Toast Payroll: Manage Payroll Taxes

In this Article:

• Quarterly Tax Filing Alert
• Tax Center Overview
  • Navigation Within the Tax Center
• Resolve Tasks in the Tax Center
• Tax Center Around Year-End
  • Once Form W-2s Are Ready

Quarterly Tax Filing Alert

Within the Toast Payroll system, HR+ users will see a tax alert to update their federal, state, or employee tax info before upcoming quarterly tax filings. This banner only appears when you have outstanding tasks in the Tax Center. Selecting Resolve tax issues on the alert will take you directly to the Tax Center where you can address any outstanding items Toast Payroll needs from you before we file quarterly taxes.

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Tax Center Overview

Before this release, state tax account numbers, employee social security numbers (SSNs), and state and federal tax rates lived in different places in Toast Payroll. Now you can navigate to one central hub where you can track prior payroll tax filings and prepare for upcoming payroll tax filings by viewing and resolving tasks to help enable success.

The Tax Center is available to HR+ users right away, even before posting your first payroll. You can access it during the onboarding process to manage your tax information. The Tax Center can be used for:

• Viewing and maintaining tax information (e.g. state tax accounts, tax forms) for the business
• Proactively responding to and resolving tax issues
• Keeping track of your tax filing timeline
• Viewing critical tax filing data (e.g. rejections, quarterly tax packages, year-end tax documents)

Select Taxes from the left-hand navigation menu. If you have outstanding tasks, you'll see a number in red indicating how many need to be addressed.

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Navigation Within the Tax Center 

To help centralize all of your tax information, the two buttons in the upper-right corner will take you to other pages within Toast Payroll and provide additional information:

• Select Tax resources to open several options:
  • Edit tax accounts will navigate you to the Settings > Payroll > Tax Accounts page. Here, you can add or update your tax account information (state withholding tax accounts, state unemployment tax accounts, local tax accounts, and some paid family and medical leave (PFML) and third-party administrator (TPA) accounts) without having to contact Toast Payroll.
  • SSN collection settings offers some employers the option to require SSNs upon employer new hire, employee clock-in, or employee onboarding. These features are not available to all employers per state laws and regulations.
  • Other options will provide quick answers or open a more detailed Support Center article.
• Select Tax documents to quickly navigate to the Reports > Tax filing page where you can view quarterly tax packages, Form W-2 packages, your company's Form W-3, and more.

At the top of the Tax Center, you'll notice a large header indicating the timeline of your quarterly tax filing. Use the dates at the bottom to track milestones and deadlines.

• Grey indicates that you are still onboarding and have not submitted your first payroll with Toast.
  • Complete the Payroll Onboarding Checklist, then resolve the remaining tasks in the Tax Center to prepare for your first payroll. 
• Red indicates you have outstanding tasks to accomplish before your payroll tax filing deadline.
  • Resolve any tasks on this page.
• Yellow indicates your tax-related tasks are resolved, but you have employees with missing data, including social security numbers (SSNs).
  • Add all employee SSNs to Toast Payroll. Employees can follow the steps in Toast Payroll: Verify or Update My SSN to complete this.
• Green indicates all tasks are complete within the Tasks section for the upcoming quarter's filing.
  • Use the educational materials on the right side of the page to learn more.
• Blue indicates that Toast Payroll is either preparing or ready to submit your payroll tax filing.
  • Wait for the filing to be prepared by Toast or download your tax package(s). The Tax Center Around Year-End section can provide more information.

The dates within the timeline can help prepare for quarterly tax filings:

• The Q# tax prep date is the first day you may consider checking the Tax Center for tasks.
• The Complete by date is the deadline you must complete these tasks.
• The Q# tax filing date is when Toast Payroll expects to have your taxes completed by. This date is based on the last payroll of the quarter. To maximize filing success, we urge you to complete all Tax Center tasks before you process your last payroll.
• The days left (in the circle image) counts down until the Complete by date.

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Resolve Tasks in the Tax Center

Further down the page, you'll see an expandable tile for each federal or state tax account that you operate with Toast Payroll. Select each account tile to view the tasks it contains. In each task, select the action item to review and complete each task. You can also select Why does this matter? for more information about how this item contributes to the success of your payroll filing.

Note: If there are tasks that are greyed out or locked, you do not have permission from the security role to view or resolve that task. Please contact your businesses’ Toast Payroll HR+/admin with any further questions. 

Sign IRS Form 8655 to authorize Toast Payroll as your Federal Reporting Agent

• Why does this matter?: Toast Payroll needs to be listed as your third-party administrator for every tax account so Toast Payroll can file and communicate with the state agency on your behalf. Failure to do so may result in missed tax filings, state fines, and filing rejections.
• How do I resolve this task?: Visit Toast Payroll: Form 8655 to resolve this task.

Cancel your tax filing services with your previous payroll provider

• Why does this matter?: If your previous payroll provider continues to file taxes for your business, the taxes filed by Toast Payroll with the latest payroll data may risk rejection, inaccurate processing, late or missed filings, state penalties, and Toast Payroll penalties.
• How do I resolve this task?: Reach out to your previous payroll provider (someone other than Toast) to close your previous payroll account.

