Year-end payroll checklist for small employers

When you run payroll for your own S corporation, the end of the year brings extra paperwork. You still have your regular deposits and quarterly returns. On top of those come the annual forms, the employee statements, and a reconciliation that ties everything together.

This checklist goes through the work in order: what to do before December 31, what to do in January, and what to keep afterward. Federal rules come first, then Oklahoma.

Before your last payroll of the year

Start with your final paychecks. Errors are easier to fix before the year closes than after the forms are filed.

Confirm the owner's salary. Make sure you paid yourself through payroll as planned. If you are unsure what amount is appropriate, see how to set a reasonable salary as an S-corp owner.
Check the Social Security wage limit. For tax year 2026, you stop collecting the employee share of Social Security tax once an employee's wages and tips reach $184,500. Medicare tax applies to all wages for the whole year (IRS Pub. 15).
Watch for Additional Medicare Tax. Withholding for Additional Medicare Tax starts once an employee's wages and tips exceed $200,000 in the calendar year (IRS Pub. 15).
Wrap up fringe benefits. Benefits provided during the calendar year must be treated as paid by December 31. You generally have to determine their value no later than January 31 of the next year (IRS Pub. 15).
Check names and SSNs. Compare each employee's name and Social Security number to their Social Security card. The SSA uses these numbers to credit earnings, so they must be correct on Form W-2.

Get Business Services Online access now

If you plan to e-file W-2s with the Social Security Administration, do this before anything else on the list.

Effective November 7, 2026, SSA introduced a new authorization process for Business Services Online (BSO) Electronic Wage Reporting. Every user has to complete it before using BSO wage reporting services. That includes employers who used BSO before, unless they took part in the January 2026 limited release and received a registration code by mail (SSA employer page).

The steps:

Go to the BSO Welcome page. In the Employers section, select "Sign in or create account for Electronic Wage Reporting."
Sign in with Login.gov or ID.me and verify your identity. The old BSO user ID and password no longer work.
Accept the Privacy Act statement.
A Responsible Entity Officer (REO) selects "Register as REO with Your Organization/EIN." In a small S corp, that is usually you.
Have these ready: your EIN, organization name and type, work email, work phone number tied to the EIN, and a work mailing address that matches IRS records.

SSA mails a registration code to that address, and it may take 15 to 20 days to arrive. SSA says to allow at least 2 weeks for registration and to start well ahead of the January deadline. Our guide on filing W-2s and W-3 through SSA Business Services Online covers the rest of the process.

Reconcile your totals before filling out forms

This step prevents most year-end problems. Your W-2 totals have to agree with what you reported on your four quarterly Forms 941.

The IRS says to reconcile boxes 2, 3, 5 and 7 from your Form W-3 with the yearly totals from your quarterly Forms 941. If the amounts don't match, the IRS and SSA may contact you to resolve the differences (W-2/W-3 instructions).

Form W-3 box	What it holds	Compare to
Box 2	Federal income tax withheld	Sum of the four Forms 941
Box 3	Social Security wages	Sum of the four Forms 941
Box 5	Medicare wages and tips	Sum of the four Forms 941
Box 7	Social Security tips	Sum of the four Forms 941

Some other tips from the IRS: report bonuses as wages and as Social Security and Medicare wages. Put tax withheld in boxes 4 and 6, not in the wage boxes 3 and 5. For each W-2, box 5 must equal or exceed the sum of boxes 3 and 7. Keep your reconciliation work for future reference.

Prepare and send Forms W-2 and W-3

For 2026 wages, these deadlines apply (W-2/W-3 instructions):

Furnish Copies B, C and 2 to employees by February 1, 2027. A properly addressed form mailed on or before that date counts as furnished on time.
File Copy A and Form W-3 with the SSA by February 1, 2027, whether you file on paper or electronically.

