# Do you file your pay stubs? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 11, 2013, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-file-your-pay-stubs/663243 "2013-07-11T19:15:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-file-your-pay-stubs/663243/1 "2013-07-11T19:15:43Z")
I have direct deposit and used to always file my pay stubs. I also do all online banking, which tells me what has been deposited into my account. I really want to just shred them. What do you guys do? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-file-your-pay-stubs/663243/2 "2013-07-11T19:18:41Z")
I don’t get paid anymore. I take “draws,” so I don’t get a stub. When I did, I threw them in the trash. If everything seems to be working as expected, I see no reason to save them. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-file-your-pay-stubs/663243/3 "2013-07-11T19:21:37Z")
If I need paycheck history, I can get it printed out. I shred my stubs and toss them. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-file-your-pay-stubs/663243/4 "2013-07-11T19:25:37Z")
I used to, then I stopped since I found I never really need them. Now I do the payroll at work, if I need my paystubs for some reason I really don’t have any problem just printing them out (and no one here has any problem asking me for their’s either). Quickbooks also integrates with something called [ViewMyPaycheck.com](http://ViewMyPaycheck.com) where I can upload all the paystubs (and W-2’s) to this website and you can just go online and print them out if you want them. Problem is, in a company as small as mine it’s a lot less hassle (for you) to just ask me then to log on to a website and print them out at home and b)my Quickbooks file stopped working with the website for some unknown reason. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-file-your-pay-stubs/663243/5 "2013-07-11T19:50:06Z")
Pay stub? What pay stub? It is all on line now.I did file them in my tax folder when I used to get hard copies, though. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-file-your-pay-stubs/663243/6 "2013-07-11T19:54:48Z")
pay stub is entirely electronic. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-file-your-pay-stubs/663243/7 "2013-07-11T20:02:59Z")
> [@bup](#): > > pay stub is entirely electronic. We finally stumbled out of the dark ages and ours went online last month. Up til that point they would accumulate in a pile next to the shredder for months until I got sick of picking them up off the floor when the pile fell over and finally shredded and discarded them. Hours of my life back! ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-file-your-pay-stubs/663243/8 "2013-07-11T20:23:12Z")
Out of some strange habit that I picked up from always seeing years and years of pay stubs accumulating in my folks’ desk cubby, I do the same thing (minus the desk cubby). Because I have direct deposit and am salaried, I now rarely even bother to open the envelope. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-file-your-pay-stubs/663243/9 "2013-07-11T20:23:22Z")
> [@bup](#): > > pay stub is entirely electronic. Yup. I can print them out if need be, but I have yet to encounter a scenario where that was necessary. ETA: back when I did get paper checks, I would keep the stubs for 2 years, then shred them. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-file-your-pay-stubs/663243/10 "2013-07-11T20:25:35Z")
My paychecks are sent to my credit union, where they are deposited in my account. The CU then sends me the deposit receipt and the check stub. I file the check stubs. I keep them for 6 or 7 years then throw them away. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-file-your-pay-stubs/663243/11 "2013-07-11T20:28:22Z")
Mine are electronic also. I just keep about a year or so worth in a folder on my PC. ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-file-your-pay-stubs/663243/12 "2013-07-11T20:48:15Z")
I kept all my stubs for the first 15 years I worked here. Then they switched us to electronic stubs. A while later, my filing cabinet was starting to have its own gravitational field, so I went through those 15 years of stubs and kept only representative samples from every 2 years or so, shredded the rest. But the electronic ones, I intend to keep forever. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-file-your-pay-stubs/663243/13 "2013-07-11T20:48:43Z")
I can download paystubs if I need them; I dont get them as a matter if course. If I did, I wouldnt keep them unless there was no way to get them in the future. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-file-your-pay-stubs/663243/14 "2013-07-11T21:09:49Z")
I haven’t gotten a paper paystub for over 5 years. It’s all online. The good news is, no bits of paper around. The bad news is, if I leave the company, I lose access to that, and would have to get HR to print them out for me. As for when do you need them? I needed a couple of months worth the last time I applied for a mortgage. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-file-your-pay-stubs/663243/15 "2013-07-11T22:29:45Z")
When I did get them I usually saved them for a year or so. Now I don’t get them. I used to get one in an email each week but now I don’t even get those. The company web site is screwed up so I don’t even get my stats anymore. I get an email with my daily stats but they aren’t totaled. I can sit down and add them up and figure my own pay but usually I let it be a surprise. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-file-your-pay-stubs/663243/16 "2013-07-11T22:31:09Z")
Direct deposit and I get a stub. It goes through my shredder. My W-2 is proof of my wages. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-file-your-pay-stubs/663243/17 "2013-07-11T22:41:44Z")
Any employer can print off a years earnings for any employee. That type of ad hoc reporting is one of my primary duties at work. I use Crystal Reports for ad hoc database reports like that. It’s simple to print off the Gross, Fed Taxes Paid, State Taxes and Net for each check in the year. I write a lot of ad hoc reports for requests from Dept heads and other big dog administrators at work. Payroll history is part of our web access portal that employees can log into with a PIN. Any employee can see their specific check details and accumulated YTD totals. We use a Oracle based system called Banner for Payroll, Registration, Accounting, and Student Receivables. Smaller employers with more manual payrolls may not have advanced reporting capability. But even Quickbooks has basic reports built into it. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-file-your-pay-stubs/663243/18 "2013-07-11T22:59:45Z")
After thinking about it. I remembered we don’t get stubs anymore. The online web portal replaced them. It’s been years since I even thought about getting a stub. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-file-your-pay-stubs/663243/19 "2013-07-12T01:00:42Z")
I’m retired and my last (part-time) job had it all completely electronic, so my answer is based on my most recent long-term full-time job. You don’t have enough choices. I kept them for ( **very** roughly) a year or so and then shredded them. Once I had a T-4 for the year (I forget the yankee equivalent - tax receipt that shows what you made and what you had deducted) I didn’t see much point in keeping the stubs. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-file-your-pay-stubs/663243/20 "2013-07-12T15:14:02Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Pay stub? What pay stub? It is all on line now.I did file them in my tax folder when I used to get hard copies, though. Yup, used to file them until I got hired at a place that just put them online. So much more convenient! I love the internets. 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-file-your-pay-stubs/663243.md?page=2)