Need to enter payroll for a closed tax year

Thanks for reaching out to the Community forum, @proworxhi.

There are things that you need to do to close out the old year and prepare for the new one. These are the following:

1. Run your final payroll and issue last checks.
2. Make all outstanding tax payments.
3. File your quarterly forms for both federal and state.
4. Provide your employees with W-2s.
5. File Copy A of form W-2 with the Social Security Administration.
6. File annual forms, including federal Form 940 and any state annual forms.

To learn more about year end to do's, see below articles:

• Year-end checklist for QuickBooks Online Payroll
• Year-end guide and checklist

If there's anything else I can help you with in managing your account, let me know by commenting below. I'm here for you. Have a great day!

You or any other master admin will have to open the closed period in order to enter data. Then it can be closed again

How do I reopen the closed period?

I looked in the settings and I don't have it turned on to close the books until February.

But, it still will not let me create a check for December.

Hi there, @vintagesteel. 

Thanks for following the thread and sharing your concerns with us in the QuickBooks Community. 

To make changes to your closed books, you'd need to change the closing date. However, since you're saying your date is set to close in February, let's try some basic troubleshooting steps. Such as clearing the cache from your web browser. Web browsers collect cache to save time when loading repetitive data and images. Over time, these files can become outdated and corrupted, causing issues like the one with your books not allowing you to create a check for December. I've included the links for all supported browsers that contain the steps to clear the cache below. 

• Firefox
• Google Chrome
• Safari for Mac
• Safari for iPad and iPhone
• Microsoft Edge

After clearing the cache, please make sure to restart your browser so the changes can take effect. Then, we can try creating a new check for December. 

Check out Edit your closed books for more information about opening a closed period. 

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I'm always around to lend a hand. Take care and have a good one!