The Year-End Payroll
& Audit Checklist
for Restaurants.
18 items to clear before December 31 — the brand-new tip-reporting W-2 boxes, Form 8027, card tips under Labor Code 351, and the no tip-credit rule in California and Nevada. Work the boxes, download the PDF, or hand the whole thing to us.
2026 is the first year the IRS wants tips broken out on the W-2 itself — Box 12 code TP, Box 14b occupation codes, and code TT for tipped overtime. That data comes from your day-to-day records, which means the cleanup has to happen now, not when you sit down to run W-2s in January.
This is the same list we walk through with independent restaurants, bars and cafés across California and Nevada. Check the boxes right on this page, or grab the printable PDF for the kitchen office. Items marked CA or NV apply only in that state; NEW items changed for 2026.
— Key dates
- Mon, Feb 1, 2027Jan 31 is a Sunday. W-2s to employees and SSA · Q4 Form 941 and annual Form 940.
- Form 8027Mar 1, 2027 on paper — or Mar 31, 2027 if you e-file.
— Free 2-page PDF
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18 items · Work through this before Dec 31 · CA & NV rules flagged
Tap the boxes as you go — your progress tracks right on the page
Tip reporting
Tips are payroll. If your POS tips, your reported tips, and your payroll don't tie out monthly, year-end turns into a scramble.
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New for 2026 W-2s
2026 is the first year of the new tip-reporting W-2 boxes. Get the mapping done before the last payroll of the year, not in February.
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California tip rules — Labor Code 351
California is the strictest tip state in the country, and 2025–2026 enforcement made owners, not just managers, liable.
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No tip credit in CA or NV
Unlike most states, neither California nor Nevada lets tips count toward minimum wage. The full wage is yours to pay, every shift.
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Federal tip forms
Two forms decide whether the IRS sees your tip operation as clean or as a target. Both have hard deadlines.
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Profit First cash
Tips are not your revenue — they're your employees' wages you happen to be holding. The accounts that fund them are separate.
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— Run contractors & trades version too?
Contractors & trades version
Own or work with a trades business too? The contractor side covers the new $2,000 1099-NEC threshold, workers' comp audit prep, bonus withholding, and the 2027 minimum wage changes.
Open the Contractors & trades version checklist— Print it, tape it to the wall
Get the printable 2-page PDF.
Same list, formatted for the shop wall or the office printer. Every box, both states, all the 2027 numbers on one sheet. Enter your email and it's in your inbox in a minute.
— Free 2-page PDF
Where should we send it?
We'll email the printable checklist in 60 seconds. Nothing to install, no card, no spam.
100% free · Unsubscribe anytime
— Founder story
Built by blue-collar, for blue-collar.
Profit First Payroll was founded by Matt Frechette, who brings 20+ years of hands-on experience in blue-collar environments. He's seen shops thrive — or unravel — because of poor cash flow, inconsistent owner pay, late crew checks, and workers' comp audit nightmares. PFP is built explicitly for trades and labor-heavy businesses: proper crew classification, project-based volatility, and protecting profit in high-risk industries.
— Free 20-min call
Want a second set of eyes before year-end?
Book the free 20-minute review. We'll go through this checklist with you — line by line — and tell you exactly what's leaking before December 31.
Book the free review