Things to know:

E-filing threshold. You must e-file if you are required to file at least 10 information returns. Count your Forms W-2 together with your other information returns.
BSO online forms. If you file 50 or fewer W-2s, you can create them in BSO. BSO generates Form W-3 for you.
Paper filers. Don't print Copy A from IRS.gov and send it to the SSA. The SSA accepts only e-filed reports and the official red-ink forms (or approved substitutes). Use black ink, ideally in 12-point Courier font.
SSNs. You may truncate SSNs on employee copies. Never truncate them on Copy A.
Extensions. An extension to file is not automatic. You can request one 30-day extension on Form 8809, and the IRS grants it only in extraordinary circumstances. To request more time to furnish employee copies, use Form 15397.
Penalties. Failure-to-file and failure-to-furnish penalties have increased. The higher amounts apply to returns required to be filed after December 31, 2026.

File the fourth-quarter Form 941

Pub. 15 lists January 31 as the date to file Form 941 for the fourth quarter of the previous year and to deposit any undeposited income, Social Security and Medicare taxes. If your total tax liability for the quarter is less than $2,500, you may pay it with the return. If you deposited all taxes on time, you may file by February 10 (IRS Pub. 15).

The dates in Pub. 15 are not adjusted for weekends or legal holidays. Pub. 509 lists the adjusted dates. For a walkthrough, see how to file Form 941 yourself. If you have a balance to deposit, our EFTPS deposit guide explains the steps.

Figure FUTA and file Form 940

Form 940 reports your annual federal unemployment (FUTA) tax. Only employers pay FUTA tax. You don't withhold it from wages (Form 940 instructions).

FUTA tax applies to the first $7,000 you pay each employee in a calendar year, after subtracting exempt payments.
For 2025, the FUTA rate was 6.0%, and most employers received a credit of up to 5.4% for state unemployment tax.
S-corp note: some states exclude wages paid to corporate officers from state unemployment tax. In that case you may owe FUTA tax at the full 6.0% rate on those wages. Check your state's rules.
To get full credit, pay your state unemployment tax by the Form 940 due date.
If your fourth-quarter FUTA tax (plus any undeposited amounts from earlier quarters) is more than $500, deposit it. If it is $500 or less, you can either deposit it or pay it with Form 940.

For tax year 2025, Form 940 was due February 2, 2026, or February 10, 2026, if you deposited all FUTA tax on time. Check the current instructions for the 2026 due date. Our Form 940 and FUTA guide walks through the lines.

Oklahoma year-end tasks

Withholding. Oklahoma withholding is remitted quarterly, on or before the 20th day of the month after the quarter ends. If the amount is over $500 per quarter but under $5,000, it is remitted monthly, by the 20th of the following month (Oklahoma Tax Commission, Packet OW-2). Make your final 2026 payment and file the matching report. See OkTAP withholding registration and Form WTH-10001.

W-2 and W-3 to the OTC. Employers with Oklahoma withholding must send W-2 and W-3 information to the Oklahoma Tax Commission through OkTAP, either by uploading a file in the SSA's EFW2 format or by entering the data by hand. Paper forms and flash drives are not accepted. For tax year 2025, the deadline was January 31, 2026. Check current OTC guidance for the 2026 date.

Unemployment (OES-3). File the fourth-quarter contribution and wage report through the OESC Employer Portal, and pay the tax, on or before the last day of the month after the quarter ends (Okla. Admin. Code 240:10-5-91). See the OES-3 guide.

Start the new year: Forms W-4 and records

Remind employees about Form W-4. The IRS suggests employees consider completing a new Form W-4 each year and whenever their situation changes (About Form W-4).
Employees who claimed exemption. By February 15, ask each of them for a new Form W-4. On February 16, last year's exempt Forms W-4 expire. If an employee doesn't give you a new one, withhold as if they checked Single or Married filing separately and made no other entries (IRS Pub. 15).
Keep copies. Keep a copy of each Form W-2 Copy A and of Form W-3 for at least 4 years.

For every deadline across the year, see the S-corp payroll calendar.

Where Selfroll fits

Selfroll is a free tool that does the payroll math, keeps a deadline calendar you can export, and fills draft copies of Forms 941, 940, W-2, W-3 and the Oklahoma WTH-10001 for you to review. You make the payments from your own bank, and you sign and file every form yourself.

Sources

This guide is general information, not tax or legal advice. Check current IRS, SSA and state rules or ask a CPA.