Cancel Gusto.
Before the 5th, with the taxes decided.

Cancel from Plan & billing, after the last check date.

Gusto has no pause. If the business is seasonal or you plan to stop payroll for a while, Gusto says to keep the account active so it keeps filing for you. To leave for good, an admin cancels from Plan & billing. The cancellation takes effect immediately.

1. Wait for the last check date to pass. You can’t cancel while a payroll is in progress, meaning it has been submitted and the check date is today or later.
2. Turn off Payroll on AutoPilot. Go to Pay, then Settings. Under Pay Schedule, click Edit next to AutoPilot, turn it off and click Save.
3. Open Plan & billing. Click your company name in the bottom-left corner, then Plan & billing. The steps after that are the same on a phone or tablet. If you don’t see it, you may lack the billing permission, or an accountant or partner bills you.
4. Under Gusto billing, click Cancel account. Pick your reason and click Continue. If the business is closing, Gusto offers paid closure services from SimpleClosure, added to your final invoice and not refundable.
5. Choose who handles the remaining taxes. Pick Gusto to pay and file, with fees, or handle it yourself, and Gusto refunds your tax balance. Then click Save & continue.
6. Type the company name and confirm. Type it exactly as shown, check every acknowledgement box and click Cancel account.

Don’t cancel and open a new Gusto account under the same FEIN. Gusto says to contact it first.

The tax choice covers every filing left.

If you pick “I’m switching to a new payroll provider or solution” as your reason, there is no tax choice and no fee. Gusto refunds your outstanding tax balance and the new provider files from then on.

Otherwise you choose one option for all filings, not some. With Gusto filing, it pays outstanding taxes and files the quarterly and year-end returns, including final W-2s with the Social Security Administration and 1099s at the end of the tax year. Fees are $100 for federal forms, $100 per state and $5 per W-2 or 1099. If you handle it yourself, Gusto refunds overpaid taxes and you create and file the W-2s yourself through the Social Security Administration website.

Gusto does not mark forms as final, and if the company has no wages and closed, was acquired or has no employees, it stops filing Form 941, which can prompt IRS notices. Work with the IRS and state agencies to close tax accounts. Gusto doesn’t file or pay Colorado local taxes after cancellation.

Each add-on has its own exit.

Gusto says to cancel or transfer company benefits before you close the account. Go to Benefits, click the benefit, click Cancel some or all coverage, choose to keep, transfer or cancel each one, pick a date the carrier allows and click Confirm cancellation. Carriers usually take 2 to 4 weeks to confirm and often bill in advance, so you may pay for coverage past the cancellation date and get a refund from the carrier later. Gusto suggests turning off autopay with the carrier.

For an integrated 401(k), contact the 401(k) provider directly. For workers’ comp bought through Gusto, contact Gusto’s insurance partner, ERGO NEXT Insurance, to cancel the policy.

Payroll stops. The records stay, read-only.

After you cancel, you and other admins can still view company forms, reports, employee information and past payrolls. Employees and contractors can still sign in to see their paystubs and tax forms. Gusto’s Employer Terms say the accounts stay accessible in a limited, read-only way.

Because of compliance rules, Gusto usually can’t delete an account that has bank transactions, and usually can’t fully delete a person’s profile once they’ve been paid or have tax forms on file. If you change your mind, an admin can click Reactivate Account on the Home page. Gusto replies within two business days on whether the account qualifies, and reactivating in the same year restarts its filing services.

• Gusto Employer Terms of Service

Fees aren’t prorated. The 5th is the line.

Gusto’s Employer Terms, last updated August 1, 2025, say Service Fees are non-refundable unless Gusto states otherwise, are charged for any full or partial month you are enrolled even if you don’t use the service, and are not prorated when you cancel mid-month.

The help center adds one exception to ask about: if you cancel on or before the 5th of the month and don’t run payroll that month, contact Gusto through the help icon in your account about a refund. Gusto bills a month behind, so the final invoice arrives the month after you cancel and includes any tax filing fees.

Tax filing fees come back only if you reactivate the account, or change your filing election to “not file,” within the same calendar year. Gusto usually sends those refunds within 2 to 3 business days to the verified bank account on file.

• Gusto: cancel your company’s Gusto account
• Gusto: contact Gusto Support

Our company [company name] cancelled Gusto on [date], on or before the 5th of the month, and did not run payroll in [month]. Please review a refund or credit of the [month] service fee shown on invoice [invoice number] for [amount]. Please reply in this conversation or by email with the decision.

Huck times the cancellation before the 5th.

Huck finds Gusto invoices in your Gmail and texts you what you pay each month, which add-ons are on the bill and how many days are left before the 5th, so a cancellation lands before another full month is charged rather than after it.

When you say yes, Huck starts the cancellation in Gusto’s Plan & billing after you sign in, enters the tax choice you made, asks Gusto about the early-month refund through its in-account help, and checks the final invoice. You handle the Gusto sign-in, the tax filing choice and the benefits, 401(k) and workers’ comp steps. Gusto decides any refund.

• Cancel business subscriptions
• Check a charge after cancellation
• Cancel QuickBooks Payroll