End-of-year checklist for Payroll and taxes

Double-check key information

• Make sure your company’s information is up-to-date. Verify that you have entered a tax ID in payroll for every state where your employees live or work, for instance.

• Make sure your employees’ personal information (name, address, SSN, etc.) is correct. You can generate a W-2 preview report by December 16th to review, as well.
• Make sure your employees’ payroll data is correct. Double-check that their earnings and deductions total up to the amount you expect and that you haven’t forgotten to account for any manual or voided checks. The W-2 validation preview should help you with this, too.
• Run a History Summary report for the year on sample employees with special circumstances as a check against the W2 Preview:
  • An executive
  • An employee with different resident and work (Location) states
  • An employee who moved during the year
  • An employee who had adjustments during the year to correct prior pay periods
  • An employee who was promoted mid-year
  • An employee who worked in multiple locations
• To verify that your employee names and Social Security numbers (SSN) match Social Security’s record, you can: verify up to 10 names and SSNs online and receive immediate results, or submit an XLS file with your list of employees per below:
  • The Social Security Number Verification Service: https://www.ssa.gov/employer/ssnv.htm
  • For requests of more than 10 employees, use the file format here: https://www.ssa.gov/employer/ssnvshandbk/submission.htm

Run payroll at the right time

• Take holidays into account. Your pay run deadline in Zenefits will update automatically, but keep in mind that you may need to run on a different day of the week than you’re used to.

• For a check date of 12/30, run your last 2022  payroll by December 23rd  if you’re on four-day processing or December 28th if you’re on two-day processing. These have to be submitted by 2pm PST. Once the check date changes to a 2023  date we will no longer be able to process the pay run for a 2022  check date.
• The same goes for any bonus payrolls you’d like to pay with a 2022  check date.

Move Tax Agencies to Full Service

You need to request a tax jurisdiction move to Full Service by December 1, 2022.

Report special circumstances to us

Contact us by December 15 if any of the following apply to your company:

• Pay runs outside the system
• Disability payments or third-party sick pay
• Tips
• Fringe benefits
• Tax modifications
• Employee taxed in wrong state
• Stock option events
• Non-qualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plans

This checklist is meant to be informative, but not necessarily exhaustive. It does not constitute legal or tax advice. Always check with a qualified legal or tax advisor for more complete guidance.