New York Pay Stub Requirements

Current as of November 1, 2026. General information, not legal advice.

New York's pay stub rule comes from the Wage Theft Prevention Act, which amended Labor Law § 195. Every employer must furnish a wage statement with every payment of wages, and the statement's contents are spelled out in the statute.

What § 195(3) requires on every wage statement

Every statement must list:

• the dates of work covered by that payment;
• the employee's name;
• the employer's name, address and phone number;
• the rate or rates of pay and the basis: hourly, shift, day, week, salary, piece, commission or other;
• gross wages;
• deductions;
• allowances claimed as part of the minimum wage, such as tip, meal and lodging allowances;
• home care aide benefits and prevailing wage supplements, where they apply; and
• net wages.

For employees who aren't exempt from overtime, the statement must also show the regular hourly rate or rates, the overtime rate or rates, the number of regular hours worked and the number of overtime hours worked. That applies to salaried non-exempt employees too.

For piece-rate employees, it must show each piece rate and the number of pieces completed at each rate.

On request, the employer must explain in writing how the wages were computed.

The Department of Labor's sample statement (form LS 49) shows these items laid out for an hourly employee: employer block with phone number, pay period and pay date, regular and overtime rates and hours, allowances and credits, gross wages, each deduction, and net pay.

The pay notice at hiring: § 195(1)

Separate from the stub, employers must give each new employee a written pay notice at hiring. It covers the rates of pay and their basis, allowances, the regular payday, the employer's identity and contact details, and, for non-exempt employees, the regular and overtime rates. It must be in English and in the employee's primary language when the Department of Labor offers a translation. The employee signs and dates an acknowledgment, which the employer keeps for six years.

If anything in the notice changes, employees must be told at least a week ahead, unless the change appears on a new paystub. A wage rate reduction must be announced in writing before it happens.

Electronic statements

Electronic wage statements are allowed. The Department of Labor says workers must be able to access their statements on a computer provided by the employer and print a copy for their records.

Records and penalties

Requirement	Rule
Payroll records	Keep for at least six years, made contemporaneously, not reconstructed later (§ 195(4))
No wage statement or an improper one	Damages up to $250 per day per employee, up to $5,000 per employee, unless all wages required by law were paid
No pay notice at hiring	Damages up to $50 per day per employee, up to $5,000

How often New Yorkers must be paid

• Manual workers: generally weekly, within seven calendar days after the end of the week in which the wages were earned. Some large employers have authorization to pay manual workers less often.
• Clerical and other workers: according to the agreed terms of employment, but at least semimonthly, on regular paydays designated in advance.

Final wages are due by the regular payday for the period in which employment ended. See final paycheck rules.

Worked example: a 2026 New York City stub

A New York City resident earns $2,000 biweekly. Her 2026 W-4 says single with no other entries, and her IT-2104 claims single with one allowance for both the state and the city.

Line	Amount	How it's figured
Gross wages	$2,000.00
Federal income tax	$156.15	IRS Pub. 15-T, 2026
Social Security	$124.00	6.2%
Medicare	$29.00	1.45%
NYS income tax	$84.20	NYS-50-T-NYS exact method: $2,000 − $323.10 = $1,676.90; $22.54 + 5.40% of the amount over $535
NYC income tax	$63.62	NYS-50-T-NYC exact method: $2,000 − $230.80 = $1,769.20; $30.12 + 4.15% of the amount over $962
NY disability (SDI)	$1.20	0.5% of wages, capped at $0.60 a week
NY Paid Family Leave	$8.64	0.432% of wages in 2026
Net wages	$1,533.19

The statement must also carry the § 195(3) items around these numbers: work dates, the employer's address and phone, the pay basis and rate, and, if she's non-exempt, regular and overtime hours and rates.

Paid Family Leave stops once contributions reach the 2026 annual maximum of $411.91. The disability contribution can't exceed $0.60 a week. Employers may collect it but aren't required to.

Making a New York stub with PayStubShop

Choose New York in our generator and the stub calculates New York State withholding, plus New York City or Yonkers withholding where they apply, SDI and Paid Family Leave, alongside federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare. For non-exempt employees, enter regular and overtime hours and rates. Before downloading, check on the preview that the employer's phone number, which New York requires, appears with the address. Every stub includes a free direct deposit advice slip and year-to-date totals, and you see it all on a free preview before paying. One stub is $6.99.

Decode New York payroll codes like NYSDI and NYPFL with our abbreviations cheat sheet, or compare states in pay stub laws by state.