HR year end checklist: records, filings and retention

Every error in a name, address or Social Security number travels onto Form W-2 and comes back as a correction. December is the cheap time to fix it.

Ask each employee to confirm the details on file, and collect a new Form W-4 from anyone who wants to change withholding for the new year. Form W-4 is the certificate an employee gives the employer so the right amount of federal income tax is withheld (IRS, About Form W-4).

For people who left during the year, check the file is complete: final pay, the end date of benefits and any notices sent. A former employee still gets a Form W-2, and it goes to the last address you hold.

Form I-9 is the form an employer completes for each hire to verify identity and work authorization. A year-end audit checks that every current employee has one, with each section complete.

Check the edition too. USCIS lists the 01/20/25 edition as current and allows an 08/01/23 edition only until the expiration date printed on it (USCIS, Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification). Section 2 should show what the employee chose to present: one List A document, or one from List B and one from List C (USCIS, Handbook for Employers M-274, 4.0 Completing Section 2). If you copy the documents, the copies stay with the form and must be made for every employee (USCIS, Handbook for Employers M-274, 10.2 Retaining Copies of Form I-9 Documents).

Former employees’ forms can go once their retention period ends. USCIS says to keep a Form I-9 for 3 years after the date of hire, or 1 year after employment ends, whichever is later (USCIS, Handbook for Employers M-274, Retaining Form I-9). Work it out person by person, then destroy the forms that are past their date.

Employers report each new hire to the state directory of new hires. Federal law sets the outer limit at 20 days after the date of hire, and a state may set its own timing within it (42 U.S.C. § 653a, State Directory of New Hires).

Rehires count too. Under the same statute, an employee separated for at least 60 consecutive days is a newly hired employee when they come back (42 U.S.C. § 653a, State Directory of New Hires). Compare the year’s hire list to the state confirmations and report any gap now.

Year-end is also a filing-room job. The Department of Labor says payroll records must be kept for at least three years (U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #21: Recordkeeping under the FLSA). Records that wage computations rest on, such as time cards and wage rate tables, are kept for two years (U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #21: Recordkeeping under the FLSA).

Tax rules add their own clock. The IRS says employment tax records stay for at least 4 years after the tax is due or paid, whichever is later (IRS, How long should I keep records?). Box the year’s files by type and write the destroy date on each.

Use the close to re-check job classifications as well, such as exempt versus non-exempt, and contractors who now work like staff. A change made before January keeps the new year’s records clean.

For 2026 wages, employers furnish Form W-2 to employees and file it with the Social Security Administration by February 1, 2027 (IRS, General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3). An extension to file with the SSA does not extend the date for employees’ copies (IRS, General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3).

Employers covered by the injury and illness recordkeeping rule post an annual summary of the year. The annual summary is Form 300A, the year’s totals of work-related injuries and illnesses. The regulation says to post it no later than February 1 and keep it up until April 30 (29 CFR 1904.32, Annual summary).

Hand payroll the values of taxable fringe benefits before the last pay run, such as personal use of a company car or gift cards. Then confirm open-enrollment elections are loaded for the first pay date of the new year.

• USCIS, Handbook for Employers M-274, Retaining Form I-9: Keep Form I-9 for 3 years after the date of hire or 1 year after employment ends, whichever is later.
• USCIS, Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification: The current edition is dated 01/20/25; an 08/01/23 edition may still be used until its printed expiration date of 05/31/2027, while the 08/01/23 edition expiring 07/31/2026 has run out.
• USCIS, Handbook for Employers M-274, 4.0 Completing Section 2: Employees may present either one document from List A or one from List B combined with one from List C.
• USCIS, Handbook for Employers M-274, 10.2 Retaining Copies of Form I-9 Documents: Copies of an employee’s documents are kept with the Form I-9, and an employer that copies must do so for all employees or may violate anti-discrimination laws.
• 42 U.S.C. § 653a, State Directory of New Hires: New-hire reports are due no later than 20 days after hire, with state timing; an employee separated at least 60 consecutive days is newly hired.
• U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #21: Recordkeeping under the FLSA: Payroll records are kept for at least three years; records on which wage computations are based for two years.
• IRS, How long should I keep records?: Employment tax records are kept at least 4 years after the tax becomes due or is paid, whichever is later.
• IRS, General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3: 2026 Forms W-2 are furnished to employees and filed with the SSA by February 1, 2027; an SSA filing extension does not extend the employee date.
• 29 CFR 1904.32, Annual summary: The annual summary is posted no later than February 1 of the following year and kept in place until April 30.
• IRS, About Form W-4: Employees complete Form W-4 so the employer withholds the correct federal income tax from pay.