Editor's Note: December is "Managing Your Year-end Month" at Insightful Accountant, including a series of features to help you prepare for year-end. Look for both payroll and non-payroll topics.
December has arrived, and that means it is time to handle end-of-the-year payroll and get ready for the new year. We are here to help with checklists for both QuickBooks Desktop Payroll and QuickBooks Online Payroll. Look for QBO Payroll in the near future.
This year-end checklist is written for users of QuickBooks Desktop Payroll products, including:
- QuickBooks Desktop Payroll Basic
- QuickBooks Desktop Payroll Standard
- QuickBooks Desktop Payroll Enhanced
With that said, the generalities of the checklist—including most of the dates outlined—would apply in any payroll situation and to anyone performing year-end payroll duties, regardless of the payroll product(s) they were using.
December, January and February are crucial months for every business with payroll. They must not only end the year concerning their payroll tasks, but also prepare for the filing of payroll-related taxes, sending W-2s and the many other things that must get done.
The payroll-related dates and tasks outlined below should help you meet the minimum requirements and guide you in the other tasks you need to accomplish.
Before You Finalize Your Year-end
Review and update employee information
- Install the latest payroll update and make sure QuickBooks is on the most current release
- Review employee information, such as employee SSNs, legal names and addresses
- Review employee wage information such as W-4s and state withholding forms
- Review information regarding employee benefits like S-Corp 401(k)s
- Verify commission and fringe benefits that will be payable at year-end
- Review sick and vacation hour policies and settings, including used and unused time
- Review and update changes to federal tax deposits and filing schedules
December 29, 2021
Run final payroll for 2021
- Process payroll making sure employee wages and benefits are correct
- Don't forget to include year-end commission and bonus checks
- Include final payments for fringe benefits and year-end contributions to employees' retirement accounts
- If you use direct deposit, transmit final paychecks by 5:00 p.m. (PST)
- Report all employee paychecks, including handwritten, commission, termination and bonus checks
- Run all year-end payroll reports, including, but not limited to, employee details, payroll details, taxes and wage summary
- You also may need to run these reports: Summarize Payroll Data in Excel, Payroll Summary by Tax Tracking Type, Employee Time & Costs, Employee Sick & Vacation History, Employee Direct Deposit Listing, Tax Form Worksheets, Certified Payroll Report, Payroll Liability Accruals & Payments, Deferred Compensation Report for 401(k) (and more), Local Tax Summary, and Payroll by Department/Class.
Before the First Payroll of 2022
Set up employees to access W-2s
- For QuickBooks Desktop Payroll users, using QuickBooks Workforce allows your employees to see their pay stubs and W-2s online. See the QuickBooks Workforce website for more details.
Review and update company information
- Make sure you are logged in as Company Administrator to your Intuit Account
- Review and update your company's legal address or name
- Install the latest payroll update and make sure QuickBooks is on the most current release
- Update State Unemployment Insurance rates. ProAdvisors, bookkeepers and accountants likely will need to assist their clients in updating their SUI rates before their first payroll of the new year
Review and update employee information
- Ask employees to review and update W-4 and state withholding forms
- Update employee information, such as employee SSNs, legal names and addresses based upon their updated W-4/state forms
- Review federal or state tax deposits and filing schedule changes. ProAdvisors, bookkeepers and accountants likely will need to assist their clients in implementing any federal or state tax deposit and filing schedule change for the new year.
January 25, 2022
- Review and file state forms and make tax payments. Please note that form names, due dates, and lead times vary by state. (For QuickBooks Desktop Payroll users, see this help article for more details about e-filing from QuickBooks.)
January 27, 2022
- Review and e-file your W-2 forms with the Social Security Administration. For QuickBooks Desktop Payroll users, see this help article for more details about e-filing Federal W-2 forms from QuickBooks.
- Review and e-file your W-2 forms with your state. Please note that lead times may vary by state.
- Review and file federal forms and make tax payments, such as 941/944 or 940. (For QuickBooks Desktop Payroll users, see this help article for more details about Federal forms e-filing from QuickBooks.)
January 28, 2022
- Review and e-file your 1099s on or before Jan. 28, 2022, at 8:59 p.m. (PST) so they can be processed and postmarked to your contractors by Jan. 31, 2022. (For QuickBooks Desktop Payroll users, see this help article for more details about Federal 1099 forms e-filing from QuickBooks.)
January 31, 2022
- Send copies of W-2s to your employees
- E-file your 1099-NEC forms for timely submission to the IRS if you have not previously
February 28, 2022
- The final day to file paper copy 1099-MISC forms with the IRS is Feb. 28, 2022
March 31, 2022
- File forms 1099-MISC with the IRS electronically no later than March 31, 2022
Acknowledgments and Disclosures
Content and graphics used within this feature were derived in part, or adapted by the author, from Intuit and/or QuickBooks source materials, including (but not limited to), the Year-end checklist for QuickBooks Desktop Payroll; QuickBooks Help Year-end Guide; Intuit QuickBooks Payroll Support Help Websites (featured in the URLs listed within this article), and other related content. Adapted source materials published within this feature by Insightful Accountant are for educational purposes only.
QuickBooks and QuickBooks Desktop Payroll (Basic, Standard and Enhanced) as used herein, refer to one or more registered trademarked products of Intuit Inc., a publicly-traded corporation headquartered in Mountain View, California.
Additional content adapted from Year-end Activities for Payroll by Liz Scott, published within Insightful Accountant on December 7, 2020.