A pay stub is the receipt for a pay period — it shows how you got from the hours worked to the money that landed in your nanny's account. Issuing one every period isn't just courteous; in many states it's required, and it makes your year-end W-2 fall out of the numbers automatically.

The header

  • Employer and employee names and addresses.
  • Pay period dates and the pay date.
  • A check or run number so each stub is uniquely identifiable.

Earnings

  • Regular hours × rate — the standard hours at the agreed gross rate.
  • Overtime hours × rate — hours over 40 in the week at time-and-a-half.
  • Gross pay — the two combined, before any taxes. This is the number your whole payroll is built on.
Any non-taxable reimbursements — like mileage — appear as a separate line, apart from gross wages, so they don't get taxed.

Taxes withheld (the deductions)

  • Social Security — 6.2% of gross (the employee's half).
  • Medicare — 1.45% of gross (the employee's half).
  • Federal income tax — based on the W-4 your nanny filled out, if you're withholding it.
  • State income tax — where applicable (nothing in no-income-tax states like Tennessee or Texas).
The 6.2% and 1.45% you withhold are only the employee's share of FICA. You, the employer, owe a matching 7.65% on top — that part doesn't appear as a deduction because it isn't taken from your nanny's pay.

Net pay

Net pay is gross minus every tax withheld — the actual take-home amount you send. This is the number your nanny cares about most, and it should exactly match what hits their account.

Year-to-date (YTD) totals

Good stubs carry a YTD column — running totals of gross, each tax, and net for the year so far. This is quietly the most useful part: at year-end, the YTD figures are your W-2 boxes, and they let your nanny track their income anytime.

Why issue one every period

  • It's often the law — several states require written wage statements each pay period.
  • It builds trust — your nanny sees exactly how their pay was calculated.
  • It prevents disputes — hours and rates are documented as you go.
  • It makes tax season trivial — the W-2 is just the December YTD line.

House generates a clean, itemized pay stub with live YTD totals every time you run payroll — free.

Generate a pay stub

The bottom line

A pay stub walks from gross pay, through each tax, down to net — with YTD totals tracking the year. Issue one every period and you've kept your nanny informed, stayed compliant, and pre-built your W-2.