Year end payroll W-2 checklist: collect in December, file by January 31

Every employer who pays employees, including noncash pay, files Form W-2 for each employee when income, social security, or Medicare tax was withheld; when income tax would have been withheld if the employee had not claimed exemption from withholding on Form W-4 (or, on 2019 or earlier Forms W-4, had claimed no more than one withholding allowance); or when pay meets the reporting threshold in the current instructions. Anyone who must file Form W-2 must file Form W-3 to transmit Copy A. Keep a copy of Form W-3 and each Form W-2 Copy A for at least 4 years. (About Form W-2, Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3)

The 2026 General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 set the SSA filing date, and the date to furnish Copies B, C, and 2 to employees, at February 1, 2027. That is the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday after January 31. Confirm the current year instructions before you put a date in a client email. A transmitter may sign Form W-3, or use its PIN to file electronically, only if an agency agreement valid under state law authorizes it (oral, written, or implied) and, on a paper Form W-3, the sender writes "For (name of payer)" next to the signature. Using a reporting agent or other payroll service does not relieve the employer of the duty to furnish Forms W-2 to employees and to file Forms W-2 and W-3 with the SSA, correctly and on time. (Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3)

• Admin sends the December questionnaire in the first week of December.
• The bookkeeper ties payroll to the books after December is closed.
• A reviewer matches Form 941 totals to Form W-3 before anyone files.
• The employer, not the firm, is still the filer unless you are a reporting agent with authority.

Send this to the owner or office manager, not to every employee. Last year's W-2 list is the employee roster. You are asking what changed.

Put taxable fringe benefits in box 1 as wages, and in boxes 3 and 5 when they apply. You may also show the total in box 14a. Personal use of a vehicle belongs in boxes 1, 3, and 5. Group term life above $50,000 of coverage belongs in boxes 1, 3, and 5, and in box 12 with code C. Employer sponsored health coverage is reported in box 12 with code DD (transitional relief applies to some employers and plans). (Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3)

S corporation shareholders who own more than 2 percent are the usual miss. Publication 15 (Circular E) says the value of health insurance benefits must be included in those shareholders' wages for income tax withholding. Those benefits are excluded from social security, Medicare, and FUTA. The W-2 instructions also put those accident and health premiums in box 1. Get the premium total from the broker invoice, not from a memory of the monthly draft. (Publication 15 (Circular E), Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3)

The W-2 instructions tell you to use the same payer name and EIN on Forms W-2 and W-3 as on the Form 941 (or Form 944, Form 943, or Schedule H) filed for that payer. If the four quarterly Forms 941 do not add to Form W-3, do not file. Find the break. (Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3)

Close December first. A W-2 built from a payroll register that still has a December bonus sitting in unpaid is how you file twice. The month end close checklist is the board. This tie out is an extra row in January, not a replacement for December.

Questionnaire line 8 will name people the owner now thinks are contractors. Do not move them off W-2 because they said so in December. If they were employees in payroll, they get a W-2. New contractors and Form W-9 work live on the 1099 season page. That page has the $2,000 threshold for 2026 nonemployee compensation, the W-9 emails, and the vendor worksheet. Do not copy those emails here.

If you file 10 or more information returns for that EIN in the calendar year, the W-2 instructions say you must file the W-2s electronically. Count per payer, the client EIN, including W-2s and the other information returns the instructions list. (Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3)

Download the year end W-2 checklist. One sheet for the questionnaire answers and the Form 941 to Form W-3 tie out. Copy it per client per calendar year.

The tax season operator can draft the December questionnaire follow up from the blank lines. Your staff still approve what goes out. Your CPA still reviews and signs every return.