Year-end W-2 and 1099 fees by payroll vendor: included at OnPay, Patriot, QuickBooks and Wave, $3 a form at Square and Zoho, $50 plus $5 a form at SurePayroll ($100 for 10 forms)
Last updated: 2026-10-03
Short version: pricing pages handle year-end forms in three ways
- Included, no extra charge: OnPay, Patriot (Basic and Full Service), QuickBooks (all three plans), Wave, Homebase, Justworks Payroll and Deel US Payroll.
- A published fee: SurePayroll bills once a year at a $50 base plus $5 a form ($100 for 10 forms, $175 for 25). Square includes digital delivery and charges $3 a form only for mailed paper copies ($30 for 10). Zoho lists W-2 postal delivery at $3 per employee as a post-paid add-on ($30 for 10).
- Not stated: Gusto (Simple, Plus, Premium, Contractor Only) and Roll by ADP. The pricing page does not say, which this site reads as neither free nor paid.
- It is a once-a-year January charge, so it never shows in a monthly table. SurePayroll's lead over Gusto Simple at 10 employees is $120 a year; add 10 year-end forms and it is $20.
The table, vendor by vendor
| Vendor | Plan | Year-end forms (W-2 / 1099) | Published fee | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OnPay | Payroll Essentials ($49 + $6) | Included (W-2s, 1099s and year-end filings) | None | 2026-10-03 |
| Patriot Software | Basic Payroll ($17 + $4) | Included | None | 2026-09-27 |
| Patriot Software | Full Service Payroll ($37 + $5) | Included | None | 2026-09-27 |
| QuickBooks Payroll | Workforce Payroll + Simple Start / + Essentials / Premium + Plus | Included | None | 2026-09-27 |
| Wave Payroll | Wave Payroll (US) ($40 + $6) | Included | None | 2026-09-06 |
| Homebase | Payroll add-on ($49 + $6 plus the plan fee) | Included | None | 2026-09-27 (payroll page) |
| Justworks | Payroll ($50 + $8) | Included | None | 2026-09-06 (page could not be re-read 2026-10-03) |
| Deel | US Payroll ($29 per employee) | Included | None | 2026-09-27 (the $29 was not on the page 2026-10-03) |
| Square Payroll | Full-Service Payroll ($35 + $6) | Digital delivery included | Paper mailing $3 a form a year, opt-in | 2026-10-03 |
| Square Payroll | Contractor Only Payroll ($6 per person) | Digital delivery included | Paper mailing $3 a form a year, opt-in | 2026-10-03 |
| Zoho Payroll | Standard ($39 + $6) / Professional ($59 + $8.50) | Add-on | W-2 postal delivery $3 per employee, post-paid | 2026-10-03 |
| SurePayroll | Small Business Payroll ($29 + $7) | Add-on | Billed annually, $50 base plus $5 a form | 2026-10-03 |
| Gusto | Simple / Plus / Premium / Contractor Only | Not stated | Not stated | 2026-09-27 (page could not be re-read 2026-10-03) |
| Roll by ADP | Roll by ADP ($39 + $5) | Not stated | Not stated | 2026-09-06 |
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"Included", "add-on" and "not stated" copy what each pricing page (for Homebase, the payroll page) says, using the same categories as the inclusion table in article-04. The two "not stated" vendors may well answer the question elsewhere or on request; this site does not carry figures in from anywhere but the pricing page.
What the three published fees come to at 10 and 25 forms
| Vendor | Fee shape | 10 forms (10 people) | 25 forms (25 people) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Square Payroll (if you choose paper) | $3 a form | $30 | $75 |
| Zoho Payroll (W-2 postal delivery) | $3 per employee | $30 | $75 |
| SurePayroll | $50 plus $5 a form | $100 | $175 |
| The seven "included" vendors | None | $0 | $0 |
SurePayroll's $50 applies whatever the count, so one form costs $55 and the per-form cost is heaviest at small headcounts. Square's $3 applies only if you choose paper; digital delivery is $0. Zoho's $3 is written as "Form W-2 postal delivery", and the pricing page says nothing about 1099s.
