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AnneB8
New Member
August 4, 2026
Question

941s do not match the QBO GL

  • August 4, 2026
  • 3 replies
  • 64 views

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I'm trying to tie the 941 to the GL (transaction register), and since QBO payroll reports wages as net, I'm unable to reconcile them.

Does anyone know of a shortcut to make them agree? Any recommendations would be appreciated.

3 replies

JoesemM
JoesemMQuickBooks Team
QuickBooks Team
August 4, 2026

There is no shortcut to making the transaction register match Form 941, because Form 941 is built entirely on gross wages and tax liabilities. To make them agree, you'll need to reconcile against your Payroll Expense and Liability accounts, not the net bank payouts in the transaction register.

 

To do this, run the Payroll Summary report for the quarter, as the total gross pay here will tie directly to Form 941, Line 2. Then, run the Payroll Tax Liability report to see how much was withheld and accrued. These numbers map directly to Form 941 lines 5a/5c (Social Security and Medicare taxable wages) and Line 10 (total taxes).  

 

Alternatively, you can open the draft Form 941 inside QuickBooks Online. The system automatically pulls these gross and liability numbers, allowing you to cross-reference them against your General Ledger.

 

Let us know if you have any other questions.

AnneB8Author
New Member
August 4, 2026

Thank you, JoesemM. I was told that I would needed to add all deductions to the wage expense amount in QBO. I did that, but it still didn't tie out. 

JoesemM
JoesemMQuickBooks Team
QuickBooks Team
August 4, 2026

Since your accounts still do not tie out after adding deductions to your wage expense, check for mapping issues in your Payroll Settings. Items will fail to tie out if they are assigned to the wrong accounts.

 

To update your payroll accounting preferences, follow these steps:

 

  1. Go to the Gear icon, then select Payroll Settings.
  2. Select the Edit icon next to Accounting.
  3. Click Edit to update a specific section.
  4. Type the account name or scroll to select the correct account for transactions.
  5. Select Save, then Done.

 

For any additional questions, please feel free to reach out. We're here to assist you.

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