Tax filings overview

This guide covers: reading the filings list, filtering by period or form, opening one filing, downloading the filed copy, and the differences between portals.

Every return Payrollix prepares and transmits — Form 941, 940, W-2/W-3, 1099-NEC, 1099-MISC, plus state withholding and SUTA returns — lands in a single tax-filings list per client. The list is your read-only record of what has been (or is being) filed, what the agency status is, and where to download the filed copy. The Dashboard portal and the Client/SMB portals show the same underlying filings but with different controls.

Read the filings list

What it does: Shows every tax filing on record for the selected client with its form, period, status, and amount.

Where: Dashboard → Clients → [client] → Tax Filings (/clients/{clientId}/tax-filings). Client portal users see the same list at /client-portal/tax-filings. SMB portal users see it at /smb-portal/tax-filings.

Steps:

1. Open the client (or, in Client/SMB portal, just open Tax Filings).
2. The table shows: Form · Period · Due Date · Amount · Status · Actions.
3. State filings are prefixed with the two-letter state code in the Period column (e.g. CA Q2 2025).
4. Status badges are color-coded — submitted (blue) means transmitted and awaiting acknowledgment, accepted (green) means the agency took the return, rejected (red) means it bounced and is queued for fix-and-retransmit.

Who: Accountant + SUPPORT see all client filings via the dashboard. Client / SMB users see only their own.

Notes: Recently transmitted filings sit in submitted until the IRS or state returns an acknowledgment — usually within 24 hours for federal MeF, longer for state.

Filter by period or form

What it does: Narrows the list to a single tax year or to a single form type.

Where: Same Tax Filings page.

Steps:

1. In the client portal, the All Years dropdown at the top right filters by tax year. Pick a year to scope the list.
2. In the dashboard view, the dashboard-level Tax Filings page (/tax-filings) has a Select Client dropdown at the top — pick a client to load their filings; otherwise no list is shown.
3. To narrow by form, sort the table by the Form column and skim.

Notes: There is no column-level filter chip yet. If you need a strict "show only 941s" view, use the bulk-export preview on the dashboard /tax-filings page, which is scoped to a single form + quarter.

Open one filing

What it does: Drills into a single filing to see its calculated totals, transmission history, and archived documents.

Where: Dashboard → Clients → [client] → Tax Filings → click View on any row (/clients/{clientId}/tax-filings/{filingId}).

Steps:

1. From the table, find the row for the form + period you need.
2. Click View. The detail page lays out the calculated amounts, depositor schedule, and transmission record.
3. Use the Recalculate button (circular arrow icon) on draft filings to pick up any new payroll data since the filing was created. Recalculate is only offered while the filing is in draft status.
4. Use Delete (trash icon) on a draft to discard it. Once submitted, the filing record stays for audit.

Who: Accountant + SUPPORT. The Client/SMB portals show a read-only list; there is no detail page in the SMB portal yet.

Download the filed copy

What it does: Pulls the actual filed artifact for state filings — the file we transmitted to the state, ready for a manual portal upload or your records.

Where: Dashboard → Clients → [client] → Tax Filings, download icon on the row.

Steps:

1. Locate a state filing in the list (the Period column will show a two-letter state code).
2. Click the green download icon in the Actions column. The browser downloads the file (CSV / TXT / XML, depending on the state's spec).
3. For federal filings (941, 940, W-2, 1099-NEC), the filed XML and PDF live in the S3 archive and are linked from the filing detail page rather than the list. The dashboard's /tax-filings page also offers a Bulk Export for Tax1099 button if you're routing federal forms through a third-party transmitter.

Notes: The download icon only appears on state filings where a registered builder exists. If a state's quarterly format isn't wired yet, the icon is hidden and the backend returns 501 if forced.

Cross-portal views — what differs

What it does: Same data, different controls per portal.

Where: Dashboard (/tax-filings and /clients/{clientId}/tax-filings), client portal (/client-portal/tax-filings), SMB portal (/smb-portal/tax-filings).

Steps:

1. On the dashboard /clients/{clientId}/tax-filings page, you can create draft filings ahead of the deadline (941, 940, W-2 batch, 1099-NEC batch, 1099-MISC batch, state withholding, SUTA) with the Create Filing button. This is rarely needed — the auto-filing pipeline creates and transmits returns on cadence — but the button is there for catch-up filings and odd cases.
2. On the client portal, users see filings only after they've been submitted or accepted. There's no create or delete control.
3. On the SMB portal, the page is summary-first: it shows the next federal filing deadline (Form 941, current quarter) and a list of form types with descriptions. Recent Filings shows the most recent transmissions.

Who: Dashboard = accountant + SUPPORT (full control). Client portal = client read-only. SMB portal = SMB read-only.

Notes: Manual creation from the dashboard does not transmit the return — it creates a draft. Transmission still goes through the scheduled MeF / FSET / state pipelines.

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Related: How Payrollix files your taxes · Forms we file automatically · What happens if a return rejects · Amended returns.