QuickBooks Year-End Tax Forms Update: New W-2 Printing Fees and What It Means for Your Business

As we approach the end of the year, business owners are gearing up to prepare and distribute W-2s for their employees. However, if you use QuickBooks Payroll, there’s an important update you need to know about that could impact your budget. Intuit has recently made changes regarding the printing of W-2s that will affect how you manage this task.


What’s Changed?

QuickBooks will no longer include W-2 printing as part of its subscription plan. Instead, Intuit will charge a fee of $4 per employee to print and mail W-2s for you. This fee applies whether you have one employee or 100, which could add up quickly for larger businesses.

How to Avoid the Fee

You can avoid paying this additional fee by handling W-2 distribution in-house. Here’s how:

  1. Update Your Payroll Settings:
    • Go to your QuickBooks Payroll settings and select the Form W-2 Printing
      option.
    • From here, you can choose to print the W-2s yourself instead of having Intuit mail
      them on your behalf.
  2. Distribute W-2s In-House:
    • After printing the forms, you can give them to employees in person or mail them yourself.
    • Use QuickBooks Workforce:
  3. Use QuickBooks Workforce:
    • If you’d prefer to go paperless, you can have employees access their W-2s through QuickBooks Workforce. To do this, you’ll need to obtain employee consent to receive W-2s electronically.
    • Once employees are set up in Workforce, they can log in and view or print their W-2s at any time, eliminating the need for you to handle the physical copies.

What Happens If You Do Nothing?

If you take no action, QuickBooks will automatically continue to print and mail W-2s to your employees, but you will be charged the $4 per employee fee. This is a hands-off option, but it comes with the added cost.

What This Means for Business Owners


For business owners, this change may seem small, but it can significantly impact your bottom line, especially for those with larger teams. Depending on the size of your business, the $4 per employee fee can add up quickly. If you employ 50 people, that’s an additional $200 you’ll need to account for during tax season.

To avoid unnecessary costs, you have two main options:
  • Take control of the printing process by managing W-2s in-house.
  • Go digital by encouraging employees to use QuickBooks Workforce, which not only
    avoids fees but also supports a more eco-friendly, paperless approach.
 
It’s important to evaluate the cost and time investment of these options and decide what works best for your business. While some may prefer the simplicity of paying the fee, others may find it worthwhile to manage the process themselves or transition to electronic W-2s.
 
As tax season approaches, now is the time to make these adjustments in QuickBooks and save your business unnecessary expenses. With a little preparation, you can keep the process smooth and cost-effective.
 
If you need assistance with navigating these changes, feel free to reach out to us. We’re here to help ensure your business stays financially optimized during tax season and beyond!

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