Year-end bookkeeping checklist for Minnesota businesses.
What to close in December, which forms are due when, the Minnesota filings on top of the federal ones, and what to hand your tax preparer. Every date is linked to the IRS or Minnesota Revenue page it came from.
The dates, in one place.
When a federal or Minnesota due date lands on a weekend or holiday, it generally moves to the next business day. For these filings that means Monday, February 1, 2027. Check each date against its source below.
| Due | What | To |
|---|---|---|
| Mon, Feb 1, 2027 | Forms 1099-NEC to contractors and to the IRS | IRS |
| Mon, Feb 1, 2027 | Forms W-2 to employees, and W-2 with W-3 to the Social Security Administration | IRS / SSA |
| Mon, Feb 1, 2027 | Form 941 for the fourth quarter, and Form 940 (10 more days if every deposit was on time) | IRS |
| January 31 | W-2 information, and any 1099 that reports Minnesota withholding, sent to Minnesota Revenue | Minnesota |
| January 31 | Minnesota withholding return for the fourth quarter, or the annual return if you are an annual filer | Minnesota |
| January 31 | Unemployment insurance wage detail report for the fourth quarter | Minnesota |
Close December
Nothing else on this list is right until the books are. Do this first.
- Reconcile every bank account, credit card and payment processor through December 31
- Clear out uncategorized transactions and anything parked in a suspense or ask-my-accountant account
- Go through unpaid customer invoices. Chase what is collectible and decide what is not
- Enter every bill you owed at year end, even the ones you paid in January
- Tie each loan and line of credit to the lender's December statement, split into principal and interest
- Count inventory on or near December 31, if you carry any
- List equipment and vehicles bought or sold during the year, with dates and cost
- Record owner draws and contributions so they are not mixed into expenses or income
Contractors and 1099s
The threshold changed for 2026. Check your list against the new number.
- Collect a Form W-9 from everyone you paid for services. Before the first check is easiest; now is next best
- Total what you paid each contractor in 2026
- File Form 1099-NEC for each one paid $2,000 or more for services. For payments made in 2025 and earlier the line was $600
- Payments to most corporations do not need a 1099-NEC. Payments to attorneys do, even when the firm is a corporation
- Payments made by credit card or through a payment app are reported by the processor on Form 1099-K, not by you on a 1099-NEC
- File with the IRS and send each contractor a copy by February 1, 2027
- If you are filing 10 or more information returns in total, the IRS requires them to be filed electronically
Payroll year-end
If you have employees. Your payroll provider usually files these, but the numbers still have to match the books.
- Give each employee a Form W-2 and file W-2s with Form W-3 with the Social Security Administration by February 1, 2027
- File Form 941 for the fourth quarter and Form 940 for federal unemployment
- Check that wages and payroll taxes in the books match the four 941s, and that the four 941s match the W-2 totals
- Confirm each employee's address before W-2s go out, so the forms reach them
Minnesota
Minnesota has its own January 31 deadlines on top of the federal ones.
- If you are registered for Minnesota withholding tax, send Minnesota Revenue your W-2 information by January 31
- Send Minnesota any 1099 that reports Minnesota withholding by January 31. This applies even if you use the IRS Combined Federal/State program
- More than 10 forms in total (W-2s plus 1099s) must be sent electronically through Minnesota e-Services. Ten or fewer can go on paper
- File the fourth-quarter Minnesota withholding return by January 31, or the annual return if you are an annual filer
- File the fourth-quarter unemployment insurance wage detail report by January 31
- Get every W-2 and 1099 to your workers by January 31. Minnesota may charge $50 for each one that is not provided when required
What to hand your tax preparer
A clean package means fewer emails in March and a return filed from real numbers.
- Year-end balance sheet and income statement, plus the general ledger or trial balance
- December statements for every bank, card and loan account
- The list of equipment and vehicles bought or sold, with dates and cost
- Copies of the 1099s you filed, and any 1099-K, 1099-NEC or 1099-INT the business received
- Year-end payroll reports, W-2s and W-3, if you have employees
- The year-end inventory count, if you carry inventory
- A mileage log or vehicle records, if a vehicle is used for the business
- Federal and Minnesota estimated tax payments made during the year, with dates
- Last year's return, if this is a new preparer
Year-end, done as part of the month.
On The Foundation and The Partner the year-end close is already in the price: tax-ready books, 1099s handled up to 20, and I work directly with your preparer.
The Foundation
From $600/ month
For an owner who wants more of the accounting handled. Most people land here.
More about The Foundation→The Partner
From $1,800/ month
For an owner who wants a second set of eyes on the numbers and an ongoing financial partner.
More about The Partner→Payroll is an add-on on The Foundation and The Partner. Catch-up is quoted separately. Take the questionnaire and I will bring the tier and the number to the call.
What owners ask at year end.
If yours is not here, the 15-minute call is where it gets answered.
The IRS deadline is January 31. In 2027 that falls on a Sunday, so 2026 Forms 1099-NEC are due to the IRS and to each contractor by Monday, February 1, 2027.
$2,000. For payments made after December 31, 2025, a 1099-NEC is required when you pay someone $2,000 or more for services in the course of your business. Before that it was $600. The IRS says the amount may be adjusted for inflation starting in 2027.
Any 1099 that reports Minnesota withholding has to go to Minnesota Revenue by January 31, even if you use the IRS Combined Federal/State program. If you have more than 10 W-2s and 1099s in total, they must be sent electronically.
For 2026 wages, by February 1, 2027 to employees and to the Social Security Administration. If you are registered for Minnesota withholding, Minnesota Revenue expects the W-2 information by January 31.
Then that is the first job, because every form above is built from them. If the gap is more than a month or two, it is a catch-up, quoted by how far behind the books are.
Yes. On The Foundation and The Partner the year-end close is part of the monthly work: tax-ready books, 1099s handled (up to 20), and I work directly with your tax preparer. I do not prepare the return itself.
Sources
Checked October 12, 2026. Rules and published prices change; the linked page is the final word.
- IRS, Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC (Rev. December 2026). Filing by January 31, the $2,000 threshold for tax years beginning after 2025, and the 10-return e-file threshold
- IRS, General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 (2026). 2026 Forms W-2 due to the SSA and to employees by February 1, 2027
- IRS, Employment tax due dates. Form 941, Form 940 and the extra 10 days when deposits were made on time
- Minnesota Department of Revenue, Forms W-2 and 1099. January 31 deadlines for workers and for Revenue, the 10-form electronic rule, and the $50 penalty
- Minnesota Department of Revenue, Withholding Fact Sheet 2: Submitting Form W-2 and W-2c Information
- Minnesota Department of Revenue, Withholding Fact Sheet 2a: Submitting Form 1099 Information
- Minnesota Department of Revenue, 2026 Minnesota Income Tax Withholding Instructions. Quarterly returns due January 31 for the fourth quarter; annual returns due January 31
- Minnesota Statutes, section 268.044 (unemployment insurance wage detail report). Due on or before the last day of the month following the end of the quarter
Start the new year with books that are already closed.
Tell me where the books stand today. I will tell you what year-end needs and which tier keeps it from piling up again.