Take the steps provided in this guide as early as possible to ensure your filings are accurate.
At a glance
Bring everything together with reconciliation
Make sure benefits enjoyed this year are included on 2025 payrolls
Reflect on business structure changes this year
Preview your W-2 forms
Review year-end direct deposit schedules
Audit your contractor information
Review contractor bills and payments
Update employee tax profiles for 2026
Verify employer tax rates for 2026
Get your 2025 forms to the SSA, IRS, State/Local agencies, and to your workers
Bring everything together with reconciliation
If you pay your employees by check, perform a payroll bank reconciliation through December 31, 2025. Look for outstanding checks and make sure you've accounted for employee expense reimbursements. Compare state and federal payroll tax withdrawals from your bank account to the amounts on your tax liability records. To review payroll taxes in Wave, go to Payroll > Taxes. For more steps and insight into year-end accounting, check out: Accounting year-end checklist
Make sure benefits enjoyed this year are included on 2025 payrolls
If you are missing a benefit and have yet to run your final 2025 payroll, you will be able to add it to payroll before the end of the year. To do this, go to the employee profile > click Benefits & Deductions.
If you're missing a benefit and cannot add it to a future payroll in Wave, open Mave, Wave’s automated chatbot, and type missing benefits. Mave will help collect any relevant details and direct you to the appropriate support. Learn how to open Mave in Get support with Wave.
A reminder that November 23, 2025 is the last day to request adjustments to Form W-2 prior filing. This deadline allows us enough time to process corrections by the filing deadline. We’ll do our best to complete any Q4 corrections submitted after this date by January 31, but we can’t guarantee it, and a Form W-2C may be required.
Reflect on business structure changes this year
If you made changes to your business structure in 2025 that resulted in a new EIN (e.g. incorporating from a sole-proprietorship), you will need a set of year-end forms with your old EIN from before the business structure change and another set with the new EIN and wages paid after the change. You’ll need to create a second business in Wave for your restructured business.
Preview your Forms W-2
Take advantage of previewing your W-2s now to make sure you’ve entered correct wages, benefits and employee information for 2025. Learn about common mistakes and how to fix them, and read more about new reporting requirements for 2025 in our guide here:
Review year-end direct deposit schedules
As 2025 comes to a close, it's important to keep direct deposit timelines in mind. Payrolls and direct deposits do not process on Federal bank holidays. This means if a bank holiday falls on the day you normally approve payroll, pay employees, or anytime in between, you must approve payroll at least one business day earlier.
| Federal Bank Holiday | Date |
| Veteran's Day | Tuesday, November 11, 2025 |
| Thanksgiving | Thursday, November 27, 2025 |
| Christmas Day | Thursday, December 25, 2025 |
| New Year's Day | Thursday, January 1, 2026 |
Christmas Day (December 25, 2025) and New Year’s Day (January 1, 2026) both fall on a Thursday. This means the holidays will impact direct deposit timelines in Wave. Learn How bank holidays affect payroll direct deposit timelines.
Audit your contractor information
In order for contractor payments to show up on Form 1099-NEC at year-end, the contractor must have been listed as a contractor in your Vendors list. If you need to update this, here's how:
- Under Purchases > Click Vendors
- Select the Vendor Name
- Click the arrow under Actions > Click Edit
- Under the vendor name > Select Type
- Update the vendor type to 1099 contractor > Click Save
Make sure to review and confirm all contractor Tax Identification Numbers (TIN). If your Vendor is an Individual, ensure that their Social Security Number (SSN) is correct, and that their name matches what is on their SSN card. If your Vendor is a Business, ensure their Employer Identification Number (EIN) and Business Legal Name are correct.
Review contractor bills and bill payments
You’ll soon be able to view 2025 payment details for 1099-NEC contractors in Wave. We’ll let you know when this becomes available.
If you paid contractors outside of Wave in 2025, make sure you have created bills in Wave and recorded manual payments. This will ensure these contractor payments are reported on the 1099-NEC.
If you paid your contractor less than $600 in 2025, you are not required to file a Form 1099-NEC.
Update employee tax profiles for 2026
January 1, 2026: If any employees are updating their withholding for 2026, ensure that they fill out the new W-4 Employee Withholding Certificate issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), as well as a new state W-4 if applicable.
Verify employer tax rates for 2026
November 2025: State agencies will begin to issue 2026 Unemployment Tax Rates. If applicable, update your tax rate in Wave to ensure taxes will be calculated correctly for next year. To update your tax rate, see Update your business tax profile.
Get your 2025 forms to the SSA, IRS, State/Local agencies, and to your workers
January 31, 2026: This is the last day to file Forms W-3 and W-2 with the Social Security Administration (SSA), and Form(s) 1099-NEC with the IRS. This is also the last day to get these forms to your employees and contractors.
For specific due dates and filing guidelines for State and Local agencies (where applicable), consult those tax departments directly.