Hello Jayman1982,
This is a great question to ask, and I'm glad you're already thinking ahead with your Payroll and being able to use it into the future. It's exciting to hear that you have long-term plans to use QuickBooks Desktop and I'd like to make sure you have the right information for doing so. I can clarify the options.
There are a few ways to purchase QuickBooks Desktop: from a third party such as Costco, like you did, or from Intuit directly. From Intuit, you could also get a one-time purchase license or a subscription. One of the benefits of having a subscription is that you get the updates to the program, including for Payroll, without extra cost. This is the route I most recommend when you are using the program with payroll so that you don't have to worry about the payroll information being out of date or repurchasing the entire program later.
Since you've purchased your copy of QuickBooks from a retailer, things are a bit different. If you had purchased QuickBooks Desktop by itself without the Payroll module, you'd have roughly the three years of using it before it fell under our discontinuation policy. The discontinuation policy touches on things like the program being able to use Internet-based features as well as support options available. You could theoretically use the program long after that three-year period so long as you didn't need those items, but it's a good idea to purchase regularly or start a subscription to make sure you're good to go.
When it comes to Payroll, that "lifespan" is shorter if you're also wanting up-to-date payroll information. The Payroll tax tables are released twice a year and make sure that you have the most current calculations based on the government's requirements. The December tax table releases are a bit more flexible. For instance, with your 2021 edition, you'll still be able to use the December 2021 tax updates into the new year. However, July 2022's tax table updates will only be available to the latest edition of the software, meaning you'd have to upgrade to QuickBooks Desktop 2022 at that time.
With an outright purchase, that means purchasing everything all over again and then opening your existing company file in the latest edition. If you were on a subscription, however, we'd send you the download link and new license information for the upgrade without extra costs.
When the time comes to upgrade, feel free to give our sales team a call to discuss subscription options. You can see the current monthly rates on the following page, as well as the sales number at the top: QuickBooks Desktop Pro and Premier. Feel free to bookmark it. Intuit also has annual subscription options if you'd prefer that and our sales team can discuss that with you.
I hope this has helped, but don't hesitate if you have further questions or would like clarification. I'm here to help. :)
