What this form is for
Employers use this form to provide employees with a detailed record of gross pay, withholdings, deductions, and net pay for a specific pay period. Lenders require recent pay stubs to verify income and employment when evaluating loan applications.
Before you start
- Employee's full legal name, address, Social Security number, and filing status (single, married, number of dependents)
- Current pay period dates and year-to-date employment period
- Gross wages for this pay period: hourly rate and hours worked, or salary amount
- Pre-tax deductions such as health insurance premiums, retirement contributions (401(k), IRA), HSA contributions, and flexible spending accounts
- Post-tax deductions including wage garnishments, union dues, or other court-ordered payments
- Employer contribution amounts for benefits like matching retirement funds or employer-paid insurance portions
- Your company name, address, and Employer Identification Number (EIN)
Step-by-step
1. Select your governing state from the dropdown menu before entering any data. State withholding calculations depend on this selection and cannot auto-calculate without it.
2. Upload your company logo if you want a professional letterhead. This is optional but adds credibility for lender review.
3. Enter employer information: your business legal name, full address, and nine-digit EIN exactly as it appears on IRS documents.
4. Fill in employee details including legal name, address, Social Security number, and current W-4 filing status. Double-check the SSN for accuracy.
5. Input pay period dates (start and end) and the payment date. Enter year-to-date period start if this is not the employee's first pay period of the year.
6. Record gross earnings: enter hourly rate and hours worked, or enter the salary amount. The form will calculate gross pay automatically. Add any overtime, bonuses, or commission in the designated fields.
7. Enter all pre-tax deductions line by line. These reduce taxable income before federal and state withholding calculations run. The form will subtract these automatically from gross pay.
8. Review the auto-calculated federal income tax (based on IRS Publication 15-T), Social Security (6.2 percent), and Medicare (1.45 percent) withholdings. State withholding will calculate based on your selected state's current tax tables.
9. Add any post-tax deductions, which come out after all tax withholdings. Enter employer-paid benefit contributions in the employer section.
10. Verify the net pay calculation, year-to-date totals for all categories, and confirm all figures before generating the final pay stub.
What lenders look for
- Banks scrutinize year-to-date figures to confirm consistency and detect income fluctuations. Make sure YTD totals reflect accurate cumulative amounts from January 1st or hire date.
- Missing or incorrect employer EIN, mismatched Social Security numbers, or unrealistic withholding amounts trigger red flags and delay loan approval.
- Provide at least two consecutive recent pay stubs. Lenders compare multiple periods to verify stable employment and rule out one-time bonuses inflating income.