Top 8 Preparations for Year End Activities

• Request that all employees verify the accuracy of their name, address, and SSN on their pay stubs to assist with W-2 Wage & Tax Statement delivery. You might consider mailing a reminder notice to the last known address for all former employees advising them to notify the company immediately if their address needs to be updated, and provide a deadline date to relay any changes.
• Review all employee data in your HRIS system or with your payroll provider to ensure all information necessary for the creation of W-2 Wage & Tax Statements is available.
• Order all tax forms necessary for your year-end processing, such as the Federal W-2 Wage & Tax Statement forms, W-3 Transmittal of Wage & Tax Statements, 1099 MISC – Miscellaneous Income, or 1096 – Annual Summary and Transmittal of U.S. Information Returns, and any state or local returns that are required for your business.
• Identify any payroll adjustments that must be made before year-end and process accordingly.
• Provide employees with a W-4 Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate for 2010. The Internal Revenue Service has not published the 2010 form to date, but you can check the IRS website for publication information at http://www.irs.gov/.

• If your benefit plans renew in January, this is open enrollment season. Ensure you have allotted enough time to provide employees information on any plan changes and answer any questions.
• Employees that participate in a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) must re-enroll annually to continue participation. Make sure to remind employees of this re-enrollment requirement and provide all applicable information and forms.
• The beginning of a new year is a great time to roll out any new company policies and procedures. This is also a good time to update the company's handbook and implement it with the start of the New Year.