Your year end bookkeeping checklist has a hard stop: December 31, 2026. Then the filing dates stack up, starting with Friday, January 15, 2027 and Monday, February 1, 2027.
Last updated November 8, 2026. Reviewed by Aryan Patel, founder of Senvora Group, a bookkeeping firm that supports CPA firms and business owners in the US and Canada. Our team works through this checklist with US clients every December. You have 53 days left in the year. Use them. This guide marks each step as an IRS rule or as our recommended practice, so you know which is which.
Key takeaways
- Books for 2026 should be reconciled through December 31 for every bank and credit card account. That part is our recommended practice. The IRS says to reconcile your checking account monthly.
- The fourth estimated tax payment for 2026 is due January 15, 2027, per the 2026 Form 1040-ES. The form has a note about skipping it if you file by February 1, 2027. Read that note and ask your CPA.
- Form 941 for Q4, Form 940, Forms W-2 and W-3 and Form 1099-NEC all point to January 31. In 2027 that is a Sunday, so plan for Monday, February 1, 2027.
- Collect W-9 forms before you need them. The IRS suggests you ask each payee to complete one.
- Lock the books after your review, and save copies of your key reports. Both are our recommended practice.
Want us to check your books? Book a free 30 minute file review. We send a clear quote before any work starts.
IRS rules versus our recommended practice
Not every item on a good checklist comes from the IRS. Some of it is just what works. Here is the split.
Behind on your books before tax season? We review your file for free and give you a fixed quote. Get your books CPA ready before January.
| Checklist item | IRS rule or our practice | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Keep business records | IRS rule | Publication 583 says keep records until the period of limitations runs out. Details below. |
| Employment tax records | IRS rule | Publication 583 says keep them at least 4 years after the tax is due or paid. |
| Reconcile accounts | Both | The IRS sample system includes a bank reconciliation and says to reconcile monthly. Reconciling every account through December 31 is our practice. |
| Clear uncategorized items | Our practice | Clean categories make your profit and loss usable. No IRS page says how. |
| Review receivables and payables | Our practice | Aging reports show who owes you and whom you owe. |
| Fixed assets, inventory, loans | Our practice | The IRS lists a depreciation worksheet as a sample record. Counts and loan tie outs are what we do. |
| Payroll tie out and W-2 | IRS rule for filing, our practice for the tie out | W-2 and 941 dates come from the IRS. Matching your books to them is on you. |
| W-9 forms and 1099 list | IRS suggestion | The IRS suggests asking payees for a W-9. |
| Owner draws or distributions | Our practice | Ask your CPA how your entity type treats them. |
| Lock the books and save backups | Our practice | These are QuickBooks features and habits, not IRS rules. |
The year end bookkeeping checklist: 12 steps
Work through these in order. Each one builds on the one before it.
- Reconcile every bank and credit card account through December 31. Our practice. Gather all statements first. The Intuit tips for year end reconciliation says to treat the statement as the source of truth, work from the oldest month, and go one month at a time. In QuickBooks Online you enter the ending balance and date, then match until the Difference is $0.00, per the Intuit help article on reconciling an account.
- Clear the bank feed. Our practice. Downloaded transactions sit in the For review tab and do not affect your books until you match or categorize them, according to the Intuit help article on matching bank and credit card transactions. It also says to fix all matches before you complete monthly reconciliations.
- Clear uncategorized and ask my accountant items. Our practice. Aim for zero in both by the time you lock the year. If you are unsure about a transaction, write the question down and send it to your CPA in one batch.
- Review accounts receivable. Our practice. In QuickBooks Online, go to Reports, then Standard reports, then the Who owes you section, per the Intuit help article on the accounts receivable aging report. Follow up on old balances and decide with your CPA what to do about the ones that will not be paid.
- Review accounts payable. Our practice. The Intuit year end guide for QuickBooks Online lists checking vendor balances and paying open bills as a year end step. Make sure every bill dated in 2026 is entered.
- Clear Undeposited Funds. Our practice, and a step in the same Intuit guide. Customer payments that never made it into a bank deposit make your bank balance look wrong.
- Count fixed assets and inventory. Our practice. List what you bought this year and what you sold or scrapped. Publication 583 lists a depreciation worksheet among its sample records and describes asset records that show purchase price, depreciation and disposal. If you carry inventory, the Intuit lock your books page says to verify inventory quantities first.
- Tie loan balances to lender statements. Our practice. Compare each loan in your books to the December statement. Split principal from interest. Ask your CPA how to treat anything that looks off.
- Tie out payroll. Wages and taxes in your books should match your four Form 941 filings and the W-2 totals. Filing dates are IRS rules. The tie out itself is our practice. See our year end payroll checklist.
- Collect W-9 forms and prepare your 1099 list. The IRS suggests you ask each payee to complete a Form W-9, per IRS Publication 1099. Build the list now from your vendor report. Read our W-9 collection checklist and 1099 filing deadline guide.
- Record owner draws or distributions. Our practice. Make sure they are not coded as expenses. The right treatment depends on your entity type, so check with your CPA before you post anything.
- Lock the books and save copies. Our practice. In QuickBooks Online, the Intuit help article on locking your books says to go to Settings, Account and settings, Advanced, then edit the Accounting section and turn on Close the books. You choose a warning only or a warning with a password. Then save your year end reports, reconciliation reports and statements to a folder you control.
The Intuit page on backup and restore says it covers QuickBooks Online Advanced and Intuit Enterprise Suite. It does not say what other plans offer, so check Intuit help for your plan, or save report copies as a simple habit.
