1. Title and stub number
It opens the Stacked Ledger. The title block names the document and carries its reference details. Keep stub numbers in sequence from one pay date to the next, as a payroll run would.
Paystub Template
Stacked Ledger: a Contractor Pay Stub Template
Contractor-ready
A plain, easy-to-read pay stub with every table stacked full width. For contractor payments it switches its headings to Payer and Contractor.
- Layout
- Portrait statements
- Type
- Pay Stub
- Colors
- 7 included
Color · Black & white
Sample data, shown for illustration. Colors are included in the price.
Use it in Black & white →The layout
What the Stacked Ledger layout looks like
A bold “Pay Statement” title and the stub number open the page. One outlined box holds the two parties side by side: the employer with EIN, address and phone, and the employee with masked SSN, address and ID. A row of cells underneath gives the pay frequency, pay period, pay date, pay type, filing status and how the pay was made.
Earnings and Deductions follow as full-width tables with a dark rule under each title, current and YTD columns, and a shaded total row. At the bottom, any memo sits on the left, and an outlined box on the right shows any reimbursement, net pay in large type, and YTD net pay. With Contractor / 1099 mode on in the builder, the headings read Payer and Contractor, and tax rows and filing status are left off.
On the stub
Sections, top to bottom
- Title and stub number
- Employer and employee box (Payer and Contractor for contractor pay)
- Pay info row: frequency, period, pay date, pay type, filing status, paid by
- Earnings table with gross taxable pay
- Deductions table with total deductions
- Net pay box with YTD net pay, beside the memo
Best for
Who this template suits
Independent contractors and freelancers who want a record of each payment from a client, and small businesses that pay contractors. It also suits anyone who prefers a plain, printer-friendly stub with nothing decorative on the page.
Overview
About this contractor pay stub template
Stacked Ledger is our contractor pay stub template. Turn on Contractor / 1099 mode in the builder and its headings change from Employer and Employee to Payer and Contractor, the tax rows and filing status drop off, and what is left is a clean record of what a client paid and when.
It works just as well as a plain employee stub. Every table runs full width, top to bottom, with current and year-to-date columns, so there is nothing to decode whichever way you use it.
Related: all pay stub templates · 1099 contractor pay stubs · paystub generator
Section by section
What each part of the Stacked Ledger shows
2. Employer and employee box (Payer and Contractor for contractor pay)
The second block on the Stacked Ledger. Both sides of the payment in one place: the payer (company name, address, EIN) and the person paid (name, address, ID and the SSN masked to its last four digits). On the Stacked Ledger they sit together, so who paid whom reads in one glance.
3. Pay info row: frequency, period, pay date, pay type, filing status, paid by
The third block on the Stacked Ledger. Period start and end, pay date and frequency. On the Stacked Ledger these read as the stub’s facts, so a reader can match it to a bank deposit before reading the figures.
4. Earnings table with gross taxable pay
The fourth block on the Stacked Ledger. Each kind of pay on its own line: regular hours, overtime, bonus, commission or tips, with rate and hours where they apply. Rate × hours should equal each current amount, and the lines add up to gross pay.
5. Deductions table with total deductions
The fifth block on the Stacked Ledger. Taxes and deductions. The Stacked Ledger lists federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare, any state or local tax, and the deductions you add by name. Their total is what separates gross pay from net pay.
6. Net pay box with YTD net pay, beside the memo
It closes the Stacked Ledger. Net pay, the amount actually paid: gross pay minus every tax and deduction above, plus any non-taxable reimbursement. It should match the deposit to the cent.
