Why You Don’t Receive a Pay Stub as a Contractor

Sometimes contractors ask why they don’t receive a “pay stub” from the church. The short answer is that pay stubs only exist for employees, not contractors.

Employee vs. Contractor – The Key Difference

• Employees are on the church’s payroll. Their wages are processed through payroll software, which automatically generates a pay stub showing gross pay, taxes withheld, deductions, and net pay.
• Contractors are not employees. You are considered self-employed. The church pays you for services, but it does not withhold taxes, track deductions, or create pay stubs.

Why Contractors Don’t Get Pay Stubs

• A pay stub is tied to payroll and tax withholding. Since you are not on payroll, no stub exists.
• You are responsible for tracking your own income and expenses, including setting aside taxes.
• Your proof of payment is the bank deposit itself, along with the invoice you submitted to the church.

How You Can Keep Records

The best way to have a clear payment record is to:

1. Submit an invoice to the church for each payment you expect.
2. Keep copies of all invoices you send.
3. Match invoices to deposits in your bank account.

This creates your own “paper trail” that functions like a pay stub.

What the Church Is Responsible For

• Paying you according to the invoices you submit.
• Issuing you a Form 1099-NEC each January if you earned $600 or more in the prior year.

That 1099-NEC is the church’s official record of what you were paid during the year.