QuickBooks payroll pricing
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Prices re-confirmed on QuickBooks' own page:
Note: QuickBooks now sells its payroll plans as "QuickBooks Workforce". Its fee of $12 a month for each state after the first (Workforce Payroll and Workforce Premium) and its contractor fees for Workforce Premium and Elite appear in its offer terms, not on its plan cards. Our prices include them.
Full product name: QuickBooks Payroll (QuickBooks Workforce)
Key facts
- The cheapest QuickBooks plan that files payroll taxes for you is the Workforce Payroll (formerly Payroll Core) plan, at $50 a month plus $7 per employee, plus $12 a month for each state after the first, as of October 22, 2026 (QuickBooks lists its extra-state fee and some contractor fees only in its offer terms) (source: quickbooks.intuit.com).
- For 5 employees in one state with payroll taxes filed for you, QuickBooks costs $85 a month on its Workforce Payroll (formerly Payroll Core) plan, as of October 22, 2026, ranking 9th among the 13 US payroll services we track that publish prices (QuickBooks lists its extra-state fee and some contractor fees only in its offer terms) (source: quickbooks.intuit.com).
- For 10 employees in one state with payroll taxes filed for you, QuickBooks costs $120 a month on its Workforce Payroll (formerly Payroll Core) plan ($12 per employee), as of October 22, 2026 (QuickBooks lists its extra-state fee and some contractor fees only in its offer terms) (source: quickbooks.intuit.com).
- With 10 employees in two states, QuickBooks costs $132 a month on its Workforce Payroll (formerly Payroll Core) plan ($120 with all 10 in one state), as of October 22, 2026 (QuickBooks lists its extra-state fee and some contractor fees only in its offer terms) (source: quickbooks.intuit.com).
- The latest entry in our price change log for QuickBooks is dated October 22, 2026: QuickBooks' own offer terms list fees we hadn't included before, and our prices now include them: 1 state is included, then $12 a month for each additional state on Workforce Payroll and Workforce Premium, and contractors paid by direct deposit cost $13 a month each on Workforce Premium and $17 on Workforce Elite. Some QuickBooks pages also offer a 30-day free trial that covers the monthly base price only (QuickBooks lists its extra-state fee and some contractor fees only in its offer terms) (source: quickbooks.intuit.com; change log).
QuickBooks plans
| Plan | Base / month | Per employee | Per contractor | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Workforce Payroll (formerly Payroll Core) | $50 | $7 | $7 | 1 state included |
| Workforce Premium | $88 | $13 | $13 | 1 state included |
| Workforce Elite | $134 | $17 | $17 | — |
| Contractor Payments (contractors only) | $25 | — | $2 | contractors only; 20 contractors included |
What you'd pay by team size
| Plan | 1 employee | 5 employees | 10 employees | 25 employees | 50 employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Workforce Payroll (formerly Payroll Core) | $57 | $85 | $120 | $225 | $400 |
| Workforce Premium | $101 | $153 | $218 | $413 | $738 |
| Workforce Elite | $151 | $219 | $304 | $559 | $984 |
| Contractor Payments (contractors only) | — | — | — | — | — |
What each plan includes
| Feature | Workforce Payroll (formerly Payroll Core) | Workforce Premium | Workforce Elite | Contractor Payments (contractors only) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Files and pays payroll taxes for you | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Employees in more than one state | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Next-day direct deposit | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Same-day direct deposit | — | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Built-in time tracking | — | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Health benefits administration | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Pay-as-you-go workers' comp | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Access to HR advisers | — | — | ✓ | — |
| HR tools (onboarding, handbook, compliance) | — | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Local (city/county) tax filing | — | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Pay 1099 contractors | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pay W-2 employees | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Unlimited payroll runs | — | — | — | ✓ |
| Direct deposit | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Year-end W-2 and 1099 forms included | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Paid-time-off tracking | — | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Wage garnishments handled | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Employee self-service portal or app | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Syncs with accounting software | — | — | — | ✓ |
| Tax penalty guarantee | — | — | ✓ | — |
| Phone support | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
Fine print
- Workforce Payroll (formerly Payroll Core): Automated tax filing covers federal and state taxes; certain local taxes only on Premium and Elite. Next-day direct deposit for employees; for contractors 'Available for contractors for an additional fee'. Unlimited 1099-MISC/1099-NEC e-filing included ('Additional fees may apply to print and mail a copy'). Time tracking NOT included (Premium and Elite only). Mineral HR experts available as a paid add-on (price not shown). The page's internal product id is PR_CORE. States: 1 state is included, and the offer terms say 'If you file taxes in more than one state, each additional state is $12/month for only Workforce Payroll and Workforce Premium' (the 50%-off discount doesn't apply to it); Intuit's help article on paying employees in a new state covers QuickBooks Workforce with no plan restriction. Automatic payroll needs, among other conditions, that 'all employees are located in the same state and the company is not a multi-state company'. Contractors: '+$7/employee/contractor' (Workforce Payroll card on the Contractor Payments page).
