How can a landlord tell if a pay stub is fake?

Why this matters

Online tools make a convincing pay stub in minutes. A fake stub can get a tenant who cannot afford the rent into your unit, and you find out after two missed payments. The answer is not suspicion of every applicant, but a short check that is the same for each one.

Check 1: the math and the tax lines

Real payroll systems are consistent. Social Security tax is 6.2% of wages up to a yearly cap, and Medicare tax is 1.45% of wages, both withheld from an employee's pay. A stub that skips them, or has them at the wrong rate, deserves a closer look.

Example a made-up biweekly paycheck shows gross pay of $2,000.00. Social Security should be $124.00 (6.2% x $2,000) and Medicare $29.00 (1.45% x $2,000). If the stub lists $150.00 and $20.00, the lines do not follow the rates.

• Gross minus every deduction should equal net pay, to the cent.
• The listed hours times the hourly rate should equal gross pay for hourly workers.
• Federal and state withholding should be there for a W-2 employee. Pay with no taxes at all is a sign of a contractor or of a fake.

Check 2: year-to-date totals

The year-to-date column is the hardest thing for a faker to get right. Multiply the gross pay by the number of paychecks so far this year and compare.

Example a made-up worker is paid $2,000.00 every two weeks. On the sixth paycheck of the year, year-to-date gross should be about $12,000.00 (6 x $2,000). A stub showing $4,000.00 year-to-date on the sixth paycheck, or the same year-to-date on two different dates, does not add up.

Raises, unpaid time and bonuses can change the totals, so a mismatch is a reason to ask a question, not proof of fraud.

Check 3 and 4: the employer and the deposits

1. Look up the employer yourself, using a search or a state business registry, and call the number you found, not the number printed on the stub or application.
2. Ask for the employer's HR or payroll contact and confirm the person works there and their pay. Some employers will only confirm employment, not pay.
3. Ask for recent bank statements and look for deposits that match the stubs in date and amount.
4. For self-employed applicants, ask for tax returns, 1099s or bank statements. These show the actual income.
5. Look at the document itself. Mismatched fonts, edited text and a file created by a generic editing program are clues, not proof.

Keep the check fair

Fair housing law bars treating applicants differently because of a protected trait. If you only double-check applicants with certain names, accents or backgrounds, you create the problem you are trying to avoid.

• Write the verification steps into your screening criteria.
• Do the same steps for every applicant, or the same steps when a stub fails the same test.
• Keep a note on each file: what you checked and the result.
• If you deny because a report or verification service found a problem, send the adverse action notice if the FCRA applies, and tell the applicant what to do to correct it.

If you believe an applicant gave you a forged document, keep it, do not confront the person, and consider reporting to local law enforcement. Ask an attorney how your state treats it.

Sources

1. IRS, Topic no. 751, Social Security and Medicare withholding rates, read Oct 30, 2026
2. FTC, Using Consumer Reports: What Landlords Need to Know, read Oct 30, 2026
3. 42 U.S.C. 3604, Discrimination in the sale or rental of housing, read Oct 30, 2026

Questions

Is it legal to call an applicant's employer?

Yes, with the applicant's permission on the application, and many landlords do. Use a number you found yourself and ask the same questions of every applicant.

Should I ask for bank statements too?

Many owners do, because they show real deposits. Ask everyone, and tell applicants they may black out account numbers and unrelated purchases.

What if the stub looks fine but I still doubt it?

Ask for something that confirms it, such as a bank statement or an employer verification, the same as you would for any applicant in that position.