Mastering Year-End Payroll: Checklists, Compliance, and Employee Communication

Practical Tips to Organize, Inform, and Prepare Your Team for a Successful Year-End

Year-end preparation shouldn’t start in October or November—it should begin in January and continue throughout the year. This is particularly crucial now as the IRS focuses on year-end compliance. In this webinar, industry expert Vicki M. Lambert, CPP will share the latest best practices to help your payroll department shift from the year-end crunch to a smooth, compliant process. Vicki’ll explore how checklists keep tasks on track, how a simple two-page memo can reduce employee inquiries, and how setting up procedures for duplicate W-2 requests in advance can streamline processing for the upcoming year.

During the webinar Vicki will provide example checklists to ensure a smooth year-end transition. She’ll also share key updates for 2025, including changes to the Social Security wage base, deferred compensation limits, mileage rates, and Forms W-2 and 941. Attendees will receive a sample duplicate Form W-2 request form and guidance on establishing procedures for processing such requests. Vicki will also discuss the importance of gathering information from accounts payable throughout the year, rather than waiting until December, to streamline year-end processing and reduce stress for both payroll and accounting departments. Additionally, she’ll provide a template for a year-end memo to help payroll departments communicate with employees and minimize questions during the busy year-end period.

Vicki will also cover any late-breaking legislation/regulation changes.

Webinar Objectives

This webinar equips payroll professionals with proactive year-round strategies for seamless year-end processing. Learn best practices for maintaining compliance and organization, including setting up duplicate W-2 request procedures, updating for 2025 IRS changes, using checklists, and drafting a year-end memo to reduce employee inquiries. Attendees will also receive updates on annual wage limits, mileage rates, and forms required for accurate, stress-free payroll processing.

Webinar Highlights

• Latest update on the Form W-4 for 2025!
• Reconciliation of Form W-2 to Form 941 and why it must be done
• Update on year-beginning annual changes for social security wage base, fringe benefit limitations, federal per diem allowance, standard mileage rate, qualified transportation fringe benefits, and more.
• How to use the required year-end notice to update your employees for the coming year
• Best practices on organizing the payroll department for year-end including action item check lists for Form W-2, Year end and Year beginning to ensure a smooth process
• How to handle duplicate requests for Form W-2 including charging fees
• Status review of Publication 1494 for 2025
• Changes to Form W-2 for 2025
• Best practices for gathering, calculating and reconciling W-2 data all year long as is now expected by the IRS
• Taxation of fringe benefits for year-end including awards and prizes, personal use of company cars and gift certificates
• Latest update on white-collar exemptions
• Electronic delivery of W-2s to employees
• When to use the Form W-2c and when to correct the W-2 itself
• State regulatory changes affecting payroll including SUI wage bases, minimum wage increases and more
• Review of EFW-2 record changes for tax year 2024
• Verifying employee names and SSN’s
• Review of filing deadlines
• Third Party Sick Pay reporting

Who Should Attend

• Payroll Executives/ Managers/ Administrators/ Professionals/ Practitioners/ Entry Level Personnel
• Human Resources Executives/ Managers/Administrators
• Accounting Personnel
• Business Owners/ Executive Officers/ Operations and Departmental Managers
• Lawmakers
• Attorneys/ Legal Professionals
• Any individual or entity that must deal with the complexities and requirements of Payroll compliance issues for Year End closing and preparing for the upcoming year.

Credit(s)

IRS CPE Credits: 1 Tax hour