Editor's Note: December is "Managing Your Year-end Month" at Insightful Accountant, including features to help you prepare for year-end. Look for both payroll and non-payroll topics.
December has arrived, which means it is time to handle end of the year payroll and get ready for the new year. We're here to help with this QuickBooks Online Payroll checklist. In addition, you will find our QuickBooks Desktop Payroll feature here.
This year-end checklist is written for users of QuickBooks Online Payroll products, including:
- QuickBooks Online Payroll Core
- QuickBooks Online Payroll Premium
- QuickBooks Online Payroll Elite
Many of the steps and dates outlined in this checklist would apply to almost any payroll situation and 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. This checklist is payroll-related only—it does not contain dates or tasks related to 1099s or contractors.
Insightful Accountant will publish another list with those dates and tasks pertaining to QuickBooks Online.
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
December 30 & December 31, 2021
Run final payroll for 2021
- Process payroll making sure employee wages and benefits are correct
- Process all "Core" QuickBooks Online Payroll by Dec. 30 at 5 p.m. (PST)
- Process all "Premium" QuickBooks Online Payroll by Dec. 31 at 7 p.m. (PST)
- Process all "Elite" QuickBooks Online Payroll by Dec. 31 at 7 p.m. (PST)
- 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 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
Before the First Payroll of 2022
Set up employees to access W-2s
- Using QuickBooks Workforce allows your employees to see their pay stubs and W-2s online. For more information on inviting your employees to QuickBooks Workforce, check out this help document.
Review and update company information
- Make sure you are logged in to QuickBooks as the Primary Admin
- Review and update your company's legal address or name
- Check your automatic tax payments and form filing status. If you are currently opted out, consider opting in to have QuickBooks file taxes and returns for you in the new year. For more information about QuickBooks automatic tax payments and form filing options, check out this help document.
- Review and update (if necessary) your State Unemployment Insurance rates. ProAdvisors, bookkeepers and accountants likely may need to assist their clients in updating their SUI rates before their first payroll of the new year
- Send QuickBooks Payroll any tax notices you may have received so they can determine if those notices are related to services Intuit provides as part of your payroll subscription. For example, notices related to IRS forms 941/944, 940, and W-2 and State withholding, Local withholding, and State unemployment insurance when you have opted in to have QuickBooks file those taxes and returns for you. For more information, check out this help document.
- Review and update any changes to your federal deposit and filing schedule. If you have opted-in to QuickBooks auto pay your taxes and file your returns, QuickBooks Payroll should be aware of these changes. However, you should confirm they have already scheduled these changes. In addition, ProAdvisors, bookkeepers and accountants supervising payroll for clients will likely need to confirm or coordinate any scheduling changes.
- Review vacation hours, including used and unused time. You may wish to have your employees verify this information to avoid any disputes as to vacation time balances.
Review and update employee information
- Ask employees to review and update W-4 and state withholding forms. (Although the IRS has not released a new 2022 Form 2022 revision, Form W-4(2021) still is effective.)
- 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 deposits and filing schedule changes for the new year.
January 1, 2022
If you use QuickBooks Online Payroll and you have opted out of auto-pay and file your taxes turned (you have turned off the option where Intuit pays and files your taxes for you)
- Your W-2 forms will begin to be available to prepare and file on Jan. 1.
January 8, 2022
If you use QuickBooks Online Payroll and you have auto pay and file your taxes turned on (where Intuit pays and files your payroll taxes for you)
- QuickBooks Online Payroll will begin filing W-2 forms on your behalf on this date for those QuickBooks Online Payroll Core, Premium or Elite who have have opted in to having QuickBooks Payroll file tax forms for them. For more information about QuickBooks automatic tax payments and form filing options, check out this help document.
January 13, 2022
- W-2 forms start to become available in QuickBooks for those QuickBooks Online Payroll Core, Premium or Elite who have have opted in to having QuickBooks Payroll file tax forms for them.
- QuickBooks Online users can view and print W-2s as of this date.
January 20, 2022
- W-2 forms will be mailed to employees between Jan. 20 and Feb. 1 via the United States Postal Service.
January 27, 2022
- QuickBooks Online Payroll Core, Premium and Elite subscribers who have opted out of the QuickBooks Payroll automatic tax payment and form filing feature must E-file W-2s forms before 5 p.m. (PST) to be processed by Jan. 31, 2022 (if using Intu’t's E-file service).
- If you are using another E-file service, check with the E-file service you have selected regarding the deadline for submission.
- Review and file federal forms 941/944 or 940 and make tax payments.
- Review and file state forms and make tax payments (form names, due dates and lead times vary by state).
January 31, 2022
- For all QuickBooks Online Payroll Core, Premium and Elite subscribers who have opted-in to QuickBooks Payroll automatic tax payment and form filing, all W-2 forms will be mailed to employees at the addresses indicated in the employees' profile by Jan. 31, 2022.
- Review your tax forms and payments within QuickBooks Online.
- QuickBooks Online Payroll Core, Premium and Elite subscribers who have opted out of QuickBooks Payroll automatic tax payment and form filing must send W-2s to their employees.
Acknowledgments and Disclosures
Content and graphics used within this feature were derived in part, or adapted by the author, from Intuit or QuickBooks source materials, including (but not limited to) the Year-end checklist for QuickBooks Online 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.
As used herein, QuickBooks and QuickBooks Online Payroll (Core, Premium, and Elite) 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.