Create your first pay stub

Last updated August 16, 2026

Creating a pay stub takes about three minutes once you know where everything lives. This walkthrough covers the full process, from entering employer details to downloading the finished PDF. You can build and preview the whole stub before paying anything.

1. Enter employer details

Start with the company paying the wages: business name, address, and optionally a logo that appears on the finished stub. If the business has an EIN you'd like shown, add it here too.

These details are saved to your address book, so the next stub for the same employer is a single click rather than a retype. If you create stubs for several businesses, each one is stored separately.

2. Add the employee

Enter the employee or contractor's name and address, then choose their pay type — hourly or salary. Hourly asks for a rate and hours; salary asks for an annual or per-period amount.

Then choose their work state. This is the single most important field on the form, because it drives the entire state tax calculation. Use the state where the work is actually performed, which isn't always where the business is registered or where the employee lives.

3. Set the pay period and earnings

Fill in the timing and the money:

Choose the pay frequency — weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, or monthly. This affects how much tax is withheld per stub, so it must match how the employee is really paid.
Set the pay period (the dates worked) and the pay date (when the money lands). These are usually different, and both appear on the stub.
Enter hours and rate, or the salary amount for the period.
Add any overtime, bonuses, or commissions as separate line items so they're itemized rather than buried in regular pay.

If this isn't the employee's first stub of the year, enter the year-to-date figures so the running totals are correct.

4. Review deductions and taxes

OakPaystubs automatically calculates federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, and any applicable state tax from the details you've entered. You don't type these in yourself.

You can add voluntary deductions on top, such as pre-tax health insurance and retirement contributions, or post-tax items like garnishments and union dues. Pre-tax deductions lower taxable income, so adding them changes the calculated tax — see Adding earnings and deductions for how each type behaves.

5. Preview and download

Check the live preview, confirming the names, dates, gross pay, and net pay all look right. When you're satisfied, pay for the stub and download your print-ready PDF. See Preview & download your pay stub for more on choosing a template and what to check before you commit.

Tip: Double-check the work state and pay date before downloading — they affect the tax math and the year-to-date totals.

Common questions

How long does it take to create a pay stub?

About three minutes for the first one. Once an employer and employee are saved to your address book, later stubs take under a minute because the details are reused.

Do I need to calculate the taxes myself?

No. Federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, and state tax are all calculated for you from the work state, pay frequency, and pay details you enter.

Can I create a pay stub for a contractor?

Yes. Choose the contractor pay type when adding the person. Contractors don't have employment taxes withheld the way W-2 employees do, so the stub reflects that difference.

What if I get a detail wrong?

Everything is editable right up until you download, and the live preview shows the finished result before any payment is taken. Check the work state and pay date especially — those two drive the calculations.