Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/22/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We used the services of Payroll4Free to run our payroll and to file taxes since Jan. 2016-June 2025. In July of 2025 we received a notice from *** stating failure to file a municipal tax return. We have reached out to Payroll4Free several times but have not received any response to the situation. They have relocated to their home base to: *****************************************, phone **************. We are now threatened to possible penalty or imprisonment for non-filing.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/20/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Payroll4free is supposed to be a free payroll company. My company **** A ******* LLC. has been using their free service for several years and everything was fine. I went to do my payroll which is done on a quarterly basis and when I went to post the payments, it told me I have to pay 45 dollars a quarter to post more than 1. No one does 1 paycheck a month. I read the terms and agreement and it does say they can change the terms at any time but they are required to give me notice of these changes before implementing. If they had, I would have found another way to handle my payroll. The fee is also ridiculous as my previous payroll company I used was $19.95 a month and they did all my filings and electronic deposits too. Payroll4free's fee is only to post the payments, no filings and no paycheck deposits. A free payrolls service should be free and I should have received notice of this well in advance so I could have planned my payroll accordingly without this incredible hassle. If they cannot resolve this in time, not only will I incur penalties and late fees, I also have to resource for my current payroll. This should not be legal and according to their own terms and conditions, this is a violation of their own policies. The person I spoke to after reaching out 3 times with no call backs hung up on me too when I said I wanted them to email me the information. I may be forced to make the payment to them and then this complaint will include the $45.00 fee that they owe me. They were not helpful at all and offered no resolution except pay. It should also be illegal to say you are a free payroll service when you are not free for any actual real world business that does normal payroll (false advertising).

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/07/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Since this company transferred ownership over the past year, they have delayed our payroll processing many times, including without prior notice, while still extracting our funds at the previous time, leaving us short payroll and having to scramble to ensure our employees received their ************ mid-August, through a pop-up message when logging in, the service abruptly altered its key term: payroll4free, such that in order to continue to receive "free" payroll processing, you could not utilize the payroll processing more frequently than monthly. Otherwise, the service would instantly begin billing us a large fee. This was done with no prior notice, in the middle of a payroll week, and violated the terms of service that we had signed requiring prior notice. It left us having to switch abruptly to manually processing payroll that very week so as not to incur massive fees.I contacted the company multiple times highlighting how this violated the terms of service, ceasing usage and asking for our data files, as I would have to re-create our 2025 payroll data to ensure compliance in my IRS filings and bookkeeping. They will not reply to my emails and instead continue to bill me for the *********************** which I am obviously not using as I cannot even process my payroll. I have sent demand letters, emails, and have phoned them to no avail.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/16/2025

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Payroll4Free is blocking my payroll posting and demanding new fees mid-year despite advertising free service for 10 or fewer employees. No notice given. Ignoring multiple support emails.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/16/2025

  We continue to offer free payroll software use for small business with less that 10 employees. Fees are only charged for larger companies, or those opting for more intensive use.

  Clients have been notified of changes, either when logging into the system and/or email.

  If this client is unsatisfied, we agree to refund all the fees paid for this quarter upon their providing a receipt, and to close their account.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/16/2025

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  
  
  
  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
  

   

  This is the email they sent me TODAY which contradicts the lie they sent over.  They have their options before them including us absorbing their company as a settlement. Their response is simply proof for the courts that they are scamming people charging them for FREE services. Not addons... FREE SERVICES.  Many agencies are going to be involved.
  
  Please be advised that Payroll4Free.com Management has
  recently implemented fees for batch posting. You can now post 1 batch per month
  (with 9 or fewer payees) for free. You can pay a monthly unlimited batch
  posting fee for $15 per month if you will be posting more than 1 payroll batch.
  The $45 would apply to unlimited batch posting for the quarter. The Payroll4Free.com website has
  not yet been updated.
  
  Payroll4free is "limiting" what's
  free.
  
  - We are giving clients one free batch per month
  across the board whether they are an investor,     the
  Payroll Tax Service or just using the free version. 
  - Investors get free Payroll Tax Services services (minimum
  investment required). 
  
