QuickBooks Payroll Review 2027: Pros, Cons and Verdict

Who QuickBooks Payroll suits

QuickBooks Payroll fits a business that already keeps its books in QuickBooks Online and wants payroll in the same place. Intuit now sells it as QuickBooks Workforce, in three tiers: Workforce Payroll, Premium and Elite. You don't need QuickBooks Online to buy it, but bundles with QuickBooks Online cut the per-employee fee to $6.50 on Payroll and $10 on Premium.

It also suits owners who care about deposit speed. The entry plan includes next-day direct deposit, and Premium and Elite add same-day deposit for employees if you run payroll by 7:00 AM PT.

This review is based on Intuit's payroll pricing pages and payroll disclosures, checked November 12, 2026.

Who should skip it

Skip the entry plan if your city or county has its own payroll tax. Workforce Payroll does not file local taxes. Premium and Elite handle only "certain local taxes", and the disclosures say some local forms must be printed and uploaded by you.

Multi-state employers should also do the math first. Each extra state is $12/mo on Workforce Payroll and Premium, and an employee's address change can add one.

What it costs at 5, 20 and 50 employees

Regular prices, one state, employees only, without a QuickBooks Online bundle.

Plan	5 employees	20 employees	50 employees
Workforce Payroll ($50 + $7, no local tax filing)	$85	$190	$400
Workforce Premium ($88 + $13)	$153	$348	$738
Workforce Elite ($134 + $17)	$219	$474	$984

Premium is the cheapest QuickBooks tier that files any local taxes. At 5 employees it is $153/mo, against $79/mo on OnPay or Gusto Simple, which both file local taxes.

What it files and what it leaves to you

Every plan files federal and state payroll taxes and includes unlimited 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC e-filing. Employees can get their W-2s in the employee portal, but Intuit's pages don't spell out W-2 filing terms for Workforce.

Local taxes are where the plans split. Workforce Payroll files none. Premium and Elite file "certain" local taxes, per the disclosures. The same page contradicts itself on new-hire reporting, saying in one place it's automatic on all three plans and in another that it's Premium and Elite only.

Elite adds tax penalty protection up to $25,000 a year. It has conditions: a setup review, and forwarding the notice within 15 days of its date. It excludes misclassification and wage-law errors.

Fees and traps

• The headline price is 50% off the base fee for 3 months only. Workforce Payroll goes from $25/mo to $50/mo, and Elite from $67/mo to $134/mo. Per-employee fees are never discounted.
• The alternative to the promo is a 30-day free trial on the base price, with per-employee fees still charged.
• Each extra state is $12/mo on Payroll and Premium, and neither the promo nor the trial discounts it.
• Mineral HR advisors are a paid add-on below Elite. Time tracking and same-day deposit are Premium and Elite only.
• Cancelling gets no pro-rated refund. Sales tax is added where applicable.
• Contractor Payments is $25/mo for up to 20 contractors plus $2 per additional contractor. Next-day deposit for contractors costs extra.

Plans are month to month with no annual contract. Phone and chat support is on every plan, though Intuit doesn't list support hours. Its Trustpilot score of 3.7/5 from 16,965 reviews covers all of quickbooks.intuit.com, not payroll alone.

Verdict

QuickBooks Payroll ranks fifth with a score of 8.0. Next-day deposit on the entry plan and the QuickBooks Online tie-in are real strengths. It ranks below Square because the entry plan files no local taxes, each extra state costs $12/mo, and the promo hides a base fee that doubles after 3 months. Choose it if you already run QuickBooks Online and pay staff in one state with no local payroll tax. Otherwise, the plans above it file more for less.