Justworks Payroll End of Year Checklist 2024

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This article is about Justworks Payroll. What product am I using?

As your payroll provider, Justworks Payroll will submit payroll tax filings to the IRS on behalf of your company for the year. In order for us to submit these tax filings on time and correctly, we’ll need you to complete the End of Year tasks outlined below prior to the IRS’ deadlines. 

 

1. Verify Employee Information 

Make sure you and your team’s information is up-to-date to help prevent costly errors that could require tax document corrections in the future. Employee information will need to be verified by December 24, to ensure year end forms are accurate. 

As an admin, you will need to go to the Company Census in your Reports tab and verify the following for each employee: 

  • Legal Name 
  • Home and work address
  • SSN 

Your team members will need to review the following personal information listed in their Account Settings tab: 

  • Legal Name
  • Social Security Number
  • Mailing address
  • Delivery method for Form W-2
  • Form W-4 and state withholdings: Please note that corrections to Form W-4 withholding amounts can only be made on a go-forward basis, so employees should verify this information to avoid any penalties incurred by under-withholding. 

We’ll send a reminder to your team to check their own information, but we suggest you ask them to do it as well. 

  

2. Review Your Final Payroll

Make sure all payees and amounts listed for your final payroll of the year are correct, as Justworks is unable to make any adjustments or corrections, including overpayment corrections, after your final payroll runs. Here’s how to check your final payroll: 

  • Log into Justworks Payroll and go to your Dashboard 
  • Scroll to Upcoming Payments and click ‘View estimate’ next to the date of your final payroll 
  • Review the details listed to ensure everything is scheduled correctly 

 

3. Schedule Final Payments

The final pay date for the year is 12/31/24. If you need a bonus or any other one-time payments to land within this tax year, you will need to make sure they are scheduled before the final processing day of 2024.

For companies following the standard 4-business day processing timeline, the final payment processing deadline is 12/24 at 11am EST.

Any payments scheduled after your company’s final processing day will land in 2025 and be included with 2025 tax filings.

 

4. Report Employee Payments 

Make sure that all salary and one-time payments for employees have been recorded in Justworks Payroll. 

If you need to record any payments that were issued to team members outside of the platform, such as a physical check or a direct wire, you can set up an ‘External payment’ through the Payments Center tab by following these steps.

Recording an external payment will ensure that the applicable taxes are collected and remitted correctly. Please note that recording external payments follow the same processing timelines listed above, and any 2024 external payments will need to be scheduled prior to your company’s final processing date.

 

*Note: The remaining steps may or may not be applicable to your company* 

 

5. Enter Your Company’s Tax Information

In order for Justworks Payroll to remit payments and complete filings on behalf of your company, you need to have the correct tax information on file for your company. Make sure your company’s tax information is entered by December 24, to ensure our team can file on time and correctly for your company.

Here’s how to submit your company’s tax information: 

  • Log into Justworks Payroll
  • Click the ‘Start’ button in the ‘Manage your company tax information’ task on your homepage
  • Enter and submit your account details

Please note that once this information is entered, additional steps may be needed depending on the state, as each state has its own process for granting third party admin (TPA) access.

 

6. Report Employer Contributions to Outside Health Benefits 

We will need to know whether your company made contributions to any of the following health benefits outside of Justworks Payroll for anyone during your company’s time on the platform this year:

  • Medical Insurance
  • Dental Insurance
  • Vision Insurance
  • Health Savings Account (HSA)

If your company has made any of these contributions, please reach out to support@payroll.justworks.com with a report including the contribution types, amounts, and to which team members they were issued so that we can add these amounts to their year end forms.

 

7. Record Imputed Income 

It’s best practice and, in many cases, required by IRS guidelines to record imputed income as it is provided to employees throughout the year. Imputed income is income for additional benefits or compensation on top of an employee's regular salary or wages for work they do. To prevent complications at End of Year, be sure to report the following as soon as possible: 

  • Taxable fringe benefits: A fringe benefit is an extra benefit that supplements an employee's salary such as a vehicle,  gym membership, etc.  Fringe benefits are taxable.
  • Taxable equity-based compensation: Equity-based compensation is non-cash pay that a company offers employees based on the value of specified stock.

You can report imputed income from within your Justworks Payroll account by going to the Payments Center tab, and selecting Record Payments at the top of the page. From there, you will be able to submit any imputed income your team members have received.

 

8. Coordinate Payroll with Your Employee 401(k) Contributions 

To benefit the most from pre-tax contributions, your employees can max out their 401(k) contributions by updating their contribution rate for either their base salary or bonus/ commission pay ahead of the final payrolls of the year. Talk with your employees before scheduling any bonuses to see whether they would like their 401(k) contributions to be adjusted for End of Year payments.  

If you are using an external 401(k) provider, you can edit the manual deduction amounts for employees in their profiles under the Manual Deductions tab. If the deduction amounts need to be applied to specific payments, be sure to edit the dates accordingly. 

Please note that you will need to change the manual deduction amount back after your company’s final payroll runs for the year so that the increased deduction isn't applied to the employee’s first paycheck of the new year. 

 

9. File Your Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) Report

(Update 12/30/2024): In light of a recent federal court order, reporting companies are not currently required to file beneficial ownership information with FinCEN and are not subject to liability if they fail to do so while the order remains in force. However, this court order is not a final determination and has been appealed by the Department of Treasury. Reporting companies may continue to voluntarily submit beneficial ownership information reports.

Many small businesses are required to file information about the company’s direct and indirect owners with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) due to the Corporate Transparency Act passed in 2021. Applicable businesses formed before Jan. 1, 2024, are required to file by Jan. 13, 2025, and may face hefty fines, penalties, and potential jail time if they fail to comply. In addition, future changes to owners’ information or changes in ownership may require filing updated information to avoid fines and penalties.

You can take this quiz to determine whether you’re required to file a BOI Report, or review these BOI Report guidelines. If you do need to file a BOI Report, you can find instructions for doing so below.

HOW TO FILE:

FOR FILING SUPPORT:

  • Leverage our partnership with Wolters Kluwer to support your BOl filings if you would like filing support.
  • Use this link to get a 10% service discount.

 

10. Remind Employees to Use FSA Funds 

Make sure your employees are aware their FSA funds expire at the end of the year so that they can use up any remaining funds in time.

Unlike FSA funds, employees’ HSA funds will not expire at the end of the calendar year. Instead, HSA funds will roll over year after year.

 

Disclaimer

This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, legal or tax advice. If you have any legal or tax questions regarding this content or related issues, then you should consult with your professional legal or tax advisor.