Gusto Payroll Year-End Checklist

Updated for calendar year 2025

Please refer to the year-end article for monthly calendars with deadlines, important information and need-to-know items, and more.

Need to Know:

Please submit your year end payrolls as soon as possible! Late payrolls could incur premium processing fees.

Timeline:

End of November
Drafts of your W-2s and 1099s will be available in Documents.
By End of December
Make sure to run a bonus payroll and report payments issued outside of Gusto that employees received.
First few days of January
Make sure to submit an off-cycle payroll paid by manual check and dated in the appropriate year. **See Fringe Benefits below
January - 3rd week
W-2s and 1099s will be available to employees and contractors in their Gusto accounts.
January - 3rd week
Final year-end forms will be available in Documents.
January 31
Deadline for you to distribute W-2s and 1099s to your employees and contractors.

Checklist

Verify Employee Info in December

Verify Employee Name
Verify Employee Address
Verify Employee Social Security Number
File Form W-2 (Gusto does this for you!) **NOTE: You will need to distribute W-2s by January 31 (Mail them yourself or have Gusto mail them)

Verify Employer Info In December

Review and complete all notices and tasks via the Home page
Review and complete all tax compliance requirements via the Taxes and Compliance-Overview page
Verify FEIN, State, Local ID, and unemployment tax rates are correct via the Taxes and Compliance-Tax Setup page

Run Bonus Payrolls by the last business day of December

Admins with the required permissions can run a bonus payroll if you want to pay a bonus outside your regular payroll—there's no extra fee to do this. Click here.

Report a missing payroll processed outside of Gusto by the last business day of December

Admins must have the required permissions to be able to report a payroll processed outside of Gusto or manage incomplete non-Gusto payrolls. This is important to make sure accurate tax withholding and W-2 reporting for all your current and past employees this calendar year. Click here.

Record Fringe Benefits by first few days of January

To add missing fringe benefits (also known as imputed pay) and record them for the year, follow these steps:

First, set up the fringe benefit following the instructions here.
Then, record these benefits by running an off-cycle payroll with the "Net Earnings" field set to $0. Make sure the check date is on or before the last day of the year (December 31) in order to have the amounts reflected in your filings and W-2s for the year.

Knowledge Base

Checklist