verified.

Is It Legal to Make Your Own Pay Stub?

The legal and practical answer depends on who creates the document, what it says, how it is used, and the applicable state rules. An individual may keep a personal summary of genuine income, but that does not make it employer-issued or verified. Employers may have wage-statement, payroll-tax, record-retention, and filing duties that a standalone generator does not satisfy.

Never inflate income, invent an employer, alter an issuer's record, or misrepresent a personal draft as verified. Recipients may use employer confirmation, payroll-provider records, deposits, and tax documents. Our source-based verification guide explains why appearance and arithmetic alone cannot authenticate a pay statement.

Common Calculation Mistakes to Avoid

1. Using assumptions instead of source records. Copy hours, rates, deposits, deductions, and YTD totals from authentic payroll, bank, invoice, or accounting records.
2. Treating an estimate as actual withholding. Check current IRS, SSA, state, local, benefit, and employer-specific rules.
3. Failing to reconcile YTD totals. Sum the actual prior periods; do not assume every period was identical.
4. Confusing biweekly and semi-monthly schedules. Biweekly usually means 26 periods; semi-monthly means 24.
5. Applying an overtime rule without checking eligibility. Exemptions and state rules matter.
6. Misstating the issuer. A personal draft must not be represented as a statement issued or verified by an employer or payroll provider.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it legal to make your own pay stub?

You may keep a personal record of genuine income, but applicable law and recipient requirements vary. A generated draft is not automatically an employer wage statement or verified proof. Employers should confirm their payroll and wage-statement duties; never use false information or misrepresent the issuer.

What information is required on a pay stub?

The standard set: employer name and address, employee name, pay period dates, pay date, gross earnings (with hours and rates for hourly workers), itemized taxes and deductions, net pay, and YTD totals for each line. Exact requirements vary because pay statement rules are set at the state level, not federally.

Can I make a pay stub in Excel or Google Sheets?

Yes — it's free, but you're responsible for every formula: 6.2% Social Security, 1.45% Medicare, federal withholding from IRS Publication 15-T, your state's income tax, and running YTD totals. Most errors on homemade stubs come from outdated rates or broken YTD math, so double-check against current-year figures.

How do I make a pay stub if I'm self-employed?

Start with invoices, platform statements, deposits, accounting records, Forms 1099, and tax returns. A personal pay-record summary can organize those figures, but do not label a client as an employer or imply W-2 payroll that did not exist. DG Paystub does not calculate or file self-employment tax.

What taxes come out of a pay stub in 2026?

Common employee lines include federal income-tax withholding, Social Security, Medicare, and applicable state or local withholding. Use the correct tax wage base and current IRS, SSA, state, and local sources; benefit deductions and worker circumstances can change the calculation.

How many pay stubs do I need for a loan or apartment?

Requirements vary by recipient and transaction. Ask which employer-issued statements, bank records, tax forms, returns, benefit letters, or direct-verification methods are accepted before submitting anything.

Part of DG Paystub — Dollar General pay stub guides & free paystub generator.