Every year between October and December, we’ll ask you to make sure your tax information is still correct. As an admin, you’ll see these tasks in your Gusto dashboard.
To learn more about each task, click the to-do item and then mark it as complete when you’re done. You can also mark it as complete if you think the task no longer applies to you.
As part of your dashboard to-dos, you need to confirm your tax information and update your team member information so that employees and contractors get their W-2s and 1099s.
Team members: Make sure all employees and contractors (current and dismissed) who were paid this year are added to Gusto for tax reporting purposes.
To check, go to People. To add anyone who’s missing, click Add a team member.
Employee payments: Report any payroll runs outside of Gusto (including dismissal payrolls, and if you’re new to Gusto this year, any payrolls processed before joining Gusto). This ensures accurate tax reporting and compliance.
Download your 202X payroll journal report to check. If you know something’s missing, enter a non-Gusto payroll.
Contractor payments: Make sure you’ve added all your contractor payments to Gusto.
To add any missing payments, follow these instructions.
Benefits: Make sure all your benefit deductions and contributions are correct.
To check, run a benefits report. To fix mistakes or add missing amounts, submit a benefit correction.
Fringe benefits: Make sure you’ve added any fringe benefits you offered employees in 202X to Gusto.
Examples include the use of a company car, gym stipends/memberships, relocation reimbursements, etc. To add fringe benefits retroactively to Gusto, follow these instructions.
Retirement benefits: Make sure you’ve added all your employees’ 202X retirement deductions and contributions to Gusto.
To check, run a benefits report and select “401(k) costs.” To add deductions or contributions retroactively to Gusto, follow these instructions.
Addresses: Make sure your employees’ work addresses are up-to-date (including anyone working from home).
To check, run a custom report showing home address and work address. To learn more about paying out-of-state employees, read this article.
We’ll also prompt you to report special compensation your employees received in 202X. Special compensation often does not appear on paystubs, but we need to record it on your employees’ W-2s.
When the to-do notification appears on your Home page, go to Taxes & Compliance to tell us if you offered any of the following. We’ll prompt you for specific amounts later.
Relocation expenses
This is money you pay an employee to cover work relocation costs.
Child and dependent care
This is money you pay an employee for dependent care.
Allocated tips
These are tips you pay your employees beyond the tips on their paystubs.
Simple Employee Pensions (SEP)
This is separate from any other IRA or 401(k) you process as a regular benefit.
Roth SIMPLE IRA
Enter the total amount of the employee’s Roth SIMPLE IRA contributions for the year. Do not report employer matching or nonelective contributions. Form 1099-R shows employer contributions to a Roth SIMPLE IRA.
Untracked health insurance
If your company offers group health insurance and makes pre-tax contributions to your employees’ premiums, we need to record those amounts. Check this box if you did not set up those contributions in Gusto.
Non-statutory stock options
Sometimes called “non-qualified stock options” (NSOs), these are different from “incentive stock options” (ISOs), and companies generally grant them to employees, contractors, board members, and others. NSOs include income from exercising stock options.
Note: When you report amounts in this field, we do not adjust reported wages and taxes. Follow these steps if you did not report the wages yet.
Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangements (QSEHRA)
If you offered to reimburse your employees for medical expenses outside of Gusto, check this box.
Note: Gusto does not administer QSEHRA plans.
Housing Allowance
The IRS generally considers employer-provided housing or a housing allowance a taxable benefit. To learn more, refer to IRS Publication 15. If you used the “Housing allowance” reimbursement type through payroll, we automatically include the yearly total in the special compensation survey and in Box 14 of Form W-2.
For information about minister’s housing allowance, go to this article.
Third-party sick pay
If you used a third-party sick policy to pay employees, make sure you report it accurately on payroll as required by your policy terms.
Overtime
If you ran payroll in Gusto: You do not need to enter any overtime in the W-2 Questionnaire. We already calculate it.
If you paid overtime or double-time outside of Gusto: We cannot tell how much of those wages were overtime. Because of this, you must enter the total overtime premium (the extra amount above regular pay) for all 2025 payrolls paid outside Gusto.
Important: Only enter the extra pay that employees earn for overtime, not their full wages. For 2025, the IRS allows employers to use any reasonable method to estimate overtime. Here are two simple options to calculate this overtime premium.
Option 1: Calculate the overtime premium directly (overtime only)
Regular rate: $20/hour
Overtime premium rate (the “extra half”): $20 × 0.5 = $10/hour
Overtime hours worked: 33 hours
Overtime premium: $10 × 33 = $330
➡️ Enter $330 in the Overtime field in the W-2 Questionnaire.
California example (overtime + double-time)
Federal rules only count the time-and-a-half portion of double-time.
Regular rate: $20/hour
Overtime premium rate: $10/hour
Combined overtime + double-time hours: 43 hours (33 OT + 10 DT)
Overtime premium: $10 × 43 = $430
➡️ Enter $430 in the Overtime field in the W-2 Questionnaire.
Option 2: Use Total Overtime Pay and Divide (overtime only)
Regular rate: $20/hour
Overtime rate (1.5×): $30/hour
Total overtime pay: $30 × 33 = $990
Overtime premium: $990 ÷ 3 = $330
➡️ Enter $330 in the Overtime field.
California example (overtime + double-time)
Regular rate: $20/hour
Overtime rate: $30/hour
Double-time rate: $40/hour
Total overtime pay: $30 × 33 = $990
Total double-time pay: $40 × 10 = $400
Overtime premium: $990 ÷ 3 = $330
Double-time federal premium: $400 ÷ 4 = $100
Total premium: $330 + $100 = $430
➡️ Enter $430 in the Overtime field.
Q: I already added non-Gusto payrolls. Will adding overtime premiums increase my employees’ 2025 earnings?
A: No. Those payroll entries never asked for overtime breakdowns, so we do not know how much overtime was included. The overtime premium you enter in the W-2 Questionnaire only updates Box 14 on the W-2. It does not increase any other earnings.
Q: If I have not entered my non-Gusto payrolls yet, do I need to do both steps?
A: Yes. You must:
Report all non-Gusto payrolls so yearly earnings are correct.
Enter overtime premiums in the W-2 Questionnaire so Box 14 is correct.