Pay Stub Generator for Contractors (1099)

If you're paid on a 1099, nobody hands you a pay stub. Clients pay invoices, money lands in your account, and the only official paperwork arrives once a year. When a landlord, lender or your own bookkeeping needs proof of income mid-year, you need something in between. That's a contractor payment statement.

What a "1099 pay stub" actually is

A pay stub belongs to payroll: it shows wages, withholding and net pay for an employee. A 1099-NEC is an annual information return a client files when it pays you at least $2,000 for services in 2026. Neither one documents a single contractor payment during the year.

A contractor payment statement does. For each payment it shows:

• Who paid you, and who was paid
• The service period and the payment date
• The amount for the period and the year-to-date total
• A plain "contractor payment statement" label

What it leaves out matters as much. There's no federal income tax, Social Security or Medicare line, because clients generally don't withhold those from independent contractors. A "1099 stub" that shows payroll withholding describes a job you don't have, and anyone who compares it to your 1099-NEC or tax return will notice.

Build it from records you already have

Every figure on a contractor statement should trace to something you can show:

Statement field	Your source document
Client name and address	The contract or invoice
Service period	Invoice dates or project milestones
Amount for the period	Paid invoice or client payment confirmation
Payment date	The deposit date on your bank statement
Year-to-date total	Your books: all payments from that client since January 1

Make one statement per client relationship. If two clients pay you, their YTD totals stay separate, just as each will send you a separate 1099-NEC.

If your client doesn't issue statements and you prepare them yourself from your records, say so when you share them. Attach the invoices or bank statements they're built from. A self-prepared summary that matches your deposits helps your case. One presented as something your client issued, when it wasn't, does not.

Worked example: a freelancer with two clients in 2026

Maya is a freelance bookkeeper. In May 2026, Client A pays her $1,250 each week for four weeks. Client B pays a one-time $900 project fee on May 20. Before May, Client A had paid her $16,250 for the year, and Client B nothing.

Client	Payments in May	May total	YTD after May	1099-NEC expected for 2026?
Client A	4 × $1,250	$5,000	$21,250	Yes, already over $2,000
Client B	1 × $900	$900	$900	Only if more work brings 2026 payments to $2,000+

Maya creates four weekly statements for Client A. The first shows $1,250 for the week and $17,500 YTD, and the last shows $21,250. She creates one statement for Client B. Five statements in one order cost $27.95. They take a few minutes to build from her invoices, and the preview is free.

In January 2027, Client A's 1099-NEC should show at least $21,250 plus whatever it paid after May. If Maya's December statement YTD and the 1099-NEC disagree, she'll know to ask Client A why before she files.

The tax side of contractor income

Because nothing is withheld, the taxes are yours to plan for:

• Self-employment tax is 15.3%: 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare, owed when net self-employment earnings are $400 or more. The Social Security part applies to the first $184,500 of combined wages and self-employment earnings in 2026.
• Income tax isn't withheld, so many contractors make quarterly estimated payments with Form 1040-ES.

Your statement is a record of gross payments. It doesn't calculate your tax bill, and it shouldn't pretend to.

Using statements for rentals and loans

Landlords often accept contractor statements alongside bank statements and a recent 1099 or tax return; our rental application guide covers what they look for. Mortgage lenders generally treat contractor income as self-employment income. Fannie Mae, for example, generally asks for a two-year history of earnings documented with tax returns. Statements help explain this year's income but won't replace the returns. Our loan application guide explains how lenders weigh them.

Paying contractors instead?

If you're the business sending payments, our contractor payment statement page covers the payer's workflow: W-9 first, a statement per payment, and the 1099-NEC at year-end.