Free template
Year-end close checklist
The tasks that come on top of a normal month-end close when the fiscal year ends: counts, true-ups, information returns, tax and audit preparation. Assign each one an owner and a due date and track it to done.
Download the template
Download the year-end close checklist .xlsx
What’s in the workbook
- 24 year-end tasks grouped by area, with room to add your own
- Owner, due date, a status list (not started, in progress, done, not applicable) and notes
- Done tasks shade green, and a counter shows progress
Blue cells are inputs. Formulas recalculate in Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice. The sample data below is already filled in so you can see how it works; replace it with your own.
What the sample looks like
| Area | Task |
|---|---|
| Cash | Reconcile each bank, credit card and loan account to its December statement |
| Cash | Clear or investigate old outstanding checks and deposits in transit |
| Receivables | Review the aging; write off accounts you won't collect and update the allowance |
| Receivables | Check revenue cutoff: December sales recorded in December, January sales in January |
| Inventory | Count physical inventory, or reconcile cycle counts to the ledger |
| Inventory | Record shrinkage and write down obsolete or slow-moving stock |
| Fixed assets | Record additions and disposals, and agree the ledger to the fixed asset register |
| Fixed assets | Post the year's depreciation and review assets for impairment |
| Prepaids and accruals | Amortize prepaid expenses and accrue expenses incurred but not yet billed |
| Prepaids and accruals | Accrue bonuses, vacation and interest earned or owed through year end |
| Payables | Search January invoices and payments for December expenses not yet recorded |
| Payroll | Reconcile payroll registers to the ledger and to the year's quarterly Forms 941 |
| Payroll | Prepare Forms W-2 and confirm employee names, addresses and taxpayer IDs |
| Contractors | Confirm a Form W-9 is on file for each contractor and total the year's payments by payee |
| Contractors | Prepare Forms 1099-NEC for payees at or above the threshold for the year |
| Debt and equity | Agree loan balances to lender statements and split current and long-term portions |
| Debt and equity | Test loan covenants and roll forward equity, including owner draws and distributions |
| Leases | Update lease schedules and the current and long-term lease liabilities |
| Revenue | Roll forward deferred revenue and confirm what was earned in the year |
| Taxes | Estimate the income tax provision and reconcile sales and payroll tax accounts |
| Close | Post adjusting entries and review the adjusted trial balance |
| Close | Prepare the year-end financial statements and a variance review against last year |
| Close | Lock the period in the accounting system and archive the year's support |
| Close | Send the auditor or tax preparer the documents they asked for |
Year end is a month end, plus more
Start with the regular month-end close checklist, then work through the year-end items. The extras are the annual events: counting inventory and assets, reviewing reserves and impairment, information returns, the tax provision and getting ready for the auditor or tax preparer.
For calendar-year businesses, Forms W-2 and 1099-NEC go out at the start of January. Publication 1099 (2026) lists January 31 as the due date for Form 1099-NEC, both to the IRS and to recipients, moved to the next business day when it falls on a weekend or legal holiday. For payments made in 2026, the reporting threshold for Form 1099-NEC is $2,000, up from $600. The 1099 threshold guide checks a payment and lists the 2027 due dates.
Many of these tasks rely on schedules you can build with the free account reconciliation, fixed asset register and aging report templates.
Year-end close checklist: questions
- How long does a year-end close take?
- Longer than a month-end close, because of the extra counts, reviews and adjustments, and because auditors or tax preparers often need the results. Starting the year-end items in the last month or two of the year, not after it ends, shortens it.
- What's different about the year-end close?
- Annual tasks: physical counts, impairment and reserve reviews, information returns such as Forms W-2 and 1099-NEC, the income tax provision, equity rollforwards and closing income statement accounts to retained earnings.
- When are Forms 1099-NEC due?
- January 31 for both the IRS copy and the recipient's copy, according to Publication 1099 (2026), moved to the next business day when it falls on a weekend or legal holiday. For payments made in 2026 the reporting threshold is $2,000.
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Sources
Official documents read on November 5, 2026. Vendor facts are sourced on each listing.