Pay run could not be created.

Tax years are based on the pay date of a pay run.  When you create a pay run, the system will start the next pay run in your pay schedule.  If your next pay run has a pay date is a new year and the previous year has not been closed you will see the following warning:

 

 

If you are getting the message Pay run could not be created. The pay date for the pay run must be in the current tax year. you will need to close your current year before you can create any more pay runs.

In the example about the last pay run of 2020 was already posted.  The next scheduled pay run has a pay date in 2021 but the account is still set to 2020.

Closing the year does the following:

• locks down the previous year, so no more pay runs with a pay date in that year can be created
• updates the tax tables to use the tax rates for the new year
• creates drafts of the T4s for the year being closed.  You do not need to complete these T4s before starting your next pay run but they should be finalized before mid February to avoid late filing fees with CRA.

For steps on how to close the year see Closing your year