This 2026 Mississippi reference is for people assembling an accurate earnings statement or reviewing a pay record. Begin with the jurisdiction-specific rules and the source-backed subjects below; the presence of a downloadable paystub template does not itself determine an employer’s legal duties. The reviewed Mississippi material addresses pay statement framework, state income tax withholding, unemployment insurance.
Overview
Mississippi should not be described as though it has the same payday-statement framework as Alaska, Hawaii, or Maine. The primary Mississippi materials consulted for this page do not establish a broad private-sector rule requiring all employers to issue a detailed itemized pay record every pay cycle.
Mississippi income tax for the 2026 year is a flat 4% on taxable income above a $10,000 exempt amount. Withholding still runs through the Department of Revenue’s tables or computer-payroll formula and the employee’s exemption certificate, so the flat rate should not be applied directly to gross earnings.
Mississippi has no state minimum-wage statute, and state law (Miss. Code Ann. § 17-1-51) prevents counties and municipalities from establishing their own minimum pay rate or mandatory leave requirements for private employers. Minimum-wage compliance for covered employees therefore follows federal law.
No broad Mississippi private-sector every-pay-period itemized pay-record mandate was identified in the primary state materials consulted. Employers should still keep clear supporting wage records and check federal, contractual, industry, and employer-policy requirements.
Refer to the Mississippi Department of Revenue’s current tax withholding schedules and employer instructions (Pub. 89-700) and the 2026 computer-payroll formula, together with each affected worker’s Form 89-350.
Mississippi assigns start-up businesses 1.00% in the first year of liability, 1.10% in the second, and 1.20% in the third and later years until eligible for a modified rate. These rates do not include any Workforce Investment and Training contribution that can be relevant.
Employers with five or more employees regularly employed are mandatory to provide workers’ compensation coverage. Below five, coverage is not mandatory but may be purchased.
Trusted sources
Consult these agency and research references when checking the rules for Mississippi. The publication date and availability of each link should be rechecked before relying on its contents.
Document checklist
Use the Mississippi requirements as a document-review list. Identify the governing employer or worker category, and distinguish mandatory fields from good recordkeeping practices.
Do not represent Mississippi as having a universal state pay-record content checklist based on the primary materials consulted here. Determine whether a federal, contractual, industry-specific, or employer-policy requirement applies.
Retain enough payroll information to support hours or salary, gross earnings, deductions, withholding, take-home pay, payment dates, and year-end wage reporting.
Refer to the current Pub. 89-700 tables or the 2026 computer-payroll formula and the employee’s Form 89-350.
Consult unemployment contributions, the five-employee workers’ compensation threshold, federal minimum pay rate, and annual wage reporting independently from the pay-record question.
After payday
Even where no general Mississippi itemized-pay-record checklist applies, a clear payroll statement helps document wages, deductions, withholding, and take-home pay. Retain it consistent with the supporting wage records and do not describe it as satisfying a state field list that the consulted sources do not establish.
Retain the records needed to support withholding returns, MDES wage reports, workers’ compensation payroll, and annual earnings statements.
Tax withholding
Mississippi’s 2026 individual rate is a flat 4% above a $10,000 exempt amount, but withholding depends on the Department of Revenue’s tables or computer-payroll formula, the employee’s Form 89-350 exemptions, and payroll frequency. Pub. 89-700 also contains rules for supplemental wages and nonresident employees.
Current tax withholding schedules, employer instructions, and forms.
The Department’s 2026 annualized withholding formula for payroll software.
Document-generation boundary: Where a source discusses remitting taxes or employer contributions, PayStubCheck presents that information as context only. Preparing a document does not complete a remittance, file a return, or establish that a calculated figure is correct for a particular worker.
State vs. local rules
Mississippi law prevents counties and municipalities from establishing a local minimum pay rate or mandatory paid or unpaid leave for private employers. The official material consulted for this jurisdiction did not establish a municipal wage-withholding tax.
Step-by-step process
Identify where services are performed and whether the employee is a Mississippi resident.
Add wages, hours or salary, deductions, Form 89-350 information, and pay dates.
Refer to the current tables or 2026 computer-payroll formula.
Use verified information to prepare a standalone earnings record, review the preview, and retain the supporting information separately.
Retain records supporting withholding, unemployment, workers’ compensation, and annual wage reporting.
A simpler way
Use the Mississippi references above to check the kind of earnings document you are preparing, verify the dates and figures, and decide whether the document must contain specific information. PayStubCheck offers standalone document preparation; it does not run payroll, retain authoritative employer payroll ledgers, give individualized legal advice, or file tax returns on the user’s behalf.
United States document note: Where state-specific withholding or local requirements matter, compare your entries with the appropriate official source before relying on a generated statement.
Review every figure on a watermarked preview before any download.
Each jurisdiction page lists the agency references it draws on.
No subscription or long-term contract.
References
Questions
The primary Mississippi state materials consulted for this page do not establish a broad, general private-sector rule prescribing an itemized pay record for each payroll cycle. Employers should still maintain reliable supporting wage records and check federal, contractual, industry-specific, and employer-policy requirements.
No state minimum-wage statute was identified. Covered employees are subject to the federal minimum pay rate, and state law prevents local governments from setting their own minimum pay rate for private employers.
The 2026 rate is a flat 4% on taxable income above a $10,000 exempt amount, but withholding uses the Department of Revenue’s tables or computer formula and the employee’s Form 89-350.
A start-up business pays 1.00% in the first year of liability, 1.10% in the second, and 1.20% in the third and later years until eligible for a modified rate, before any applicable Workforce Investment and Training contribution.
When an employer has five or more employees regularly employed. Below five, coverage is optional.
It is a useful and professional record that helps employees understand their pay and helps the employer keep organized payroll evidence.
Keep your records in check
Enter verified details, review the watermarked preview, and keep your supporting records with the finished document.