One template for both countries
A single question at the start shows the US or the UK filings, and the shared reconciliation and roll-forward phases stay the same. Employers in both countries run two yearly schedules from one template.
Payroll Year-End Checklist Template
Every pay run can be right and the year-end still go wrong. One unprocessed leaver, one benefit left out of wages or one missing code, and the error goes out on every employee’s annual form.
Payroll teams run the pay cycle every week or month. The year-end comes round once, in the busiest weeks of the year, with fixed deadlines. This free payroll year-end checklist gives payroll managers, finance teams and small business owners the annual process that sits on top of the regular pay run. It starts before the last payroll, reconciles the year and gets it approved, then runs the filings. Answer one question at the start and the checklist shows the US path (Forms W-2 and W-3, the fourth-quarter Form 941 and Form 940) or the UK path (the final FPS, P60s, P11Ds and Class 1A National Insurance). It is written for the 2026 US tax year and the 2026–27 UK tax year.
What the Year-End Adds to the Regular Pay Run
The payroll year-end is not a bigger pay run. It is an annual cycle that relies on every pay run before it. This template assumes you run each payroll with the Payroll Processing SOP Checklist and covers only what happens once a year.
The US and UK year-ends differ in timing as well as forms. A US employer closes the calendar year and files in January. A UK employer closes the tax year on 5 April and has deadlines running through to July. The reconciliation and data checks that come first are the same in both, so the template splits only for the filings.
Every pay run
Handled by the payroll SOP
- Timesheets, starters, leavers and pay changes
- Gross-to-net calculation and pre-run approval
- Tax deposits (US) or the FPS on each payday (UK)
- Payslips and the payroll journal
Once a year
Added by this checklist
- Year-to-date reconciliation to the ledger and to tax paid
- Taxable benefits added to wages or reported separately
- US: Forms W-2, W-3, Q4 Form 941, Form 940 and state returns
- UK: final FPS, P60s, P11Ds, P11D(b) and Class 1A
What the Payroll Year-End Checklist Covers
Seven phases run from planning before the last payroll to the roll-forward. Phases 3 and 4 appear for a US year-end, phases 5 and 6 for a UK year-end.
Before Year-End
Phase 1: Plan the Year-End
Start before the final payroll. Bonuses, benefits and data fixes are easier in a normal pay run than as corrections.
- Select which payroll year-end you are running — US (calendar year, Forms W-2) or UK (tax year to 5 April, P60s and P11Ds); the answer shows the matching phases
- Confirm the payroll lead and the reviewer — the reviewer approves the year-end reconciliation in Phase 2
- Agree the timetable with your payroll provider or software vendor — last payroll date, software update dates and the cut-off for adjustments
- Request the year’s taxable benefits and expenses data — company cars, medical and life cover, gifts and non-cash awards, from HR and finance
- Schedule bonuses and one-off payments for the final payroll — so each one falls in the tax year you intend
- Ask employees to check their names, addresses and ID numbers — Social Security or National Insurance number
Reconcile
Phase 2: Reconcile & Approve the Year
- Reconcile the year-to-date payroll register to the general ledger — gross pay, employee deductions and employer taxes
- Reconcile tax withheld and employer taxes to the payments made — federal and state deposits (US) or monthly PAYE payments to HMRC (UK)
- Reconcile pension or retirement plan contributions to provider statements — employee and employer contributions
- Review the year’s starters, leavers and pay changes — an unprocessed leaver produces a wrong year-end form
- Investigate negative, missing or unusual year-to-date figures — and correct them in the final payroll where you still can
- Reviewer approves the year-end reconciliation — Approved / Not approved; no return is filed until it is approved
US Only
Phase 3: Verify US Data & Code the Forms W-2
Shown for a US year-end. Figures are for tax year 2026, filed in early 2027.
