QuickBooks Desktop Payroll Year-End Checklist for 2026

Updated 10/21/2026. Checked against Intuit's year-end checklist and the IRS.

Closing a payroll year in QuickBooks Desktop Payroll comes down to three jobs: get every 2026 paycheck in, set up the new year before its first payroll, and file the year’s forms on time. The dates below are Intuit’s, for Desktop Payroll Basic and Enhanced. Assisted Payroll has a separate checklist from Intuit.

By December 29, 2026: the final payroll of the year

Check employee wages and benefits.
If you pay by direct deposit, send the final paychecks and any bonuses by 5:00 PM Pacific.
Enter every 2026 paycheck, including handwritten, commission, bonus and termination checks.
Add the year’s last fringe benefits to paychecks, and company-paid health coverage where it belongs on the W-2.
Add commissions and make retirement contributions.
Order W-2 forms and envelopes if you print them.

Before the first payroll of 2027

Install the latest payroll update and the latest QuickBooks release. See how to update payroll tax tables in QuickBooks Desktop.
Check employee details: Social Security numbers, legal names and addresses. Ask employees to review their W-4 and state withholding forms.
Review any change to your federal deposit and filing schedule.
Review sick and vacation hours, used and unused.
Run the year-end reports: employee details, payroll details, taxes and the wage summary.
Enter your new state unemployment insurance rate. It does not come with the tax table update.
Update the company’s legal name or address if either changed.
Invite employees to QuickBooks Workforce to see pay stubs and W-2s online.

Intuit’s filing dates for early 2027

Date	What to do
January 26	File state forms and make state tax payments. Forms, due dates and lead times vary by state.
January 29	E-file W-2s with the Social Security Administration and with your state. File federal Form 941 or 944, and Form 940, and make the payments.
January 31	Give employees their W-2s. E-file 1099s early enough to reach contractors on time.
February 28 or March 31	File Form 1099-MISC with the IRS: February 28 on paper, March 31 electronically.

The IRS deadlines

Intuit’s dates leave time for processing. The legal deadline is a little later. A federal due date that falls on a weekend or legal holiday moves to the next business day, and January 31, 2027 is a Sunday. So these are due Monday, February 1, 2027:

Form W-2, to employees and to the Social Security Administration.
Form 1099-NEC, to contractors and to the IRS.
Form 941 for the fourth quarter of 2026.
Form 940 for 2026.

Learn it properly

This topic is one module of our QuickBooks Payroll Training, one of seven self-paced QuickBooks courses for bookkeepers and accounting staff.

Frequently asked questions

When are 2026 W-2s due?

The IRS deadline is February 1, 2027, both for copies to employees and for filing with the Social Security Administration. Intuit asks Desktop Payroll users to e-file by January 29 so the filing is processed in time.