Free Pay Stub Generator: Check Stub Maker, No Watermark

Pay stub generator

Calculates federal withholding from the 2026 IRS Publication 15-T tables, treats pre-tax items the way payroll does, fills year to date by itself, and also builds a salary slip for Pakistan and the Gulf, with no watermark and nothing uploaded.

In short

A pay stub, also called a check stub or earnings statement, lists one pay period’s earnings, deductions, taxes and net pay. This generator works out federal income tax from the 2026 IRS tables, Social Security and Medicare, subtracts pre-tax and after-tax items, adds year-to-date totals and exports a PDF. Everything stays in your browser.

2026 IRS withholding

Year to date

Salary slip too

PDF export

Runs in your browser

For real pay only. Use it to record pay that was actually earned and paid. A stub that shows income that never existed is fraud. Nothing you type is uploaded. Add this tool to your phone or computer for one-tap access.

Page last updated 20 Oct 2026

How to use it

Add the employer and employee details. A logo is optional, and only the last four digits of an SSN are ever printed.
Choose the pay frequency and pay date. The pay period fills in by itself and you can change it.
Enter hourly rate and hours, or an annual salary, then add any bonus, commission, tips or reimbursements.
Enter pre-tax items (health, HSA, 401(k)), the Form W-4 answers, the state and any after-tax deductions such as a garnishment.
Check the stub on the right, pick a template and accent colour, then download the PDF or image. For Pakistan, the Gulf or anywhere else, switch to Salary slip and type each figure.

How it calculates

Gross pay is hours times rate (overtime at its multiplier), or a salary divided by the pay periods, plus any extra pay. Pre-tax items come off first: health, dental, vision and HSA or FSA lower federal tax and the Social Security and Medicare wages, while a traditional 401(k) lowers federal tax only. Federal withholding follows IRS Publication 15-T Worksheet 1A for a 2020-or-later Form W-4: annualise the wages, add Step 4(a), subtract Step 4(b) and the standard allowance, read the 2026 percentage table, subtract the Step 3 credit, divide by the pay periods and add Step 4(c). Social Security is 6.2% up to $184,500 a year, Medicare 1.45%, and 0.9% more above $200,000. State, local and disability tax use the rates you type. Year to date assumes the same pay in every period so far.

For example, an employee paid $2,000 every two weeks, single with nothing on the W-4, has annual wages of $52,000. After the $8,600 standard allowance the adjusted amount is $43,400, which gives $4,060.00 of tax a year from the 2026 table, or $156.15 a period. Social Security is $124.00 and Medicare $29.00, so the taxes are $309.15 and the net pay is $1,690.85. By the tenth pay period the year-to-date gross is $20,000. The pay and details are made up; yours come from what you type.

Who should use it

Small employers and household employers who pay staff directly and need a clear earnings statement
Freelancers and self-employed people who want a record of what they paid themselves
Employees who lost a stub and need to rebuild one from their real pay figures
Accounts staff in Pakistan and the Gulf who issue monthly salary slips

Who should not use this

Anyone who wants a stub for income they did not earn: showing a lender, landlord or agency invented pay is fraud, and verifiers check with the employer
Employers who must file and remit payroll tax; this makes the statement, it does not run payroll or pay any tax
Workplaces with state or local taxes that need exact tables, unless you enter the rate your payroll uses

Limitations

Federal withholding uses the 2026 percentage method for a Form W-4 from 2020 or later. Older forms, nonresident alien rules and supplemental pay other than the optional flat 22% are not built in.
State, local and disability taxes use the percentage you type. Only the states with no tax on wages are set to zero by themselves.
Year to date assumes the same gross pay in every period so far. If pay changed during the year, type the real number of periods or use your payroll totals.
The PDF holds a picture of the stub, so its text cannot be selected or searched.
Self-employment tax, employer-side payroll tax, tip credits and special rules such as the Social Security wage-base restart are not included.
Nothing is uploaded or stored on a server. Clearing your browser data also removes the saved profile.

Sources and review

Reviewed on 20 Oct 2026 against the published sources below. Rules and prices change, so check the current position before you rely on a figure.

Common questions

What is on a pay stub?

A pay stub shows the employer and employee, the pay period and pay date, gross pay with hours and rate, each deduction and tax, net pay, and year-to-date totals. Many also show leave balances and how the pay was delivered, by direct deposit or check.

What is the difference between a pay stub, a check stub and a payslip?

They are the same record under different names. “Pay stub” and “check stub” are the US terms, because the stub was once the tear-off part of a paper paycheck. “Payslip” or “salary slip” is the term used in Pakistan, the UK, the Gulf and India. “Earnings statement” is the formal name.

How is federal income tax withholding calculated on a pay stub?

Payroll annualises the taxable wages, adjusts them for the Form W-4 (other income, deductions and a standard allowance), reads the annual percentage table to get a yearly tax, subtracts W-4 credits, divides by the number of pay periods and adds any extra withholding. This tool follows IRS Publication 15-T for 2026. For example, $2,000 every two weeks for a single filer with nothing else on the W-4 is $156.15.

How are Social Security and Medicare calculated?

Social Security is 6.2% of wages up to the yearly wage base, which is $184,500 for 2026. Medicare is 1.45% of all wages, and employers withhold an extra 0.9% on wages above $200,000. On $2,000 that is $124.00 for Social Security and $29.00 for Medicare.

Does a 401(k) reduce Social Security and Medicare tax?

No. A traditional 401(k) contribution lowers the wages used for federal income tax, but Social Security and Medicare are still charged on the full amount. Health, dental and vision premiums and HSA or FSA contributions taken through a cafeteria plan lower all three.

Is this pay stub generator really free, and is there a watermark?

It is free, needs no account and has no limit on stubs. There is no watermark across the page. A small line at the foot says the stub was prepared with baseertools.com and is not an official payroll record unless the employer’s payroll system issued it.

Is it legal to make my own pay stub?

Making a statement of pay you really paid or received is ordinary record keeping, and many small employers do it. Making one that shows pay that did not happen, to get a loan, a lease or benefits, is fraud. Lenders and landlords usually confirm stubs with the employer and bank statements.

Can a self-employed person or contractor use a pay stub?

You can use it to keep a record of what you paid yourself, but a contractor is not an employee, so there is normally no withholding. Self-employment tax of 15.3% is paid with your return and is not worked out here. Leave the tax boxes empty and use the deductions you actually pay.

How do I make a salary slip for Pakistan or the Gulf?

Switch to Salary slip, choose the currency, and type each earning (basic, house rent, utilities, medical) and each deduction (income tax, EOBI, provident fund, loan). The tool adds them, shows the net pay and writes it in words for PKR, AED, USD, GBP and EUR. It does not calculate any statutory deduction.

Guides that explain the rules

Related tools

This tool produces a document from the information you type. It does not give legal, tax or accounting advice, and it does not check that your figures or rates are right. See the disclaimer. Found a mistake? Report an error in a calculation.