- Verify employee names and SSNs with the SSA’s SSNVS — for wage reporting only, never for applicants or contractors
- Add taxable fringe benefits to wages — personal use of company cars, group-term life cover over $50,000 (box 12, code C), non-cash awards
- Report 2026’s new amounts in box 12 — qualified overtime (code TT), cash tips (code TP, with the occupation code in box 14b) and Trump account contributions (code TA)
- Check the recurring box 10 and box 12 entries — dependent care benefits, employer health coverage (code DD), HSA contributions (code W) and retirement deferrals
- Reconcile the four Forms 941 to the Form W-3 totals — wages, social security and Medicare wages, and federal income tax withheld
- Reconcile state and local wages and withholding — by state and locality, and to the state unemployment returns
US Only
Phase 4: File & Furnish the US Returns
Shown for a US year-end. 31 January 2027 is a Sunday, so those deadlines move to 1 February.
- Furnish Forms W-2 to employees — by 1 February 2027, on paper or electronically where the employee has consented
- File Copy A and Form W-3 with the SSA — by 1 February 2027; e-file through Business Services Online if you file 10 or more information returns in total
- File the fourth-quarter Form 941 — by 1 February 2027, or 10 February if every deposit for the quarter was made on time
- File Form 940 for federal unemployment tax — same dates; check whether any state you paid wages in is a credit reduction state
- File state W-2 copies and annual reconciliations — each state and locality sets its own deadline and format
- Collect new Forms W-4 from employees claiming exemption — an exemption lasts one year and needs a new form by 15 February
- Issue Forms W-2c and W-3c for any errors found — as soon as the error is discovered
UK Only
Phase 5: UK Final FPS, P60s & the New Tax Year
Shown for a UK year-end. The 2026–27 tax year ends on 5 April 2027.
- Send the final FPS on or before the last payday of the tax year — answer Yes to “Final submission for year” in your payroll software
- Send an EPS by 19 April if the final FPS was not marked final — or if you paid no one in the final pay period
- Correct year-to-date errors with an additional FPS by 19 April — showing the corrected year-to-date figures
- Install the payroll software update for the new tax year — before the first payday after 6 April
- Apply new tax codes from 6 April — carry codes forward, drop week 1 or month 1 markers, then apply the P9X uplift and the latest P9(T) notices
- Set up payrolling of company cars, fuel, vans and medical benefits — mandatory from 6 April 2027, with no registration needed
- Give a P60 to every employee on the payroll on 5 April — by 31 May, on paper or electronically
UK Only
Phase 6: UK Expenses, Benefits & Class 1A
Shown for a UK year-end. These deadlines fall in July.
- Value every benefit and taxable expense not payrolled in 2026–27 — using the year’s benefits data from Phase 1
- Submit the P11Ds and the P11D(b) online by 6 July — the P11D(b) is required even if every benefit was payrolled
- Give each employee a copy of their P11D information by 6 July — the benefits and expenses reported for them
- Pay Class 1A National Insurance so HMRC receives it by 22 July — 19 July if paying by cheque; the rate for 2026–27 is 15%
- Pay tax and Class 1B under any PAYE Settlement Agreement by 22 October — 19 October if paying by cheque
- List the benefits that move to payroll in April 2028 — most remaining benefits, except loans and accommodation
Close & Roll Forward
Phase 7: Close the Year & Roll Forward
- Post the year-end payroll journals — and clear the payroll control accounts
- Load next year’s rates, thresholds and wage bases — from the IRS, your states or HMRC as they are published
- Update the payroll calendar for the new year — pay dates, deposit or payment dates and filing deadlines
- Archive the year-end file — returns, acknowledgements, reconciliations and approvals
- Hold a debrief and update this checklist — record what went wrong and what changes next year
Payroll Year-End Deadlines for 2026 and 2026–27
These are the main federal and HMRC deadlines. A US deadline that falls on a weekend or legal holiday moves to the next business day, hence 1 February 2027. Add your state and local deadlines as due dates.
