How we write and check our pages
Official sources only
Every figure, date, threshold and rule comes from the government body that sets it, and the source is linked on the page.Nothing published unchecked
A page reaches search results, our listings and our sitemap only after its facts are checked and its approval is recorded.Dated and rechecked
Each page shows when it was last updated and approved. Figures that change every year are rechecked when the new ones are published.Corrected in the open
When something is wrong, we fix the page and move its updated date.
Where the facts come from
Tax rates, thresholds, deadlines and employment rules are checked against the official publication of the body that sets them:
- United States: IRS, Social Security Administration, Department of Labor, and state revenue and labor departments.
- United Kingdom: GOV.UK and HM Revenue & Customs.
We don’t take figures from blogs, forums or other payroll sites. Each page lists the sources it used, with links, so you can read the rule for yourself.
Who writes and approves a page
Pages are researched and drafted with the help of AI tools. Before a page is published, every number, date, threshold and legal rule in it is checked against an official source, and the page is approved by PayDocs. Its byline then reads “Approved by PayDocs” with the date.
No payroll professional, accountant or lawyer has reviewed our pages, and no page says one has. Our pages explain how pay, tax and payroll forms work. They are not tax, legal or financial advice for your situation.
Until a page is approved, it stays out of search results, our sitemap and every list on this site.
How the calculators are checked
Each calculator follows a rule set taken from the government’s own publication and tested against its worked examples. The rule set is approved by PayDocs before release and named on every result, so you can see which year’s rules produced a figure. A calculation we can’t base on a reviewed, official rule stays switched off rather than guessed.
When figures are rechecked
Each January
US figures: Social Security wage base, W-2 and 1099 deadlines and thresholds, federal withholding, state pay stub rules.Each April
UK figures for the new tax year: tax bands and codes, National Insurance thresholds, minimum wage, statutory sick, maternity and paternity pay.Each autumn
The payroll calendar for the coming year.Each quarter
Prices of the payroll providers and pay stub makers we name.
Reviews and comparisons
When we name a payroll provider or another pay stub maker, its prices and features come from its own public pages, with the date we checked them. We don’t invent ratings or scores, and we don’t present a price list as a test we didn’t run.
PayDocs earns nothing from the providers it names: there are no affiliate links and no paid placements. Our “PayDocs vs” pages compare our own product with another one, so read them knowing that.
Images and samples
Article covers are illustrations. Photos come from Unsplash and always name the photographer. Sample pay stubs and payslips use a fictional employer and employee, carry a SAMPLE stamp, and show figures made up for the example.
What we don’t write about
We don’t publish anything that helps make up an employer, a job or pay, or that presents a document as proof of income, verified or official. Trust & transparency explains what PayDocs is and isn’t.
Report a mistake
If you find an error, email support@paydocs.co with the page address and what you think is wrong, ideally with the official source. We check it against that source, correct the page if it’s wrong, and update its date.