⚠️ If you're still setting up your account, check out our guide on how to add past payrolls during onboarding. To report historical payments for a contractor, please refer to this article.
Record a Past Payroll for an Employee
Even if you’ve run payroll outside of Gusto, Gusto will not file your tax returns until you process a regular, off-cycle, or bonus payroll in your account.
Follow these steps to record a past payroll:
Run an off-cycle payroll with the correct payment amount.
🪄 Tip: If you’ve already processed one or more payrolls outside of Gusto, click here for instructions on how to add that information to Gusto.
This includes payrolls where taxes have already been paid.
In that case, you can report the payroll and indicate that Gusto should not pay the associated taxes.
Click the Check Date, and select the past date that corresponds to the original payment.
If the check date falls before the first day of the current quarter, contact us through the Help section for further support.
Change the Payment Method to Check.
Submit the off-cycle payroll.
🗒️ Notes:
Reporting a payroll with a check date in the past outside your assigned tax deposit frequency may lead to:
Late-payment penalties
Interest charges
Federal or state agency notices
ⓘ It's important to process past payrolls correctly to stay compliant with IRS and state tax rules.
🛟 Need more help?
Explore our Help Center articles for answers. Contact us for further assistance.