The Best Free Pay Stub Template for Your Small Business

Your new hire leans over the counter. "Hey, do you have a pay stub I can use for my apartment application?" It's ten minutes to the lunch rush, and suddenly you're Googling "free pay stub template" with one eye on the door.

We've got you. Below you'll find free, downloadable templates in every format — PDF, Excel and Google Docs — plus everything you need to fill them out right.

TL;DR Get your free pay stub template right here

A pay stub shows your employee's gross pay, net pay, hours worked, deductions, and year-to-date totals — all in one place. Here's what you need to know fast:

• Download formats: PDF, Excel, Google Docs — pick what works for you
• Required fields: hours worked, pay rate, gross pay, deductions, net pay, YTD totals
• State rules: Most states require pay stub access — some require a printable copy
• Faster option: Homebase auto-generates pay stubs every payday, no template required

Download your free pay stub templates.

Skip the blank page. Grab a template, plug in your numbers, and you're done. Need to calculate hours first? We've got a free tool for that too.

Free pay stub template — PDF

Best for printing and handing off. Fill it in, save it, and it's ready to go. No formatting headaches, no version confusion.

[Download free PDF template]

Free pay stub template — Excel

Best if you want the math to do itself. Enter hours and rates, and the formulas handle gross pay, deductions, and net pay automatically. Pair it with our timesheet template to keep everything in one place.

[Download free Excel template]

Free pay stub template — Google Docs

Best for teams already living in Google Workspace. Open it, fill it in, and share it directly — no downloads, no back-and-forth.

[Open free Google Docs template]

Rather skip the template altogether? Our payroll app generates pay stubs automatically every time payroll runs. No formatting, no math, no manual anything. Try it free.

What goes on a pay stub?

A pay stub is the breakdown behind every paycheck — it shows your employee exactly how their pay was calculated and what was deducted. Most businesses issue them on the same schedule as payroll. Not sure which schedule works best for your team? Here's a full guide to understanding pay periods.

Here's what to include on every pay stub:

• Business info: Company name and address
• Employee details: Name, employee ID, and last four digits of SSN
• Pay period: Start and end dates for this cycle
• Pay date: When they actually get paid
• Hours worked: Regular, overtime, and PTO separately
• Pay rate: Hourly wage or the portion of salary paid this period
• Gross pay: Total earnings before any deductions
• Deductions: Federal and state taxes, Social Security, Medicare, health benefits, retirement contributions
• Net pay: What lands in their account
• Year-to-date totals: Running totals for gross pay, deductions, and net pay

Pay stubs aren't legal contracts — but they're the paper trail your team relies on for everything from apartment applications to loan approvals. Get them right.

How to fill out a free pay stub template.

Whether you're using Excel, Word, or a fillable PDF pay stub template, the process is the same. Here's how to do it step by step:

1. Download your template — PDF, Excel or Google Docs
2. Add your business info — name, address, logo if you want it
3. Fill in employee details — name, ID, pay period dates, and pay date
4. Log hours worked — separate regular hours, overtime, and PTO
5. Enter the pay rate — hourly wage or salary
6. Calculate gross pay — hours × rate, plus any bonuses or overtime
7. Subtract deductions — taxes, benefits, retirement, and anything else that applies
8. Show net pay — what's left after deductions
9. Update year-to-date totals — running cumulative totals for gross pay, deductions, and net pay
10. Save, send, or print — deliver to your employee in whatever format they need

One thing worth double-checking: overtime. Federal law requires 1.5x the regular rate for any hours over 40 in a workweek. Some states set the bar lower — check the overtime laws by state to make sure you're calculating overtime pay correctly. Your pay stub needs to reflect that accurately.

Good payroll records also protect you if questions ever come up later — keep copies.

Skip the manual math. Homebase pulls hours directly from your timesheets and handles every calculation automatically, including overtime. [See how it works →]

Free pay stub templates by worker type.

Not every employee gets the same pay stub. Here's what changes depending on who you're paying.

