As Q4 ramps up, so does the pressure on HR and mobility teams to close the year cleanly and compliantly. For organizations that provide relocation support and gross-up taxable benefits, the year-end process isn’t just about payroll—it’s about visibility, accuracy, and preventing tax-time surprises.

At Orion Mobility, we help companies take the guesswork out of year-end planning by providing automated gross-up calculations, compliance-ready documentation, and clear guidance across departments.

If you're still managing gross-ups manually or scrambling with last-minute adjustments, this blog is your starting point. Here’s your step-by-step checklist to prepare your relocation and gross-up strategy before year-end deadlines hit.

Step 1: Assign Clear Roles and Responsibilities

Before anything else, define who owns what.
Is payroll reconciling earnings? Is the relocation team running reports? Make sure everyone understands:

Who tracks expenses
Who calculates gross-ups
Who communicates with transferees
Who manages payroll file submissions

The smoother the handoff, the fewer errors downstream.

Step 2: Audit Your Gross-Up Setup

This is your chance to catch issues before they become costly.

Review your YTD relocation earnings—are they being reported correctly to payroll?
Double-check that gross-up policies are configured accurately in your system.
Run a transferee audit report and validate:

Filing status
Exemption data
Homeowner vs. renter classification
Any special tax rules for international moves

Step 3: Finalize Deadlines and Cutoffs

Start with your final payroll run in December and work backwards.

Notify vendors and employees of the final expense submission date
Build in a buffer for error corrections
Lock in your gross-up adjustment deadline with payroll
Schedule short weekly check-ins through the end of the year

Step 4: Reconcile Expenses and Reports

3–4 weeks before payroll cutoff, verify:

All final expense reports and invoices are received
No expenses were miscoded or entered with the wrong date/year
Outstanding payroll issues (like unreported payments) are addressed
A final withholding report is run and reviewed

Step 5: Final System Check + Delta Reports

As the final week approaches:

Lock the system to prevent new entries
Run a final audit of all relocation data
Send clear and complete earnings info to payroll
Generate and review your delta report
Submit final adjustments

Step 6: Post-Year-End Wrap-Up (January)

Your job doesn’t end on December 31.

Re-run any problem gross-ups that were flagged
Confirm mailing/email addresses for tax reporting documents
Distribute relocation tax reports or 2026 prep memos to employees
Archive reports for audit-readiness

How Orion Mobility Supports Year-End Gross-Up Strategy

Orion's year-end services give you:

Reconciliation-ready gross-up processing
Payroll file integration and earnings tracking
Real-time reporting across all transferees
Full IRS compliance and audit support
Peace of mind when you need it most

We help your team go into tax season organized, accurate, and on time—with less stress

Ready to close the year with clarity and confidence?

Let’s talk. Orion Mobility helps companies execute clean year-end processes and prepare for 2026 with smarter gross-up solutions.

Your Year-End Gross-Up Checklist: How to Prepare for Relocation Tax Reporting