Fields
What you enter, and where it prints on the Stacked Ledger
| You enter | It prints in |
|---|---|
| Company name, address, EIN, phone and logo | Employer and employee box (Payer and Contractor for contractor pay) |
| Employee name, address and ID | Employer and employee box (Payer and Contractor for contractor pay) |
| Last four digits of the SSN | Employer and employee box (Payer and Contractor for contractor pay) |
| Pay period, pay date and pay frequency | Pay info row: frequency, period, pay date, pay type, filing status, paid by |
| Filing status and how the pay was made | Pay info row: frequency, period, pay date, pay type, filing status, paid by |
| Hours and rate, or the salary for the period | Earnings table with gross taxable pay |
| Overtime, bonus, commission and tips lines | Earnings table with gross taxable pay |
| Federal, state, Social Security and Medicare (estimated) | Earnings table with gross taxable pay |
| Your own deductions (health plan, retirement, garnishment) | Deductions table with total deductions |
| Year-to-date totals | Net pay box with YTD net pay, beside the memo |
| Memo or notes | Net pay box with YTD net pay, beside the memo |
The tax lines are estimated from the pay, frequency, filing status and state you enter, and you can change any of them. How paycheck taxes are calculated explains each one, and the pay stub glossary defines every abbreviation on the stub.
Colours
Stacked Ledger colours
The Stacked Ledger comes in Black & white, Ink, Slate grey, Spruce, Mustard, Berry and Harbor blue, with Black & white as its standard colour. The colour you choose recolours the accents (section rules, headings and the net pay block); the figures and layout stay the same, and every colour is included in the price.
Document type
What makes the Stacked Ledger a pay stub layout
The Stacked Ledger is laid out as a pay stub: the short, practical record that comes with a paycheck or direct deposit. Payroll systems also call the same record an earnings statement or pay slip; the contents do not change with the name: who was paid, for which period, gross pay, each tax and deduction, net pay and the year to date.
Best use
When to choose the Stacked Ledger
Independent contractors and freelancers
A per-payment record from each client, with the period, the pay date, the gross amount and the year so far, in a layout that reads Payer and Contractor.
Small businesses paying contractors
Give each contractor a consistent statement for every payment, alongside the invoice they sent you and the 1099 you file at year end.
Gig and platform workers
Record a week or month of client payouts as one stub, with any fees you choose to show as deductions.
Employees who want a plain stub
With contractor mode off, the same stacked tables show federal, state, Social Security and Medicare lines like any payroll stub.
Contractor pay stubs
What goes on a contractor pay stub, and what does not
A contractor is not on payroll, so the payer does not withhold income tax, Social Security or Medicare from the payment. The IRS explains that self-employed people pay self-employment tax for Social Security and Medicare themselves and generally make estimated tax payments. That is why a contractor stub shows gross pay, any agreed fees and net pay, but no withholding rows.
There is no federal form or required layout for a contractor pay stub. The payer instead reports nonemployee compensation on Form 1099-NEC after the year ends, under the IRS rules for that form. A stub is the contractor’s own running record between those yearly forms: it helps match deposits, track the year to date and answer a request for recent proof of payments.
- On it: payer and contractor names and addresses, the period, the pay date, each payment line, any fees, net pay, year-to-date gross and net.
- Not on it: federal or state income tax withheld, Social Security or Medicare withheld, filing status, employee benefits.
- Kept with it: the invoice it pays and, at year end, the 1099-NEC from the payer.
Compare
How the Stacked Ledger compares
The Stacked Ledger belongs to the Portrait statements family, with Stacked Sections, Letter Mailer, Sectioned Summary and Bar Stack. They share the same overall order; what sets the Stacked Ledger apart is full-width tables stacked top to bottom with a pay info row. Plain and easy to read, with payer and contractor headings for contractor payments.
Compare them: Stacked Sections · Letter Mailer · Sectioned Summary · Bar Stack
Print and PDF
Printing and reading the Stacked Ledger
Because every table runs full width and reads top to bottom, it scrolls naturally on a phone and prints on a single portrait page for most pay periods. The PDF is made from the same layout you see in the preview, so what you check is what you get.
Need several periods? The multi-stub builder makes consecutive stubs in this layout with year-to-date totals carried forward, and the sample pay stub walks through every line with real figures.
Before you download
Checks on a finished Stacked Ledger
- In “Earnings table with gross taxable pay”, rate × hours equals each line, and the lines add up to gross pay.
- In “Earnings table with gross taxable pay”, every tax and deduction you expect is listed once, with its correct name.