  For the fees that pop up:
  1 - Current Quarter = $45.00 (unlimited batch postings
  per month)
  2.- Current year which includes now
  until 12/31/2025 = $48.99  (unlimited batch posting for the rest of
  the year).
  Payroll4Free was founded with the
  mission of providing professional payroll software to small businesses at
  little to no cost. We are committed to keeping our core software free, thus we
  are adapting to ensure our long-term sustainability.
  Free
  for small businesses:
  Full Payroll4Free payroll software
  One free payroll batch per month (for businesses with fewer than 10 employees)
  Optional
  add ons:
  Unlimited payroll batches: $15/month 
  Automatic quarterly/year-end federal forms (941, W-2, etc.): $15/quarter 
  Payroll Tax Service: $35, Each additional state or locality: $15
  Custom Services fees (training, assistance, consulting): base rate $50
  These fees help cover the real
  costs of maintaining a secure and reliable payroll system — while keeping
  Payroll4Free the most affordable option anywhere. 
  Per the popup message, there is now a fee to post more than
  once monthly. The first payroll batch posting is free. 
  
  These fees help
  cover the real costs of maintaining a secure and reliable payroll system —
  while keeping Payroll4Free the most affordable option anywhere. 
  
  We apologize for
  the inconvenience.
  Thank you for being a valued
  Payroll4Free.com customer.
  

   

  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ****** *******
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   

  Business Response

  Date: 09/17/2025

  Our overly generous offer for a full refund still stands.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/17/2025

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  

  The company knows it did not charge us any money because we refuse to pay for the FREE services advertised. LEGALLY they cannot change these rules except:
  

  1) Website update (not done as admitted already.)

  2) Notify customer (must be done before the change takes effect, not afterward.)

  3) Cannot be done DURING a payroll year whether that is a calendar year or fiscal year.

  4) Company is in violation of many state and federal laws.

  5) Continued obstruction and refusal to reverse course in accordance with the laws of the US and many states IS RESULTING in two lawsuits being filed, one class action, one individual.

  6) My company will seek to seize legal ownership of Payroll4Free, immediately terminate all existing staff, and rehire **** to run operations and assist with hiring a new team. WE will run it the right way.

  The company's window of negotiation has officially closed and their first $500 legal bill is being prepared shortly. 

  We and many others will see them in court. 

  BBB accreditation was revoked for cause. The company will either be taken over by someone else or closed soon.

  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ****** *******
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/05/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have been using Payroll4free for several years now. 2 weeks ago as I went to post my weekly payroll, there was a message about some changes being made, but still free service to small businesses (I have 3 employees). I entered my information and went to post my payroll and received a message that I will have to pay a $45 fee to do so. So I was unable to print paychecks. I have made several calls and gotten no response. The one time I got a human, he was rude. He said he would have a supervisor contact me in 48 hours. That was a week ago. I have not received any calls. I am unable to run my payroll and unable to run the report I need to do my monthly tax payment. Their website still says the service is free for less than 10 employees. I am very frustrated.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/19/2025

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On August 18, I was informed that Payroll4free was implementing a new fee on batch payroll postings, specifically for more than one batch posting per month. I have been utilizing Payroll4free since 2018 for my business, ***** ***** ******** LLC, and have never been subject to this fee. Moreover, I invested $2,500 in the payroll4free IPO via ******** in 2022--one of the perks of that investment was promised payroll tax services for life, regardless of what the future fee may be (see attached screenshot).
  
  As a result of the aforementioned batch fee, when I went to process my batch on August 15, the system blocked me from proceeding and introduced a paywall because I had to process a batch on August 1 for the last pay period in July (mind you, this was 3 days before I found out about the fee). I currently run payroll every two weeks.
  
  I attempted to resolve my issue and brought up my investment and the company's promise of free payroll tax services as a result of the $2,500 I invested, but it fell on deaf ears. The company said that batch postings are not part of the lifetime free perk despite the fact that that fee is clearly included under the title "Payroll Tax Services" on their posted fee schedule: ********************************************.
  