Key dates after year end
| Item | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Fourth 2026 estimated tax payment | Friday, January 15, 2027 | 2026 Form 1040-ES and the IRS estimated tax page |
| Form 941 for Q4, Form 940 | January 31, 2027 is a Sunday, so plan for Monday, February 1, 2027 | IRS employment tax due dates page |
| Forms W-2 and W-3, employee copies | February 1, 2027 | IRS General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 |
| Form 1099-NEC | January 31 on the IRS pages, so plan for Monday, February 1, 2027 | IRS employment tax due dates page |
The IRS estimated tax page lists January 15 of the following year for the last payment period. The 2026 Form 1040-ES lists January 15, 2027 as the fourth payment for tax year 2026. The form also has a note that you do not have to make that payment if you file your 2026 return by February 1, 2027. Read the exact wording, because it has conditions. Other entity types follow other rules, so check which form applies to you.
The IRS employment tax due dates page says that when a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, you may file on the next business day. January 31, 2027 is a Sunday. The IRS General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 state February 1, 2027 directly for Forms W-2 and W-3. For Form 1099-NEC, confirm the date in the current IRS instructions before you file. Nothing here is tax advice. Senvora does bookkeeping and does not prepare or file tax returns. Your CPA does that.
How long to keep your records
Year end is a good moment to set up one clean folder. The IRS Publication 583, Starting a Business and Keeping Records gives the IRS side of this.
- Keep records that support an income or deduction item until the period of limitations for that return runs out.
- The page lists 3 years as the general period when you owe additional tax. It lists 6 years if you leave out more than 25% of the gross income shown on the return. It lists no limit if you file a fraudulent return or do not file.
- Keep employment tax records at least 4 years after the tax is due or paid.
- For property, keep records until the period of limitations expires for the year you dispose of it in a taxable disposition.
The page also says the law does not require any specific kind of records in most cases. It says to keep supporting documents in an orderly way and in a safe place. How long to keep a given bank statement is not stated, so ask your CPA.
A note on 1099 thresholds
The reporting threshold is changing. The IRS Publication 1099 says that for tax years beginning after 2025, a threshold for certain payments rises from $600 to $2,000, with inflation adjustments starting in 2027. The draft IRS instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC show $2,000 for nonemployee compensation. It is a draft, so check the final instructions before you file. The same publication says backup withholding at 24% can apply to nonemployee compensation when a payee does not provide a taxpayer ID. That is one more reason to collect W-9 forms now.
Where the books usually break
Year end is when old problems surface. Unreconciled accounts, a messy chart of accounts and uncoded transactions all show up at once. We wrote up what we found when the 5 QuickBooks setup errors we see most. Read the 5 QuickBooks setup errors we see most to see the setup errors, then use our QuickBooks Online cleanup checklist to fix them before you lock the year.
If your books are months behind, start with our retroactive bookkeeping guide. For a calmer monthly rhythm next year, see our quarter end close checklist.
A simple timeline from now to January 15
- This week: download every statement from January 1 through October and start reconciling.
- Mid November: clear the bank feed, uncategorized items and ask my accountant items.
- Late November: review aging reports, Undeposited Funds, loans and inventory.
- First half of December: request W-9 forms and confirm your payroll schedule.
- December 31: cut off. Nothing new goes into 2026 after today.
- Early January: reconcile December, lock the books and send reports to your CPA before January 15.
Frequently asked questions
What is the first thing to do on a year end bookkeeping checklist?
Reconcile every bank and credit card account. Everything else, from your profit and loss to your 1099 list, depends on balances that match your statements.
When is the fourth estimated tax payment for 2026?
The 2026 Form 1040-ES lists January 15, 2027, which is a Friday. The form also has a note about skipping it if you file your 2026 return by February 1, 2027. Read the exact wording and ask your CPA.
When are W-2s due in 2027?
The IRS General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 say the filing date with the SSA for 2026 forms is February 1, 2027. Employee copies are generally due by the same date.
How long should I keep business records?
The IRS says to keep records until the period of limitations for the return runs out, and to keep employment tax records at least 4 years after the tax is due or paid. Publication 583 lists the periods. Ask your CPA what applies to you.
Should I lock my books in QuickBooks Online?
We recommend it after your review is done. Intuit describes a Close the books setting that warns users, or warns and asks for a password, before changes to past transactions.
Does Senvora file my tax return?
No. We handle the bookkeeping side, such as reconciliations, reports and payroll tie outs. Your CPA prepares and files the return.
Handing your books to your accountant soon? Our team wrote down exactly what to send your CPA at year end.
Own a home care agency? Add these monthly checks to your year end list: home care agency bookkeeping: 5 money leaks to check every month.
Sources
- IRS employment tax due dates page (irs.gov)
- IRS General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 (irs.gov)
- IRS Publication 583, Starting a Business and Keeping Records (irs.gov)
- IRS estimated tax page (irs.gov)
- 2026 Form 1040-ES (irs.gov)
- IRS Publication 1099 (irs.gov)
- IRS information return reporting page (irs.gov)
- Intuit help article on reconciling an account (intuit.com)
- Intuit tips for year end reconciliation (intuit.com)
- Intuit help article on matching bank and credit card transactions (intuit.com)
- Intuit help article on the accounts receivable aging report (intuit.com)
- Intuit year end guide for QuickBooks Online (intuit.com)
- Intuit help article on locking your books (intuit.com)
- Intuit help article on backup and restore (intuit.com)
Want help closing 2026 cleanly?
Senvora Group handles monthly outsourced bookkeeping for business owners and CPA firms, including reconciliations, backlog cleanup and year end reports your CPA can use. You can also see our outsourced bookkeeping pricing breakdown, or DM Aryan. Which step on this list is your biggest worry right now?
