Reverse a direct deposit in QuickBooks Payroll

Learn when and how you can request a direct deposit reversal.

If you accidentally paid your employee or contractor twice, or you paid the wrong employee or contractor, you may be able to request a direct deposit to get the money back. 

You can request a direct deposit reversal 5 business days from the pay date (US) or 4 business days (Canada). But this doesn’t guarantee that the funds will be recovered. 

In this article, you'll learn how to:

• Prepare before requesting a reversal
• Determine when to request a reversal
• Submit a reversal request
• Check the result of the reversal request we sent to your email

What to know before requesting a reversal

• Reversal requests are not a guarantee that the funds will be recovered.
• The reversal transaction takes 5 business days to process from the request date.
• Stopping payment won't prevent the payroll from being deposited to the employee or contractor bank account. It could result in a Non-Sufficient Funds with Intuit.
• It's recommended that you have an updated Direct Deposit Authorization form from all your current employees and contractors.
• You will need to notify the employee or contractor of the reversal request.

Step 1: Determine when to request a reversal

You can request a reversal if:

• The reason is in compliance with bank transfer or electronic fund transfer laws. For example, duplicate payments or unintended payments.
• The total amount is greater than $50 (due to the $75 direct deposit reversal fee).
• The direct deposit paycheque wasn’t rejected.
• It’s within 5 banking days (US) or 4 banking days (Canada) of the paycheque date, before 12:00 PM PT. Note that the posting date is the day 1.
• The bank account you want to reverse funds from must still be in the employee's profile.

If you don’t meet the criteria above, or you don’t want to pay the $75 charge, work with your employee or contractor to get the money back directly from them.

Step 2: Submit a reversal request

Make sure the original paycheque wasn't rejected. Submit a request between the third day to the fifth day of the paycheque date. If it's rejected, no need for a reversal. The money will be sent back to your bank account. 

Follow the steps below to submit a request.

1. Open the Direct Deposit Reversal form.
2. Select Add Request.
3. Complete the required information and transaction information.
4. Select Save & close.
5. Once the reversal is approved (see the next section for details), you can void the paycheque in your payroll records.

Step 3: Check the result of the reversal request we sent to your email

Your request will be reviewed, and you’ll be notified if it’s rejected or accepted. It may take up to 9 banking days to get the result.

If something is missing, your request will be sent back to you by email with a list of corrections needed. Once you save the changes, we'll review the request again. An agent may contact you to assist you in more complex situations.

If the entire amount of the direct deposit isn't available in the employee or contractor bank account, the reversal will be rejected, and no funds will be recovered.

If the direct deposit reversal request is successful

You’ll receive an email once the request is accepted. The funds from your employees will be taken out and will be credited back to you. This process takes up to 14 banking days from the day your request has been accepted. 

Once you get the money back, void the paycheque. 

An employee or contractor can dispute the reversal for up to 60 days. If a reversal is disputed and funds have been returned, Intuit reserves the right to debit your company bank account for the disputed amount.

If the direct deposit reversal request is unsuccessful

If you received an email that the request isn't successful, don’t void the paycheque. Since the employee or contractor received the net pay, the gross wages are valid. 

Work with the employee or contractor directly to get the money back. When you get the money back, you can then void the paycheque.