- In “Net pay box with YTD net pay, beside the memo”, net pay equals gross pay minus total deductions (plus any reimbursement) and matches the deposit.
- In “Net pay box with YTD net pay, beside the memo”, year-to-date totals include this period and step up correctly from the previous stub.
- Names, addresses and the pay date are spelled and dated as on your records.
Sources: IRS, Self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare taxes); IRS, About Form 1099-NEC, Nonemployee Compensation; IRS, Independent contractor (self-employed) or employee?; IRS, Estimated taxes.
How it works
How to fill in the Stacked Ledger template
1
Open the builder with the Stacked Ledger already selected (the “Use This Template” button does this).
2
Enter the company and the person paid; the business prints in the “Title and stub number” block.
3
Add the pay period, pay date and each kind of pay; the lines fill “Earnings table with gross taxable pay”.
4
Check the estimated taxes and add your own deductions (they print in “Earnings table with gross taxable pay”); every amount can be edited.
5
Pick a colour (Black & white, Ink and Slate grey or another), preview the whole stub, then download the PDF.
6
Switch on Contractor / 1099 mode before you enter pay: it turns off withholding, removes filing status and changes the headings.
7
Enter the client as the payer (company name and address) and yourself as the contractor; an EIN is optional for the payer.
8
List payments as earnings lines: hours and rate for hourly work, or one line per project or retainer.
9
Show platform or service fees as deductions only if they really came out of the payment, so net pay matches the deposit.
10
Keep the stub and the invoice it pays together; the stub records the payment, the invoice requested it.
Before download
Paystubs are generated from the information you enter
PayStubGo is an online paystub generator, not a payroll service. Your paystub is created from the information you provide. Review all details carefully before exporting your final PDF and use generated documents responsibly.
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FAQ
Stacked Ledger Pay Stub Template questions
Is the Stacked Ledger a pay stub or an earnings statement?
It is titled as a pay stub, and it holds the same record either way: who was paid, for which period, gross pay, taxes and deductions, net pay and the year to date.
What colours does the Stacked Ledger come in?
Black & white, Ink, Slate grey, Spruce, Mustard, Berry and Harbor blue. The colour changes the accents only, and every colour is included.
Does the Stacked Ledger show year-to-date totals?
Yes. The “Net pay box with YTD net pay, beside the memo” part carries the year-to-date figures. Make several consecutive stubs at once and the builder carries the totals forward from one period to the next.
Can I use the Stacked Ledger for a 1099 contractor?
Yes. It is contractor-ready: with Contractor / 1099 mode on, the headings change for a payer and a contractor and the withholding rows are left off.
Is there a free Stacked Ledger template for Word or Excel?
No. The Stacked Ledger is filled in online and delivered as a finished PDF, with the taxes and totals worked out. You can preview it free before you pay.
Can I preview the Stacked Ledger Pay Stub Template before creating a paystub?
Yes. This page shows a sample of the template, and the builder shows your own figures in it live before anything is paid for.
Can I switch from the Stacked Ledger to another template later?
Yes. Your details stay in the builder when you change templates, so you can compare layouts with your own figures before you download.
Can I edit the pay details before export?
Yes. PayStubGo lets you enter company, employee, earnings, deductions, pay period, and optional YTD details before previewing the final paystub.
Is the Stacked Ledger a free 1099 pay stub template?
It is not a blank download. You fill it in online in contractor mode, preview it free, and get the finished PDF. The 1099 contractor pay stub page explains the contractor set-up step by step.
Why are there no tax lines on my contractor stub?
Because a client does not withhold taxes from a contractor’s payment. Contractor mode leaves those rows off so the stub matches what you were actually paid; you handle self-employment and income tax yourself, as the IRS explains.
Which other templates are contractor-ready?
Templates tagged Contractor-ready switch their headings for contractor pay; Side Rail is the two-column option. Contractor mode works on every template, but the tagged ones also relabel the parties.
Ready to create a paystub with this template?
Preview the layout, enter your pay details, and download the finished PDF.