Pay stub guides for income review
Twelve plain-language guides for people who turn pay stubs into income figures: mortgage processors, landlords' screening staff and bookkeepers. They cover monthly conversion, pay frequency, year-to-date totals, gross and net, missing periods, and what to ask for when there are no stubs.
12 guides, published . General information, not lending, legal or tax advice.
Turning stubs into monthly income
The conversions and the judgment calls: frequency, hourly pay, and income that varies from stub to stub.
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How to calculate monthly income from pay stubs
The formula for weekly, biweekly, semimonthly and monthly stubs, with a worked table and the shortcuts that understate income.
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Biweekly vs semimonthly pay: how to tell which a stub is
Period lengths, 26 versus 24 pay dates, and how to tell the schedule from the dates on a stub.
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Averaging overtime, bonus and commission income from pay stubs
How variable pay is commonly averaged: split from base pay, totalled over a longer history, compared with the recent trend.
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Hourly income calculation: rate times hours, and when hours vary
Rate times hours, converted to a month, with a table for when hours vary from stub to stub.
Reading and checking a stub
What each figure is, how gross becomes net, and the checks a reviewer runs before relying on a set of stubs.
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YTD income verification: what year-to-date can and cannot show
What year-to-date figures on a pay stub show as a pace check, and why they are not verification.
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Gross vs net pay on a pay stub, line by line
Gross to net, line by line, with a worked stub and the lines most often misread.
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Missing pay stub period: how to spot a gap and what to request
How a gap shows up in the dates and the YTD, what to request, and what is not a gap.
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Pay stub deductions explained: pre-tax vs post-tax
Pre-tax and post-tax, 401(k), health premiums and garnishments, and what each does to taxable wages and net pay.
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Pay stub arithmetic checks a reviewer runs, and what a pass means
The checks a reviewer runs on a stub, the allowance for each, and what a pass does and does not mean.
When the stub is not the whole story
Contractors, self-employed applicants and rental screening, where other documents sit beside or instead of stubs.
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Pay stub vs 1099 income: which documents apply
Employees get stubs and W-2s; contractors get 1099s. Which documents show which kind of income.
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Income documents for self-employed applicants
What reviewers commonly ask for when there are no pay stubs, and what each document shows and misses.
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Pay stubs for rental applications: what landlords ask for and why
What landlords and screening staff commonly ask for, why, and how to review a stub set consistently.
Tools and references that go with the guides
The guides explain the reasoning. These pages do the work on a real stack of stubs.
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Pay stub to CSV
Upload stubs and get one CSV row per stub, with the net-pay math and the YTD chain checked.
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Income worksheet template
An Excel worksheet with a row per stub and a summary block for average gross, annualized gross and a monthly equivalent.
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YTD consistency check
How the year-to-date chain across stubs is tested, and what a break or a gap means.
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Pay stub vs W-2
What each document shows, and how a year-end stub compares with a W-2.
Scope. VerifyStub checks arithmetic on the pay stubs you upload. It does not detect altered documents, verify employment or income, or give lending, legal or tax advice. Rules and policies differ by lender, program, landlord and jurisdiction.
Pay stub guides: common questions
Which guide should I read first?
Start with monthly income from pay stubs if the question is how much a person earns, and with pay stub arithmetic checks if the question is whether a stub adds up. Each guide stands on its own and points to related ones.
Are these guides lending, legal or tax advice?
No. They describe common practice and arithmetic. Lender, program and landlord rules differ, and fair housing, consumer reporting and tax rules vary by place, so follow the policy that applies and ask a qualified professional where needed.
Do the guides say which income figure qualifies?
No. The lender, program or landlord defines qualifying income. The guides show how figures are commonly worked out, so a reviewer can show the arithmetic behind a number.
Does VerifyStub verify employment or income?
No. It checks arithmetic on the pay stubs you upload: net pay math, earnings totals and the year-to-date chain. It does not detect altered documents or confirm employment or income.
Which documents can VerifyStub read?
Pay stubs only. W-2s, 1099s, tax returns and bank statements are outside what it reads.
Why do the examples use round numbers?
The figures are made up so that the arithmetic is easy to follow. They are not benchmarks, averages or typical pay.
What does the free version include?
The free allowance is 1 file per day, up to 10 pages, no account. Files over 10 pages are converted up to page 10 on the free allowance; a page code converts the whole file, up to 150 pages.
Run the next stack of stubs through the checks
Free: 1 file per day, up to 10 pages, no account. One CSV row per stub, with the net-pay math and the YTD chain checked.
Convert pay stubs