  Additionally, the multiple batch fee that was $25.00 as cited on the posted fee schedule is now $45.00--again with absolutely no prior notice.
  
  Notwithstanding the devious and misleading behavior that caused Payroll4free to reneg on the promised perk of lifetime payroll tax services for free due to my $2,500 investment, introducing a paywall in the middle of the month with no prior notice or opportunity for me to change my payroll period to monthly is nothing short of awful communication and horrible business. I am terribly disappointed.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/20/2025

  Contacted client.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/22/2025

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response provided by the business regarding complaint ID ********, and I find the resolution is satisfactory. 
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ***** **********
  
  
  
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/19/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I had used this company for payroll since 2020 and was very satisfied until they did not file my appropriate tax forms for 4th quarter 2024/1st quarter 2025 or pay the taxes for me via auto draft from my checking account. There were letters that came to my house and multiple penalties that I paid. This was discovered in March 2025. I called the company and their excuse was that the tax team was short-staffed and they would take care of any penalties that I had already paid. I decided to cancel their services on 3/26/25 via the appropriate form that was sent to me, was signed and emailed back. Another part to this is there was $3000.00 that was auto drafted from my account in February 2023 when I changed to direct deposit for the employees on 1/31/23. I have multiple emails about this and the money was supposed to be in my account by 5/30/25 and was not sent from them. The last email on 7/2/25 from payroll4free "we have forwarded your email to the Billing and Management Team for follow up". The emails I sent on 7/10/25 and 7/13/25 have not been replied to.
  
  I am seeking the penalties for my tax forms being filled late and the $3000.00 that was sent to start utilizing direct deposit.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/01/2025

  Dear Better Business Bureau,
  
  
  Our client, ****** ******, has already received her security deposit. We are unsure why we are receiving this notification from you now.
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/02/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I strongly advise anyone considering Payroll for Free to think twice. My experience has been financially and emotionally devastating. What was supposed to be a helpful, affordable service turned into a year-long nightmare—one that cost my small business over $6,000 due to their negligence, and not a single person has taken responsibility.
  
  They failed to pay my state Unemployment Insurance Taxes (UIT) for an entire year and consistently filed late. This pushed my tax rate from 0.45% to 5.4%—a massive hike that forced me to borrow money just to stay afloat. The state sent multiple notices, all of which Payroll for Free ignored.
  
  After receiving no response from Payroll for Free, the state reached out to me directly. Had they not, I would have unknowingly continued at the inflated 5.4% tax rate for another year.
  I handled the entire next year’s payments on my own—despite the fact that I was still paying Payroll for Free to manage this exact responsibility.
  
  I sent full documentation of everything to ***** ********* and their tax department—not a single response.
  
  Despite countless attempts to reach them over the past year, I’ve received no acknowledgment, no apology, no accountability. ***** ********* in particular has shown a disturbing lack of integrity and professionalism. This isn’t just bad service—it’s gross negligence.
  
  To make matters worse, the company carries Errors and Omissions insurance, which exists specifically for situations like this. It wouldn’t cost them a dime to make it right—but they refuse to take any action.
  
  Let me be clear: this “free” service was not free—I was paying monthly. And in return, I got costly errors, silence, and total disregard.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/19/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I paid for a lifetime free service with payroll4free in 2022. Since then, there have been multiple lapses in their filing my taxes on time for me which have incurred penalties. I have contacted them for 3 months now to get a refund on the penalty as promised but have not gotten it. Now my emails are not being answered at all.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/06/2025

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I hired Payroll4Free to handle my payroll and state and federal tax filings in a timely manner. I have received three notices, two from my state and one from the IRS, regarding delinquent filing of information and timely payment of taxes owed, and I am now being charged penalties for these delinquencies. I have been emailing the late notices I've received to Payroll4Free for months with no reply. I have tried calling as well, but no one ever answers the phones and my messages are never returned. I expect Payroll4Free to incur the cost of these penalties because it is their negligence that has caused the fines being applied to my accounts. They have paid the fines & penalties from my checking account and have made no attempt to reimburse me for the cost of their mistakes.