Many small employers in the US pay people whose first language is Spanish: nannies, housekeepers, carers, crews and kitchen staff. Explaining a pay stub line by line builds trust, and in some states the paperwork around pay has to be offered in the employee's language. This glossary gives the Spanish for each line of a typical pay stub, using the wording of the IRS and the Department of Labor where they publish one, so you can explain a stub or label your own.
What "talón de pago" means
The Department of Labor's Spanish pages describe the pay stub as a detailed written statement of earnings: "una declaración de ingresos detallada y por escrito (talón de pago)". You will also hear "recibo de pago", "comprobante de pago" or "colilla de pago", depending on the country the speaker comes from. "Talón de pago" is the safest choice in the US because federal agencies use it.
Pay stub terms in Spanish
| On the pay stub | In Spanish | Where the Spanish comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Pay stub | Talón de pago | U.S. Department of Labor |
| Employer | Empleador(a) | IRS |
| Employee | Empleado(a) | IRS |
| Wages | Salarios | IRS |
| Pay period | Período de pago | Common usage |
| Pay date | Fecha de pago | Common usage |
| Hours worked | Horas trabajadas | Common usage |
| Hourly rate | Tarifa por hora | Common usage |
| Overtime | Horas extra (tiempo extra) | Common usage |
| Gross pay | Salario bruto (pago bruto) | Common usage |
| Deductions | Deducciones | Common usage |
| Withholding | Retención | IRS |
| Federal income tax | Impuesto federal sobre los ingresos | IRS |
| Social Security tax | Impuestos al Seguro Social | IRS |
| Medicare tax | Impuestos al Medicare | IRS |
| State income tax | Impuesto estatal sobre los ingresos | Common usage |
| Net pay | Salario neto (pago neto) | Common usage |
| Year to date (YTD) | Acumulado del año | Common usage |
| Direct deposit | Depósito directo | Common usage |
Abbreviations rarely translate. FICA, OASDI and YTD usually stay in English on a stub, so explain them once rather than replacing them. Our pay stub abbreviations guide lists what each one means.
Other earnings and deductions in Spanish
Beyond the core lines, these are the extras that most often appear on a small employer's stub. The Spanish is common usage rather than an agency's official wording, so keep the English next to it on anything you hand over.
| On the pay stub | In Spanish |
|---|---|
| Tips | Propinas |
| Bonus | Bono (bonificación) |
| Vacation pay | Pago de vacaciones |
| Paid sick leave | Horas de enfermedad pagadas |
| Health insurance | Seguro médico |
| Retirement plan, 401(k) | Plan de jubilación 401(k) |
| Wage garnishment | Embargo de salario |
| Reimbursement | Reembolso |
Tax forms your employee will see in Spanish
The IRS publishes Spanish versions or Spanish names for the forms that sit around the pay stub. Pointing your employee to the Spanish version saves a lot of explaining.
| Form | Spanish name | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Form W-4 (SP) | Certificado de Retenciones del Empleado | The employee tells you how much federal income tax to withhold |
| Form W-2 | Comprobante de salarios y retención de impuestos | The yearly summary of wages and tax withheld |
| Employment taxes | Impuestos sobre la nómina | Social Security, Medicare, withholding and FUTA together |
| FUTA | Impuesto federal para el desempleo | Federal unemployment tax, paid by the employer only |
When the language of pay paperwork matters
Federal law doesn't require a Spanish pay stub. A few states do care about the language of the paperwork that sets out pay, usually the notice given at hiring rather than the stub itself.
- New York: the notice of pay rate given to new hires must be in English and in the employee's primary language, if the state Department of Labor offers a translation. Spanish is one of the languages it offers.
- California: the Notice to Employee under Labor Code section 2810.5 must be in the language the employer normally uses to communicate employment-related information to the employee, and the Labor Commissioner provides a Spanish template.
Check your own state's labor department if you employ people who don't read English well. Even where it isn't required, a stub the employee can follow avoids most payday disputes.
How to explain a pay stub to a Spanish-speaking employee
- Start at the top: período de pago and fecha de pago, so they know which week or fortnight it covers.
- Go to salario bruto: horas trabajadas times tarifa por hora, plus any horas extra.
- Walk through the deducciones one by one, explaining that Seguro Social and Medicare are fixed percentages and the impuesto federal depends on their Formulario W-4 (SP).
- Finish at salario neto: the amount that reaches their bank or check.
- Show the acumulado del año column, which will match their W-2 at the end of the year.
Making the pay stub with PayDocs
PayDocs makes US pay stubs in English. It does not produce a Spanish-language PDF today. What it does give you is a clean, consistent layout, with the same lines in the same place every payday, which makes a printed glossary like the one above easy to use alongside it.
Creating and previewing a pay stub is free. The finished PDF is $4.99 once checkout opens, or less per document in packs of 4 or 12.
Questions
How do you say pay stub in Spanish?
"Talón de pago". It is the term the U.S. Department of Labor uses. "Recibo de pago" and "comprobante de pago" are also understood.
How do you say gross pay and net pay in Spanish?
Gross pay is "salario bruto" (or "pago bruto") and net pay is "salario neto" (or "pago neto").
Is there a Spanish Form W-4?
Yes. The IRS publishes Form W-4 (SP), "Certificado de Retenciones del Empleado", so a Spanish-speaking employee can tell you how much federal income tax to withhold.
Can PayDocs make a pay stub in Spanish?
Not at the moment. PayDocs pay stubs are in English; this glossary helps you explain each line.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Labor, Salario y horas laborales (trabajador migrante)
- IRS, Entendiendo los impuestos sobre la nómina
- IRS, Acerca del Formulario W-4 (SP)
- IRS, Acerca del Formulario W-2
- New York State Department of Labor, Notice of pay rate
- California Labor Commissioner, Notice to Employee FAQs (Labor Code 2810.5)
Sources checked October 4, 2026. This article explains how pay documents work; it is not tax or legal advice.