"Included" does not mean the same thing everywhere
The pages draw the line in different places. OnPay says W-2s, 1099s and the year-end filings are in. Patriot's Basic Payroll includes year-end forms but is the plan that does not file or deposit payroll taxes, so you get the forms and do the filing yourself (Full Service includes both). Square's inclusion is digital delivery; paper is extra. Deel US Payroll reads as included, but the $29 price it is attached to was not on the pricing page when it was read again on 2026-10-03, so treat that row as dated.
Gusto Simple and OnPay Payroll Essentials are both $49 + $6 and cost the same at every headcount. Where they differ is in columns like this one: OnPay states that year-end forms are included and Gusto's pricing page does not say.
How a January charge moves a monthly ranking
Because the fee lands once a year, the way to compare it is against twelve months of the monthly bill. SurePayroll Small Business is $99 a month at 10 employees and Gusto Simple is $109: $10 a month, $120 a year. Add SurePayroll's 10 year-end forms at $100 and the yearly gap is $20. Each form past the tenth takes another $5 off it. The monthly bills themselves cross at 21 employees, and that crossover is listed in the crossover library.
Zoho Standard is also $99 at 10 employees, but its $30 is for mailed W-2s, the same kind of charge as Square's $3. SurePayroll's $50 plus $5 applies regardless of paper. The SurePayroll vs Zoho page ranks the two on the monthly bill.
The calculator has a switch for this
Open Advanced on the calculator page and there is a "year-end form fees (W-2 / 1099)" option. Tick it and the published fees above are added to the year's total and the table is re-ordered on them. Vendors marked "not stated" get no number; they stay marked as not stated. Only published figures are added, never an estimate.
The dollar line above which a 1099 has to be issued, and how vendors bill when you pay employees and contractors in the same month, are in the article on paying both. How long to keep copies of the forms is in article-19.
Who this is not for
This page lists the year-end form fees printed on pricing pages and nothing else. It does not compare how each vendor prepares or files the forms; this site has not used any of these products. The figures are published prices, not quotes, and the scope is US plans only. Please do not read "not stated" as free.
Sources
- https://onpay.com/payroll/software/costs-pricing/ (checked 2026-10-03)
- https://squareup.com/us/en/payroll/pricing (checked 2026-10-03)
- https://www.zoho.com/us/payroll/pricing/ (checked 2026-10-03)
- https://www.surepayroll.com/pricing (checked 2026-10-03)
- https://www.patriotsoftware.com/pricing/ (inclusions as read 2026-09-27; prices re-read 2026-10-03)
- https://quickbooks.intuit.com/payroll/pricing/ (inclusions as read 2026-09-27; prices re-read 2026-10-03)
- https://www.waveapps.com/payroll (inclusions as read 2026-09-06; prices re-read 2026-10-03)
- https://www.joinhomebase.com/payroll (inclusions as read 2026-09-27)
- https://www.rollbyadp.com/pricing (inclusions as read 2026-09-06; prices re-read 2026-10-03)
- https://gusto.com/pricing (checked 2026-09-27; the page could not be re-read 2026-10-03)
- https://www.justworks.com/pricing (checked 2026-09-06; the page could not be re-read 2026-10-03)
- https://www.deel.com/pricing (US Payroll read 2026-09-27; the $29 price was not shown 2026-10-03)
- https://seatbill.com/payroll-pricing/article-04 (this site's inclusion table)
Related on this site
- What a published payroll price includes, plan by plan
- Paying employees and contractors: the 1099 line and who bills for both
- Which payroll records you have to keep
- OnPay plans and prices
- SurePayroll plans and prices
- SurePayroll vs Zoho Payroll by headcount
- Calculator with the year-end forms switch
Written by Kaz (pen name). Figures are copied from vendors' published pricing pages on the dates shown. We have not used these products.
Written by Kaz, independent publisher. No commercial relationship with the companies named unless it is listed on the disclosure page.
Published September 27, 2026. The figures above come from the government and vendor pages listed under Sources.
I have not used these products. Nothing here is a personal test result.
Corrections: contact form.