Free Pay Stub Generator (US)
Create a US employee pay stub from genuine payroll records. Handles 2026 Social Security limits and Additional Medicare withholding. Private, browser-only PDF.
Add the required employer, employee, pay-period, and pay-date details.
Private by design: the form and PDF stay in your browser unless you choose to save the draft on this device.
PAY STUB
US 2026 employee pay statement| Earnings | Hours | Current |
|---|---|---|
| Regular | 80 | $2,000.00 |
| Gross pay | $2,000.00 |
| Deductions | Current |
|---|---|
| Federal income tax | $0.00 |
| Social Security | $124.00 |
| Medicare | $29.00 |
| State income tax | $0.00 |
| Total deductions | $153.00 |
Computer-generated pay statement · Verify with employer/payer
Authorized, accurate use only. This US tool is for an employer, payer, or authorized payroll preparer documenting real wages from genuine records. Do not create, alter, or use a pay stub to misrepresent income, employment, deductions, or taxes. DraftFort does not verify the user or the document. You remain responsible for payroll records and every federal, state, and local requirement. See the Terms of Use.
Create a private US pay statement
DraftFort creates a clean US employee pay stub PDF from the information you enter. It is intended for authorized business recordkeeping—not as independent proof of income, a W-2, a payroll filing, or a replacement for payroll software. Names, addresses, wages, and optional SSN digits stay in your browser. Draft saving is off by default because payroll information can be sensitive.
The output is a professional employer-prepared pay statement. A discreet footer identifies it as computer-generated and directs questions to the named employer or payer. DraftFort formats the figures but does not authenticate the employer, employee, or source records.
What the pay stub includes
- Employer, employee, pay-period, pay-date, and frequency details
- Hourly earnings, overtime entered at its actual rate, bonuses, or flat salary amounts
- Current gross pay, itemized employee deductions, and net pay
- A choice between a limited 2026 FICA estimate and actual user-entered withholding
- Optional YTD totals based on real prior totals—not current-pay multiplication
- A browser-generated PDF with selectable text
2026 Social Security and Medicare calculation
In Estimate from taxable wages mode, DraftFort calculates only the employee portion of US Social Security and Medicare withholding:
- Social Security: 6.2% of Social Security taxable wages, limited to the remaining portion of the $184,500 wage base for 2026.
- Medicare: 1.45% of Medicare taxable wages, with no wage-base limit.
- Additional Medicare: an additional 0.9% on wages the employer pays above the $200,000 calendar-year withholding threshold.
These figures and thresholds come from the IRS 2026 Publication 15 and IRS Topic 751. The Additional Medicare amount an individual ultimately owes can depend on filing status; the tool implements the employer’s $200,000 withholding trigger, not an individual’s final tax liability.
Gross pay is not always identical to Social Security or Medicare taxable wages. If payroll records show different wage bases—for example, because of a payroll adjustment—turn off Use current gross pay and enter the actual taxable wages. You can also bypass the estimate and enter the actual Social Security and Medicare amounts calculated by your payroll process.
Income-tax withholding is deliberately user-entered
DraftFort does not estimate federal or state income-tax withholding. Those amounts depend on the employee’s withholding information, taxable wages, jurisdiction, and payroll circumstances. Enter the actual values from genuine payroll records. The IRS publishes the federal calculation methods in Publication 15-T, but implementing a complete payroll system is outside this document tool’s scope.
Pay-stub and recordkeeping requirements vary
The US Department of Labor explains that the federal Fair Labor Standards Act requires covered employers to maintain accurate wage and hour records, including earnings, deductions, total wages, payment date, and pay period. It does not itself require an employer to give employees pay stubs. State and local laws can impose separate pay-statement content and delivery requirements.
Review the Department of Labor FLSA recordkeeping fact sheet and its official pay-stub FAQ, then check the labor and tax authorities that apply to the employee’s workplace. DraftFort does not determine whether this generated PDF satisfies a particular state or local rule.
How to use it responsibly
- Confirm that you are the employer/payer or are authorized by that employer.
- Enter the employer, employee, pay-period, and genuine earnings details.
- Choose the FICA estimate only when its US 2026 scope fits your records; otherwise enter actual withheld amounts.
- Enter federal, state, and other deductions from the payroll calculation.
- Add YTD totals only when you have the real prior figures.
- Review the preview against the underlying payroll records.
- Confirm authorized, accurate use and download the PDF.
- Retain the source records required for your business. The IRS says employment tax records generally must be kept for at least four years; see IRS employment-tax recordkeeping.
Need help interpreting the fields? Read How to read a pay stub. For non-employee business work, an invoice and a payment receipt may be more appropriate records; classification and tax treatment depend on the actual working relationship.
Frequently asked questions
Who should use this US pay stub generator?
It is designed for a US employer, payer, or authorized payroll preparer creating a pay statement from genuine payroll records. It is not designed for an employee to invent, alter, or recreate proof of income or employment.
Does this pay stub satisfy every state law?
No. The federal FLSA requires covered employers to keep accurate wage and hour records but does not itself require employers to give employees pay stubs. State and local pay-statement rules vary. The employer must check the rules that apply to the employee and workplace.
How does the 2026 Social Security estimate work?
The tool applies the 6.2% employee rate to Social Security taxable wages remaining under the 2026 $184,500 wage base. Enter wages paid earlier in 2026 so the annual limit can be applied to the current period.
Does it calculate Medicare and Additional Medicare withholding?
In estimate mode it applies 1.45% to Medicare taxable wages and adds 0.9% when wages paid by the employer cross the $200,000 calendar-year withholding threshold. You can instead enter actual Social Security and Medicare amounts from payroll records.
Does it calculate federal or state income-tax withholding?
No. Federal and state income-tax withholding depends on employee and jurisdiction-specific facts. Enter the actual amounts from your payroll calculation or records; DraftFort does not guess them.
How are year-to-date totals calculated?
YTD display is off by default. If enabled, you enter the genuine totals from before the current pay period and DraftFort adds the current amounts. It no longer assumes every paycheck was identical.
Does DraftFort verify or certify the pay stub?
No. DraftFort formats information supplied by the employer, payer, or authorized preparer; it does not identify the user, authenticate the employer or source records, or certify income or employment. The named employer or payer remains responsible for the statement and its accuracy.
Are payroll details uploaded or automatically saved?
No. The form and PDF run in your browser and are not uploaded. Browser draft-saving is off by default. If you explicitly enable it, the draft is stored only in that browser until you reset it or clear the site's browser data.