Tax Tips•6 min read•
Documents in a Payroll File
The payroll register, the stub, and the year-end W-2. What each one is for.
JP
JustPayStubs Team
Updated October 7, 2026
Documents in a Payroll File
The payroll register is the book. The stub is the worker's copy of one line in that book. The W-2 is the year-end summary of wages and taxes.
Keep the figures tied to a real payment
Keep the register. Hand the worker a stub that matches it. Do not treat the stub as a document that stands in for wages you did not pay.
Preview before you pay
Open the pay record form, type the wages that were paid, and preview the PDF before you pay. One stub is the single-document price. Two or more use the multi-document price. Do not use the PDF to misrepresent income.
Related Topics
payroll filew-2pay stub
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