Wave Payroll review

Let’s clear up the biggest piece of stale information floating around about Wave Payroll: the “14 tax-service states” limitation you’ll see on most review sites is obsolete. On April 2, 2025, Wave moved its payroll engine to Check Technologies, and it now automatically pays and files payroll taxes in all 50 states under a single plan. If you skipped Wave because your state wasn’t on the old list, that reason is gone.

But the same migration that unlocked 50-state filing is also the reason Wave’s reputation cratered in 2025. From roughly May through July, users reported missed direct deposits, vanished payroll history, double tax debits, and support tickets that sat unanswered for weeks. Both halves of that story matter. On paper, Wave is now the cheapest full-service payroll you can buy, with free accounting software attached. In practice, you’re betting that the company that fumbled the transition has genuinely stabilized — and there’s early 2026 evidence it has, though the scars are recent.

Pricing in practice

Wave charges one price: $40 per month plus $6 for each active employee and each contractor paid that month (verified on waveapps.com/payroll as of August 2026). A solo S-corp owner paying only themselves lands at $46/month, or $552 a year — one Reddit user confirms exactly that figure. There’s no cheaper self-service tier anymore; the legacy $20 plan only survives on pre-April-2025 accounts.

Two things sweeten the math. First, payroll pairs with Wave Accounting’s free Starter plan (Pro is $19/month if you want it), and payroll runs post journal entries to your books automatically. Second, contractor charges pause in months you don’t pay anyone. The catch on contractors: Wave files 1099-NEC forms mandatorily at $5 per form — you can’t opt out. There’s also a 30-day free trial.

What’s genuinely good

• Real 50-state tax service at a bargain price. Federal 941/944 and 940, W-2/W-3 filed with the SSA, state withholding and unemployment returns, new-hire reporting, most local taxes — all included, no per-state surcharge.
• The free-accounting pairing. No competitor hands you working bookkeeping software alongside $46 payroll. For a tiny business, that’s the whole back office.
• S-corp owner health insurance is handled. Wave supports 2% shareholder medical premiums as a reportable benefit type for W-2 purposes — a gap many assume exists but doesn’t (confirmed in Wave’s own help center, updated July 2025).
• Simple once running. The guided setup wizard gets consistent “easy to use once configured” marks, and unlimited payroll runs are free.

What to watch out for

The Check migration fallout is the dominant story of 2025. Wave moved existing customers to the new platform with forced re-onboarding, re-entry of tax and deposit settings, and — for an unlucky cohort — approved payrolls that never withdrew, lost access to historical records, and unfiled state reports. Merchant Maverick scores Wave’s customer service 2.2/5, and Trustpilot reviewers report a promised 20-business-day response stretching to three months.

Support is chat-only. There’s no phone number. You start with “Mave,” a 24/7 chatbot, and have to repeatedly type “chat with agent” to reach a human, who’s only available weekdays 9–5 ET. That’s a bad place to be when a state tax notice arrives.

No benefits administration. No health insurance, dental, or 401(k) brokerage — Wave tracks deductions but you source everything elsewhere. Workers comp goes through a partner.

No published penalty terms. Wave advertises “100% payroll accuracy,” but we could find no published penalty-reimbursement commitment, and one user reports Wave told them to pay the penalty themselves on an unfiled state report. Also note: direct deposit takes 3 business days with no faster option, and HI SDI, NY SDI, and NY FLI are calculate-only.

What Reddit says

“Wave silently migrated their payroll platform to… Check Technologies, without any notice or consent. Since then, everything has fallen apart.” — r/waveapps, June 2025

“I approved a payroll… nothing ever got withdrawn… now I have angry employees and no way of resolving this.” — r/waveapps, June 2025

“Their customer service is atrocious. I wish I used another service.” — r/waveapps, May 2025

“Almost 4 years in… I dont think I will be moving. … havent had any issues with the state of FL about the taxes.” — r/waveapps, June 2026

Who should pick Wave Payroll

• You already run your books on Wave Accounting — the auto-posting integration and free software make this the obvious pairing.
• Solo S-corp owners optimizing for price who can tolerate 3-day deposits and want SEHI reported correctly on the W-2.
• Businesses paying occasional contractors, since per-person fees pause in idle months.
• Anyone in a state the old Wave couldn’t serve — that constraint no longer exists.
• Who should NOT: anyone who needs benefits administration, phone support, or maximum confidence that a filing error gets fixed fast — the 2025 track record and absent penalty terms argue for Gusto or OnPay instead.

FAQ

Does Wave Payroll file taxes in my state?

Yes. Since April 2, 2025, Wave automatically pays and files payroll taxes in all 50 states at no extra cost. The only carve-outs: Hawaii SDI and New York SDI/FLI are calculated but not filed, and Wave doesn’t support Schedule H for household employers.

Can Wave handle S-corp owner health insurance on my W-2?

Yes — Wave supports “2% Shareholder Health Insurance Benefit” as a trackable, reportable benefit type, so your premiums can appear correctly on your W-2. Note that QSEHRA was dropped for 2025 onward.

How fast is direct deposit?

Three business days, with payroll approved by 3pm ET three days ahead. Deposits are unlimited and free, but there’s no next-day option at any price.