| Obligation | Deadline | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| US: Forms W-2 to employees and Copy A with W-3 to the SSA | 1 February 2027 | Extensions only in extraordinary circumstances; e-file at 10 or more returns in total |
| US: Form 941, fourth quarter | 1 February 2027 | 10 February 2027 if all deposits were made on time |
| US: Form 940 | 1 February 2027 | 10 February 2027 if all FUTA tax was deposited on time |
| UK: final FPS | On or before the last payday of the tax year | The tax year ends on 5 April 2027 |
| UK: EPS and year-to-date corrections | 19 April 2027 | An EPS is needed only in the cases in Phase 5 |
| UK: P60s to employees | 31 May 2027 | Everyone on the payroll on 5 April |
| UK: P11D, P11D(b) and employee copies | 6 July 2027 | £100 per 50 employees for each month the P11D(b) is late |
| UK: Class 1A National Insurance payment | 22 July 2027 | 19 July if paying by cheque |
What changed on the 2026 Form W-2. The 2025 tax law created employee deductions for qualified tips and overtime, and the 2026 Form W-2 carries the figures behind them. Box 12 has three new codes: TT for qualified overtime compensation, which is only the premium above the regular rate (the “half” in time-and-a-half) required by the Fair Labor Standards Act, TP for cash tips reported to the employer, and TA for employer contributions to an employee’s Trump account. Box 14 is split into 14a, which keeps the old “Other” entries, and 14b, which holds the Treasury tipped occupation code. Check your payroll system tracks these amounts now, not in January. The social security wage base for 2026 is $184,500.
What is changing for UK benefits in kind. From 6 April 2027 employers must report company cars, car and van fuel, vans and medical benefits through payroll, calculating tax and Class 1A National Insurance in real time. Most other benefits follow from 6 April 2028; loans and accommodation stay voluntary. For the 2026–27 year-end, P11Ds, the P11D(b) and the July Class 1A payment still apply; the work is to have payroll ready for the first 2027–28 payday.
Why Run the Payroll Year-End in CheckFlow?
Nothing is filed before it is approved
The reconciliation ends with an approval task assigned to the reviewer you choose at the start. The checklist stops until it is answered, so no return goes out on figures nobody has checked.
Deadlines that span months
The UK year-end runs from March to July, the US one from November to February. Due dates are set from the start date, and filing receipts are attached to the tasks that produced them.
The year-end depends on every pay run before it. The Payroll Processing SOP Checklist covers each payroll from data collection to reconciliation, and the Year-End Close Checklist covers the accounting year-end that the payroll figures feed into.
Contractors are not on the payroll, so they are not in this checklist. US businesses report payments to them on Forms 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC, which the 1099 Year-End Filing Checklist covers, from W-9 collection to IRS filing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a payroll year-end checklist?
It is the list of annual tasks that close a payroll year: reconciling pay and tax, correcting employee data, reporting taxable benefits, producing employees’ annual forms, filing the year-end returns and preparing for the new year. It sits on top of the regular pay run checklist.
What are the US payroll year-end deadlines for tax year 2026?
Forms W-2 go to employees, and Copy A with Form W-3 goes to the Social Security Administration, by 1 February 2027, because 31 January is a Sunday. The fourth-quarter Form 941 and the annual Form 940 are due the same day, or by 10 February 2027 if every deposit was made on time. State deadlines vary.
What is new on the 2026 Form W-2?
Box 12 has three new codes: TT for qualified overtime compensation, TP for cash tips reported to the employer and TA for employer contributions to a Trump account. Box 14 is split into 14a for other information and 14b for the Treasury tipped occupation code.
What do UK employers do at the end of the 2026–27 tax year?
Send the final FPS on or before the last payday of the tax year, and an EPS by 19 April 2027 if one is needed. Give a P60 to everyone on the payroll on 5 April by 31 May. Report expenses and benefits on P11Ds and the P11D(b) by 6 July, and pay Class 1A National Insurance so HMRC receives it by 22 July.
Does mandatory payrolling of benefits replace the P11D?
Not yet. From 6 April 2027 company cars, fuel, vans and medical benefits must be reported through payroll, and most other benefits follow in April 2028. P11Ds and the P11D(b) are still required for the 2026–27 tax year, and the P11D(b) is needed even by employers who already payroll every benefit, because it reports the Class 1A National Insurance due.
Is CheckFlow free for this template?
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