Pay Stub Generator - Estimated Pay Stub for Your Own Records

How to use

1. Enter Employer name and, if you want it shown, Employee name (optional) - both print on the stub header.
2. Enter Pay rate ($/hr), Regular hours this period and Overtime hours (1.5x) - overtime is computed at 1.5 times your hourly rate.
3. Pick the Pay frequency (weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly or monthly) so annualized figures use the right number of checks.
4. Add pre-tax deductions - 401(k) % of gross and Insurance $ per period - then pick the Federal estimate tier matching your yearly income (a rough estimate, not tax tables) and set State income tax % (default 0 - check your state).
5. Optionally enter YTD gross before this period to get a year-to-date estimate that respects the Social Security wage cap.
6. Press Build stub estimate, read the line-by-line breakdown and the net-vs-gross gauge, then keep a copy with the Print button or Ctrl+P.

General information only — not medical, financial or legal advice. Figures cross-checked against public official sources (IRS / HMRC / NHS / WHO guidance) as of 2026-08. For decisions that matter, confirm with a licensed professional in your country.

About this tool

This tool builds an estimated pay-stub breakdown for wages you actually earned - a budgeting and record-keeping aid for employees checking a payroll figure, freelancers documenting project pay, or anyone tracking take-home. Enter your rate, hours, overtime, deductions and a rough withholding tier; it computes gross, FICA, estimated income-tax withholding and net, then lays it out stub-style with an optional YTD estimate. Estimate for personal record-keeping only. Creating or using false income documents is fraud. Official stubs come from your employer or payroll provider. Nothing you type is uploaded or saved - every calculation runs in your browser and disappears when you close the tab.

One accuracy detail most simple calculators get wrong: FICA and 401(k) do not share a base. A traditional 401(k) defers federal and state income tax, but it does not defer FICA - Social Security and Medicare are computed on your full gross, overtime included, before any 401(k) or insurance subtraction. Income-tax estimates here work the other way: the tier percentage multiplies gross minus your pre-tax deductions. Splitting those two bases is the difference between an estimate that tracks a real payslip and one that quietly overstates your Social Security and Medicare withholding every single period.

The federal withholding selector is deliberately rough: it applies one flat percentage to taxable wages based on the annual income band you pick, and the label says a rough estimate, not tax tables for a reason. Real withholding follows your W-4, IRS formulas, employer benefit plans and sometimes city or county taxes, so treat the federal line as a planning placeholder you can tune until the net matches a recent payslip. That tuning trick - adjusting one input until two numbers agree - is the most reliable way to turn any estimator into a genuinely useful budgeting figure.

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