A Quick Online Guide to Pay Stubs and Why They’re Important
Paper paychecks are quickly going the way of the dodo bird. These days, payroll is generated, checks are cut, funds are deducted from employers’ accounts and deposits are allocated to employees without a physical dime or piece of paper ever exchanging hands.
Technology has taken a great deal of time, effort and mental calculation out of the process. Still, despite all humanity’s advancements, there’s apparently no practical, effective way of electronically exchanging proof of income. For this reason, hardcopy paycheck stubs remain vital.
Why Are Pay Stubs Important?
First off, the U.S. Department of Labor points out employers held to the Fair Labor Standards Act are required to keep track of individual employees’ earnings. In addition to keeping businesses in compliance with legal regulations, these records are also helpful tools when it comes to resolving pay disputes and generating employees’ W-2s come tax time.
Some states also insist employers provide physical check stubs for their workers. In areas where they’re required, continually keeping up with them isn’t always easy for personnel. Those in states not requiring paper pay records be doled out still need them for a number of different reasons. Either way, a check stub creator could be a helpful tool for everyone involved.
Why Would Someone Need a Pay Stub?
Check stubs include all sorts of vital information, such as names, social security numbers, addresses, gross and net pay, types and amounts of deductions, employers’ information and pay dates to name a few. For this reason, they serve numerous purposes, such as ID confirmation, verification of residency and the ever-powerful proof of income. Employees might need records of these points of interest for:
· Filing Income Taxes: When filing taxes, pay stubs to provide valuable details about earned income, taxes paid, amounts paid for health benefits and work expenses and other important elements.
· Ensuring Accurate Pay: Anytime payment is involved, certain disputes and discrepancies are sure to enter the mix as well. Check stubs show number of regular and overtime hours worked as well as pay rates, so they can help ensure neither employees nor employers come up short in the end.
· Taking out a Loan: Lenders insist on seeing hardcore proof of employment, how much money potential borrowers bring home and just how long they’ve been with a current employer. Pay stubs offer all this information, so they’re crucial for home and auto loans as well as other borrowing scenarios.
· Renting a Home: Landlords and rental agencies require proofs of current address, employment status and income in their qualification processes. Without check stubs, potential renters are out of luck.
Aside from those scenarios, financial assistance is yet another reason someone might need to have pay stubs in hand. From Medicaid to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, applicants must show proof of employment and income in order to qualify. The same is true for federal student aid according to the FAFSA website. Pay stubs fit the bill nicely.
All Things Considered
Lenders, government agencies offering financial assistance, rental property owners and other entities are no longer willing to take people’s word on their employment statuses and income. They want to see proof. Since they can’t access employers’ bank accounts directly, pay stubs are the next best thing. Technology may eventually give rise to another alternative; in the meantime, being able to generate check stubs on a regular or as-needed basis certainly comes in handy.