[Employee name] has not provided their Social Security Number

• Why does this matter?: Employees with missing SSNs will be excluded from payroll tax filings. Missing SSNs can lead to tax filing rejections, missed Form W-2s, the need for amendments, business penalties, Toast Payroll fees, and difficulty with your employees accessing unemployment benefits, if needed.
• How do I resolve this task?: Add your employee's social security number to their profile. 1099 contractors will not appear here; their social security number does not need to be entered into Toast Payroll.

Specify your [state] tax withholding account number

• Why does this matter?: Failure to register for and provide a valid tax withholding account number for states in which this is required may result in state penalties, Toast Payroll fees, and can lead to business penalties such as a loss of business license.
  • If your account is in an Applied For state, you'll see this message until a valid state withholding account number is added.
• How do I resolve this task?: Add or update your state tax account information on your Tax Accounts page.

Specify your [state] unemployment tax account number

• Why does this matter?: Toast Payroll requires your unemployment tax account numbers once your state registration has been completed. Failure to register for an unemployment account and provide a valid account number in Toast Payroll may result in state fines, Toast fees, and severe business penalties such as loss of business license.
  • If your account is in an Applied For state, you'll see this message until a true state withholding account number is added.
• How do I resolve this task?: Add or update your state tax account information in Tax Accounts.

Confirm you have linked Toast Payroll as your Third-Party Administrator (TPA) for your [state] [SUTA/SIT/PMFL] tax account

• Why does this matter?: Toast Payroll needs to be listed as your third-party administrator for every tax account so Toast Payroll can file and communicate with the state agency on your behalf. Failure to do so may result in missed tax filings, state fines, and filing rejections.
• How do I resolve this task?: Confirm that you have completed the TPA linking instructions.

Verify your [state] withholding pay frequency

• Why does this matter?: State tax withholding pay frequencies can change over time. Incorrect pay frequencies may result in late or missed filings, missed withholding payments, state fines, and Toast Payroll fees.
• How do I resolve this task?: Add or update your state tax account information.

Verify your [state] unemployment tax rate

• Why does this matter?: Unemployment tax (SUTA) rates can change annually. Incorrect rates in Toast Payroll may result in tax discrepancies and can result in state fines, business penalties, and Toast Payroll fees.
• How do I resolve this task?: If you receive a notice regarding a SUTA rate update, add or update your state unemployment tax account information on the Tax Account page. If your SUTA rate has been incorrect for an extended period of time, contact Toast Payroll so we can determine whether voids and re-records can solve this or if you should correct this with the state.

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Tax Center Around Year-End

On or around December 1st of each year, you'll begin to see a few different items in your Tax Center. Toast Payroll will gather up several relevant items for year-end tax filing and the Form W-2 season and provide them as interactive tasks or buttons. Use the Tax Center along with Toast Payroll: Get Started With the Year-End Checklist and the seasonal emails we send to navigate the year-end period.

Upon navigating to Taxes, you'll be met with a new banner at the top that includes a general timeline of the year-end season. The color and the timeline dots will change as you complete tasks and the timeline advances. As a general rule, complete all tasks on this page so the banner turns blue. The deadline for completing these tasks is noted in the second step of the timeline (outlined in orange below). This date coincides with the due date of your last payroll of the year.

The self-print/Toast-print Form W-2 toggle has moved from the Reports > Tax Filing page to here in the Tax Center. If you toggle this to Mail to business, you'll see the shipping address (which is editable) and associated fees (before shipping and sales tax) if you were to have Toast print Form W-2s for employees who requested a paper form. Take note of the deadline here; the toggle will be disabled and the selection will be saved once you post your last payroll of the year. Your selection cannot be changed after your last payroll of the year has been submitted. Get all the details in Toast Payroll: Toast-Printed Form W-2s.

Scroll to the Submit any updates to W-2s tile and review some options you might utilize to close out your year-end. Select the blue hyperlinks to open a pop-up with more details and a button to chat with our team about these items.

As always, complete any tasks you have below this tile. If not addressed, your company may be issued tax notices for missing or invalid information and/or may be assessed financial penalties.

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Once Form W-2s Are Ready

Once Toast has prepared your company's Form W-2s on January 19, 2026, the Tax Center will change again. There are several things to take note of here:

• In the blue banner, there's two quick access buttons.
  • Your Q4 tax package will be available directly for download.
  • If applicable, you'll also see a Paper W-2s button. Per SSA regulations, you must distribute a paper Form W-2 by January 31 to any employee who opted into a paper copy, so we've made it easy to find them.
    • Employees who opted into an electronic copy can use these instructions to retrieve the form on their own.

• You'll see a link to Get envelopes if you have any employees who opted into a paper Form W-2. This style of envelope left-aligns both the company and employee addresses.
• You'll also see the number of employees opted into both paper and electronic Form W-2s. If you select View, you'll see a pop-up of each employee who is part of either paper or electronic forms.
• Select the download button (downward arrow) in the paper or electronic W-2 tile to download a bulk PDF of all Form W-2s in either category.

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This content is for informational purposes and is not intended as legal, tax, HR, or any other professional advice. Please contact an attorney or other professional for advice.