- Workforce Premium: Adds same-day direct deposit (employees only, not contractors), time tracking (Workforce app), time off management, hiring & onboarding, HR resource center & handbook creator (Mineral), expert setup review, weekend phone/chat support. Local taxes: 'Certain local taxes available in QuickBooks Workforce Premium and Elite only.' Mineral HR experts are a paid add-on (price not shown). States: 1 state included, then $12/month for each additional state (the same offer-terms sentence as Workforce Payroll). Automatic payroll isn't available to a multi-state company (the same condition as Workforce Payroll). Contractors: the offer terms say 'Contractor payments via direct deposit are $7/month for Core, $13/month for Premium, and $17/month for Elite, per contractor payment.' (Core is the former name of Workforce Payroll); no plan card shows a contractor price.
- Workforce Elite: Everything in Premium plus expert payroll setup, personal HR advisor (certified HR advisor by Mineral), performance management, geofencing/mileage, and tax penalty protection: 'If you receive an IRS penalty, we'll pay all penalty fees and interest up to $25,000/year.' States: the offer terms charge $12 a month for each additional state 'for only Workforce Payroll and Workforce Premium', so we add no state fee on Elite (the current terms don't say outright that Elite has none); Intuit's help article on paying employees in a new state lists Workforce Elite. Automatic payroll isn't available to a multi-state company. Contractors: $17/month per contractor paid by direct deposit, from the same offer-terms sentence as Workforce Premium.
- Contractor Payments (contractors only): Contractor-only plan: pays U.S. contractors (no W-2 employees, no payroll tax filing). Base includes 20 contractors; $2 per additional contractor. 'Send unlimited payments to your contractors', next-day direct deposit, unlimited 1099 e-filing; 'Payments automatically sync with QuickBooks Online'. $25 is the struck-through regular price; $12.50/mo is the 3-month promo.
Tax filing coverage, in QuickBooks's words: Automated tax payments and filings: Requires completion of tax setup. Available for state and federal taxes. Certain local taxes available in QuickBooks Workforce Premium and Elite only.
Free trial: 30-day free trial on some QuickBooks Workforce pages ("Try it free for 30 days"; not shown on the payroll-only plan cards, which show the 50%-off offer): "Free trial applies to the monthly base price for the first thirty (30) days of new subscriptions to QuickBooks Online and/or Workforce." It "does not apply to per-employee fees, per-contractor fees or state tax filing fees for QuickBooks Workforce, or to other add-on fees or services."
Current offer (not included in our prices or in the automatic price check): Buy now & save 50% for 3 months* (new customers, monthly plan). Per the offer terms the discount 'is applied to the monthly base price' only: 'Discount does not apply to per-employee fees, per-contractor fees or state tax filing fees for QuickBooks Workforce, or to other add-on fees or services.'
See QuickBooks's current prices
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Sources we checked: QuickBooks payroll pricing page (currently shows Workforce + QuickBooks Online bundles only) (checked 2026-10-22); QuickBooks payroll-only plans (Workforce Payroll, Premium, Elite) with 'Important pricing details' footnotes (checked 2026-10-22); QuickBooks Contractor Payments plan page (checked 2026-10-22); QuickBooks tax penalty protection (Elite) (checked 2026-10-22); QuickBooks Workforce & Intuit Payroll General Services Disclosures (offer terms: state, employee and contractor fees; plan features) (checked 2026-10-22); Intuit help article: set up payroll taxes for employees in a new state (updated 8/4/2026) (checked 2026-10-22); QuickBooks Workforce Premium page ('Try it free for 30 days') (checked 2026-10-22); QuickBooks payroll page for new businesses (free-trial terms) (checked 2026-10-22)