To switch payroll providers, you choose a cutover date and move your payroll records, then give the new payroll provider authority with the tax agencies and test a parallel run. Before go-live, settle in writing who files each return.
Compliance requirements for employers come from every federal, state, and local rule that governs how you hire, pay, schedule, protect, and keep records on employees. National law sets the floor for every U.S. employer. The Department of Labor alone enforces more than 180 federal laws, according to its guide to major labor laws, and several other agencies cover the rest.
Year-end payroll for 2026 turns on one rule: wages belong to the tax year in which they are paid, not the year in which they are earned. A December 28 to January 10 pay period paid on January 15 is 2027 income, even though most of the work happened in December.
