Year end payroll Checklist

Make live easy and tax time in 2013 a little simpler for you and your staff. Follow these simple steps to ensure the last payroll of the years goes as planned and W-2s are correct.

• Have all employees confirm the correct mailing address you have on file.
• Correct or add any Social Security numbers that are missing form employee records.
• Work with your payroll service to coordinate your year end bonuses. You are using a payroll service right? Your time is too valuable to be doing it yourself.
• If you are going to issue 250 or more W-2s, know that you will have to report health care contributes on the W-2 to comply with Obama Care Affordable Health Care Act.
• Make any adjustments to your normal payroll submission process to make sure employee pay arrives on time given the holidays that could cause delays.
• Remind employees that because they contribute to pre-tax benefits like health insurance deductions and 401k their W-2 wages will be less than the year to date amounts on the final check.
• Remind employees who are participating in FSA plans to use it or loose. This assumes you don't have a plan with a grace period. Otherwise funds in the plan will be forfeited. 

These are cover the basics to make sure your 2012 payroll closes smoothly and 2013 gets off to a good start.