Kentucky Pay Stub Requirements & Payroll Taxes

Kentucky is stricter than its neighbours on the working day: the law requires a lunch period and a paid 10-minute rest break for every four hours, and time and a half for work on the seventh day of a workweek. Its pay stub rule is narrower — an itemized statement of deductions from employers with 10 or more employees. The state income tax is a flat 3.5% for 2026, and many cities and counties withhold an occupational license tax on top.

It's a general guide, not legal or tax advice. For your specific situation, check the source links below or talk to a licensed payroll, tax, or employment-law professional.

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Is a pay stub required in Kentucky?

Employers with 10 or more employees that make deductions from wages must furnish each employee a paper or electronic statement, at the time of each payment, itemizing the amount of each deduction and its general purpose. If provided electronically, the employer must give employees access to a computer and printer to review and print the statement.

Required on every wage statement — KRS 337.070:

Amount of each deduction made from wages
General purpose of each deduction

Penalty for non-compliance (KRS 337.990(6)): Civil penalty of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 for each offense; each day the failure continues is a separate offense

How often must employees be paid?

Employers doing business in Kentucky must pay each employee all wages or salary earned at least semimonthly, and the payment must cover wages earned up to a day not more than 18 days before the date of payment. An employee absent at a regular payday may demand wages within 6 days.

Source: KRS 337.020

Kentucky minimum wage

Kentucky's minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, the same as the federal rate.

$7.25 per hour statewide, effective July 1, 2009Kentucky's rate matches the federal minimum; no Kentucky city sets a higher general minimum wage for private employers.

Tipped employees: a cash wage of at least $2.13 per hour, provided tips bring total pay to at least $7.25.

Source: KRS 337.275

Overtime & double time

Kentucky requires time and a half for hours over 40 in a workweek and adds a rule few states have: an employee allowed to work seven days in one workweek must be paid time and a half for the time worked on the seventh day.

Trigger	Pay rate
Daily overtime	No daily overtime rule.
Weekly overtime	1.5× the regular rate for hours beyond 40 in a workweek.
7th consecutive workday	1.5× for hours worked on the seventh day when an employee works all seven days of a workweek — unless the employee is not permitted to work more than 40 hours that week.

Source: KRS 337.285, 337.050

Meal & rest break requirements

Employers must give a reasonable lunch period as close to the middle of the shift as possible, and never earlier than three hours or later than five hours after the shift starts.

Employers must give a rest break of at least 10 minutes for every four hours worked, in addition to the lunch period, and may not reduce pay for it.

If a break is missed:There is no premium-pay remedy; the rest break is paid time, so cutting it short means unpaid working time.

Source: KRS 337.355, 337.365

Kentucky state income tax

Kentucky taxes income at a flat 3.5% for 2026, down from 4.0% in 2025, after a standard deduction of $3,360. The rate can step down by half a point in later years if the state meets fiscal conditions, but each further cut must be approved by the General Assembly.

Kentucky flat individual income tax rate (2026)

Taxable income	Rate
All taxable income	3.5%

There are no brackets. Employers withhold by subtracting the $3,360 standard deduction from annualized wages and applying 3.5%. Local occupational license taxes are withheld separately.

Source: KRS 141.020; Kentucky Department of Revenue, 2026 Withholding Tax Formula and Form K-4

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Vacation & paid time off (PTO)

Kentucky does not require employers to offer paid vacation. Whether unused vacation is paid when someone leaves follows the employer's written policy or the employment contract.

Vacation pay that the policy or contract promises can be claimed like other wages due at separation.

"Use-it-or-lose-it" policies:Allowed if the policy says so.

Paid out at termination?Only if the employer's policy or the employment contract provides for it.

Source: No Kentucky statute requires vacation; terms set by employer policy or contract

Final paycheck rules

Kentucky requires all wages to be paid by the next normal payday or within 14 days of separation, whichever is later, whether the employee was dismissed or left voluntarily.

Situation	Final wages due
Fired or laid off	By the next normal payday or within 14 days, whichever is later.
Quits or resigns (notice makes no difference)	By the next normal payday or within 14 days, whichever is later.

Late final pay:No per-day penalty, but an employer that fails to pay can be ordered to pay the unpaid wages, an equal amount in liquidated damages, and attorney's fees.

Source: KRS 337.055, 337.385

Other Kentucky payroll taxes employers should know

Kentucky employers pay state unemployment insurance tax to the Office of Unemployment Insurance. Some Kentucky cities and counties also levy local occupational license fees/taxes withheld from employee wages, which employers must factor into payroll in those jurisdictions, though these are local (not state) taxes. Kentucky has no state disability insurance payroll tax.

Tax	Rate	Notes
State Unemployment Insurance (SUI)	New employers: at least 2.7% until they have three years of experience; 2026 rates set from Schedule A	Applies to the first $12,000 of each employee's wages for 2026. Administered by the Kentucky Office of Unemployment Insurance.
Local occupational license taxes	Varies by city and county — for example 2.2% for Louisville Metro residents and 1.45% for non-residents in 2026	Louisville Metro's rate is 1.25% plus a 0.20% transit tax, plus a 0.75% school board tax for residents. These local taxes are withheld separately from state income tax.

Source: KRS Chapter 341; Kentucky Office of Unemployment Insurance (ui.ky.gov)

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Common questions about Kentucky pay stubs

Do Kentucky employers have to give breaks?

Yes. Kentucky requires a lunch period between the third and fifth hour of a shift and a paid rest break of at least 10 minutes for every four hours worked.

Does Kentucky pay overtime for working seven days in a row?

Yes, within a single workweek: if an employee works all seven days, hours on the seventh day are paid at time and a half — unless the employee is not allowed to work more than 40 hours that week.

What is the occupational tax on my Kentucky pay stub?

A local tax on wages charged by many Kentucky cities and counties. In Louisville Metro, for example, residents pay 2.2% and non-residents 1.45% in 2026. It is withheld separately from state income tax.

Do all Kentucky employers have to give pay stubs?

Employers with 10 or more employees that make deductions from wages must give a paper or electronic statement itemizing each deduction and its purpose. If it is electronic, employees must be given access to a computer and printer to view and print it.

Guides that go with this page

Kentucky's rules decide what has to appear on the stub. These cover what the figures on it actually mean, wherever you work.

What a pay stub is, line by line — Every section of a stub and what each figure means.
Gross pay vs. net pay — Why the amount that reaches your bank is a quarter smaller than your salary.
The extra 0.9% above $200,000 — Why your employer's withholding and what you actually owe can disagree.
Pay stub mistakes worth catching early — The errors that are easy to fix this month and hard to fix next year.

Sources & references

Every figure on this page links back to the primary source below. State and federal payroll rules change — always confirm current-year figures directly with the agency before relying on exact dollar amounts.

Last checked: October 2026. See our editorial standards & sources for how these figures are verified.