Hourly employee pay stub template

Hours and rate are your primary inputs. Make sure you're tracking regular and overtime hours separately — your gross pay calculation depends on it. This is the most common setup for small business teams. Need help with the numbers? Use our free hourly salary calculator to check your math.

Salaried employee pay stub template

Gross pay is fixed each period, but deductions still vary. Year-to-date tracking matters more here, especially as you get into benefits enrollment and tax withholding adjustments through the year.

1099 contractor pay stub template

This one's different. As the employer, you're not withholding taxes for 1099 contractors — they handle that themselves. So on a contractor pay stub, gross pay and net pay are typically the same amount. Contractors often need these for proof of income — apartment applications, loans, or credit checks — even if you're not running formal payroll for them.

Not sure whether someone should be classified as a contractor vs. employee? It's worth getting right — misclassification can cost you. If you're thinking about hiring a contractor for the first time, brush up on what makes someone an independent contractor before you issue that first pay stub. Our HR compliance resources can help you stay on the right side of the rules.

Are employers required to give pay stubs?

There's no federal law requiring pay stubs — but most states have their own rules. Check your state labor laws to know exactly what applies to your business. At a federal level, FLSA requirements set baseline record-keeping standards, and wage and hour laws govern how pay information must be tracked. Here's how the states break down:

No requirement — you're not legally required to issue pay stubs, but it's still good practice: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee

Access states — employees must be able to access their pay stubs; paper or digital both work: Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

Access/print states — digital is fine, as long as employees can easily download and print: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, New Mexico, North Carolina, Texas, Vermont, Washington

Opt-out states — digital by default; employees can request paper: Delaware, Minnesota, Oregon

Opt-in states — you need permission before going paperless: Hawaii

Staying on top of payroll compliance matters — the rules change, and getting it wrong can be expensive. Homebase keeps you compliant automatically — pay stubs go out in the right format, every time. Learn more about labor law compliance →

FAQs

How can I make my own pay stubs for free?

Download a free pay stub template in PDF, or Excel format, then fill in your employee's hours, pay rate, and deductions to calculate gross and net pay. For accuracy, use a template with built-in formulas. Or use payroll software like Homebase, which generates pay stubs automatically every time you run payroll for your small business — no template needed.

Does Word have a pay stub template?

Microsoft Word doesn't include a built-in pay stub template, but you can download a free editable Word pay stub template and customize it with your business details. If you want something that handles the math automatically, an Excel template or payroll software will save you more time than Word will.

Can ChatGPT generate pay stubs?

ChatGPT can help you draft a pay stub layout, but it can't calculate taxes, pull real payroll data, or keep up with your state's compliance requirements. It also creates fraud risk if used to generate pay stubs that misrepresent actual earnings. Pay stubs need to be accurate and verifiable — for your team's sake and yours. Payroll errors caused by inaccurate documentation can follow your business for years.

What's the difference between a paycheck and a pay stub?

A paycheck is how your employee gets paid — cash, check, or direct deposit. A pay stub is the breakdown: hours worked, deductions taken, and what actually hit their account. Even if you pay your employees by direct deposit, your team still needs access to their pay stubs, and most states require it.

Stop filling in templates. Let Homebase run payroll.

Templates work — until you're doing them for six employees every two weeks while also running a business. That's when it stops being a workaround and starts being a time sink.

Homebase pulls your team's hours straight from their digital timesheets and turns them into full-service payroll — taxes calculated, pay stubs generated, direct deposit sent. Here's what that looks like in practice:

• Auto-generated pay stubs from approved timesheets — sent to your team the moment payroll runs
• Automatic tax calculations for federal, state, and local — filed for you
• Direct deposit or printable checks — whatever your team prefers
• Multi-rate pay for employees working different roles at different wages
• Built-in compliance — overtime rules, break enforcement, FLSA requirements
• W-2 and 1099 setup — ready when you onboard new hires and when tax season hits

"Before Homebase, I was manually tallying up my team's work hours and entering them into payroll, crossing my fingers I hadn't made any mistakes. Now all I have to do is send their hours to my payroll program with the click of a button." — Kathleen Smith, Founder, Smiling Tree Toys

Payroll doesn't have to be a project. Start your free trial.