What bookkeeping must I finish before year-end?

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Excite Tax's answer for Utah owners: close the books by January 31, when Form 1099-NEC, Utah's annual withholding return and W-2s fall due (or the next business day).

Which deadlines follow year-end?

For 2026 filings, January 31, 2027 is a Sunday, so each January deadline moves to the next business day: Form 1099-NEC by February 1, 2027; Utah's fourth-quarter and annual withholding return and W-2s by February 1, 2027; and 2026 Forms W-2 to the SSA by February 1, 2027.

Is once-a-year bookkeeping enough?

Only for a business with no payroll and no sales tax, and even then it leaves twelve months to rebuild in one. A Utah sales-tax filer cannot wait: returns are due the last day of the month after each filing period.

When does the S corporation return need the books?

The return is due by the 15th day of the 3rd month after the tax year ends; the books have to be closed before the preparer can start.

How long do I keep the year's records?

The IRS says 3 years in general, 4 years for employment tax records and 7 years for a bad-debt loss.

Year-end bookkeeping checklist

Match every bank, card and loan account to its December statement.
Count inventory, if the business holds any, as of the last day of the year.
List equipment and vehicle purchases with dates and prices, separate from expenses.
Total payments to each contractor, and confirm you hold each one's taxpayer identification number.
Agree payroll totals to the payroll provider's year-end reports.
Book owner draws, distributions, contributions and loans for the year.
Review unpaid customer invoices, and decide which will never be collected.
Close the year in the books so nothing posts into it by accident.

The January deadlines

Filing	Due for 2026 filings
Form 1099-NEC, to the IRS and each contractor	February 1, 2027 (next business day after January 31)
2026 Forms W-2, to the SSA and each employee	February 1, 2027
Utah fourth-quarter and annual withholding return	February 1, 2027 (next business day after January 31)
Utah W-2 filing	February 1, 2027 (next business day after January 31)
Utah fourth-quarter sales-tax return (quarterly filers)	February 1, 2027 (next business day after January 31)
Form 1120-S or Form 1065	The 15th day of the 3rd month after year-end

Every January row moves for the same reason: a due date on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday moves to the next business day under the IRS instructions, Utah Publication 14 and the Tax Commission's sales-tax rules, and January 31, 2027 falls on a Sunday. Plan for the last day of January anyway: the day before a deadline is the wrong day to find a missing taxpayer ID.

In Utah

Utah no longer uses a separate annual reconciliation form. Forms TC-941 and TC-941R are only for 2017 and earlier periods; today the fourth-quarter TC-941E doubles as the annual withholding return, due January 31 with the W-2s (or the next business day).

When to hand this to a preparer

Hand it over once the books are closed and the return is the next step, or sooner if a deadline is inside a month.

Forms W-2 and the Utah withholding returns are filed by your payroll provider or by you; payroll filing is not a service Excite Tax offers.

Excite Tax prepares this; a licensed CPA at TBD CPA LLC reviews and signs the return.

Sources

IRS, Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC (12/2026) · retrieved September 2026
Utah State Tax Commission, Withholding Tax · retrieved September 2026
Utah State Tax Commission, Publication 14, Withholding Tax Guide (Rev. 4/26) · retrieved September 2026
IRS, General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 (2026) · retrieved September 2026
Utah State Tax Commission, Sales and Use Tax · retrieved September 2026
IRS, Instructions for Form 1120-S (2025) · retrieved September 2026
IRS, How long should I keep records? · retrieved September 2026

Ranked and explained on the sources page.