Cancel your Gusto account

Once your account is canceled, you'll still have unlimited access to your Gusto account to view company forms, reports, employee information, and past payrolls that were run through Gusto.

Employees and contractors will also still be able to sign in to their accounts to view their paystubs and forms.

• Accounts canceled after the 5th of a month, or with payrolls processed in the same month, will be charged for the full month.
• Gusto bills retroactively, so you'll get your final invoice the month following your cancellation. 
• If you choose for Gusto to pay and file your taxes for the remainder of the year (optional), you'll see the fees below for the tax filing service provided after cancellation:
  • Federal forms: $100 flat fee
  • State forms: $100 per state
  • W-2/1099: $5 per form

To stay compliant, if the account has bank transactions associated with it, we typically cannot delete it. In these cases, you'll need to go through the cancellation flow to close the account. 

Alternatively, if you accidentally created a Gusto account and never used it, we may be able to delete your inactive account. To contact us, sign in to your Gusto account and click the help icon in the top-right corner of the page.

If one or more of your payrolls is on autopilot, you must first turn it off before you can cancel your account. To do so:

1. From your admin profile, click the Pay section and click Pay settings.
2. Scroll to the “Pay Schedule” header and click edit next to "AutoPilot."
3. Turn off autopilot and click Save.

We'll ask you to let us know how you'd like us to handle future tax payments and tax filings. If you have questions about what selections are best for your company's unique situation, we recommend working with an accountant or another third party (ex. new payroll provider).

A few reminders:

• Gusto does not mark forms as final—work directly with the agency for this. 
• Form filing elections are “all or nothing”—you cannot select individual tax filings for Gusto to submit on your behalf, and not others.

Tax payment options

• Yes, let Gusto pay all outstanding company taxes on my behalf.
• No, refund all outstanding taxes to my bank account. I'll pay the payroll taxes myself.

Tax filing options and fees

• Yes, have Gusto handle all QX and year-end tax filings (like W-2s and 1099s) for an additional $XX
• No, I'll make sure all tax filings are submitted (including W-2s and 1099s)

If you choose for Gusto to pay outstanding taxes and file all tax filings for the remainder of the year (including W-2s and 1099s):

• Be sure to keep your federal and state accounts open until final payments/filings are made.
• You'll see the fees below for the tax filing service provided after cancellation:
  • Federal forms: $100 flat fee
  • State forms: $100 per state
  • W-2/1099: $5 per form

How will filings work after I cancel?

Federal filings

• Form W-2s and 1099s
  • Gusto will file the company's last Form W-2s and 1099s to the Social Security Administration (SSA) at the end of the tax year, unless you ask us not to when canceling your Gusto account.
• Form 941
  • If there are applicable wages to report, Gusto will file.
  • If there are no applicable wages to report, and you cancel your Gusto account for one of the reasons below, Gusto will not file $0 wage returns on Form 941:
    • The company went out of business
    • The company is being acquired by another company
    • The company no longer has employees to pay
  • If Gusto stops filing the quarterly Form 941 (in the situations above), the IRS believes your returns are missing, and they start to send notices—to avoid these, or if you receive any, contact the IRS directly. If you no longer owe payroll taxes, work with the agency to close your IRS account (formal notification required).

State filings

How Gusto handles state filings is different based on the selection you make when you cancel. It's also based on the historical wage activity in each state.

• If you choose for us not to file—state filings will stop completely, starting from the quarter the account cancelation was effective.
• If you choose for us to file—we’ll keep filing returns for the rest of the year, unless we’ve already been filing $0 returns for that agency (no wage activity) for 8 quarters.
  • Example: If you cancel in Q2 and ask us to file, and we’ve already been filing $0 returns for six quarters, we’d file $0 returns for Q2 and Q3 (reaching eight quarters total). We wouldn’t file a $0 return for Q4.

Remember, many states automatically close tax accounts after eight quarters without wages. If this happens, payroll tax returns might be rejected. We’ll let you know if we cannot file returns anymore.

For states that require annual returns before the usual due date (after closing an account)

In some states, after you close an account, they ask you to file the annual return before the usual end-of-year due date. In these cases, the company will need to file it outside of Gusto. We do not create end-of-year returns until the year officially ends.

Reactivating your account or changing your filing elections later (in the same calendar year)

After you cancel, you'll need Gusto's help changing your filing elections. To contact us, sign in to your Gusto account and click the help icon in the top-right corner of the page.

Important: Refunds only apply when you reactivate or update filing elections to "not file" in the same calendar year.

Refund timelines

• Reactivated accounts: Refunds are typically issued 2–3 business days after you reactivate. The money goes to the verified bank account on file in Gusto.
• Still-canceled accounts: Refunds are typically sent 2–3 business days after you change elections to “not file.” The money goes to the verified bank account on file in Gusto.

If no verified bank account is on file, Gusto will send the refund to the bank account used for the original debit.

If you have an integrated Workers' Comp policy, contact our partner NEXT insurance at gustosupport@apintego.com and include your company name so the required cancellation form can be signed in a timely manner.

If your benefits are managed by Gusto, let us know how you'll plan to handle your benefits moving forward before canceling your Gusto account. 

If you're using an integrated 401(k), you'll need to reach out to your 401(k) partner directly to let them know if you're moving to a new provider, or shutting down your business. 

If you've canceled your account and elected for Gusto to process quarterly and yearly filings:

1. Contact your Colorado local tax agencies to inform them that your business has closed or you no longer have a presence there.
2. You may be required to continue to file/pay a monthly tax if your company still has a presence there—confirm with the agency if this is required.
3. File and pay the Colorado Local Taxes outside of Gusto.
   • Gusto will not support filing and paying Colorado Local Taxes after you've canceled your account.

If your business is exempt from state unemployment, or you have an exempt employee, you'll likely owe additional FUTA taxes at the end of the year. 

When canceling your Gusto account, if you elect for us to pay outstanding taxes, we'll handle the collection and payment of the amount owed—you'll see this in the form of a tax reconciliation payroll processed at the end of the year.

If you elect to handle outstanding payments outside of Gusto, we'll refund any FUTA taxes we've collected through payroll, and you'll be responsible for paying the full FUTA amount owed to the agency directly.

When you cancel your Gusto account, you can choose to buy payroll closure services from SimpleClosure and have the cost added to your final Gusto invoice.

Read the full linked article for additional details, but here are some important callouts:

• These services cannot be canceled and are non-refundable.
• SimpleClosure handles everything about their service. If you have questions, email SimpleClosure at closureteam@simpleclosure.com.