Page 4 - Payroll Year-End Planning & Checklist

8 Steps – October Activities

01 Preview 01 Year End Planning
current-year
W2 and 1. Review prior year-end issues; current
employee 02 year and upcoming policy changes; and
Celebrate data (Oct) calendar of processing, due dates, and
08 Year-end Identify any 2. holidays for year-end and the new year
State changes
Receive updates on implementing
completion
to withholding Publication 15-T, Federal Income Tax
Verify new methods (Nov) Withholding Methods updated tables
wage bases 3. Ensure systems can process revised
and rates are Forms 941 used for second half of
included in 03 current year
Payroll Schedule testing 4. Verifying Earned Income Credit
system of Form W-2, statement is properly on employee
07 Box 12, special copies Running mock year-end for Form
W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, with
codes (Dec) third-quarter data.

Verify State Tax 5. Verify no one has negative amounts in
any Form W-2 field Social Security
Unemployment withheld numbers are verified (identifying those
insurance using new without)
notices (Mar) formulas 04
File annual on first pay 6. Social Security numbers are not
06 Form 940 by for the 7. truncated
Total wages on mock Forms W-2
year. (Jan)
Feb 10 (Feb)
reconcile with Form 941, Employer’s
05 8. Quarterly Federal Tax Return
Bank reconciliations are up to date
9. Look for 2021 Social Security wage base
and pension plan limit announcements