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Anonymous
Not applicable

To clear out Unassigned Sales Tax for Year End

Hello,

My story goes as such: We have $16000+ sitting in Unassigned Sales Tax (all from purchases) from previous year end. It was never dealt with to clear out properly. What would the entry be to clear this out so that we can start fresh for the new cycle year (as a lump sum adjustment vs. going through each transaction)?

 

As far as I can determine, there is no way to access Unassigned Sales Tax within QB to create an adjusting entry to clear this out. 

 

Thanks so much!

Nancy

8 Comments 8
JamesM
QuickBooks Team

To clear out Unassigned Sales Tax for Year End

Hi there,

 

Welcome back to the Community. I'll be happy to steer you in the right direction.

 

It's vital you clear out the Unassigned Sales Tax the best way possible in order to avoid any discrepancies in the future. To make sure the transactions are handled accurately, I recommend reaching out to an accounting professional. If you're not in contact with one, I recommend searching for one on our website using this link here. Let me know if you have other questions. I'm here to assist. 

 

 

pthiessen1
Level 1

To clear out Unassigned Sales Tax for Year End

I also have the same problem. The payments to Receiver General have no tax code assigned. (and it's grayed out on the cheque) How do i clear them from unassigned?

JamesM
QuickBooks Team

To clear out Unassigned Sales Tax for Year End

I want to make sure I'm following you on this. If you're paying off your taxes, is there a reason why you'd like that payment to have tax included as well? 

pthiessen1
Level 1

To clear out Unassigned Sales Tax for Year End

I’m trying to clean up a client’s errors and they haven’t been using the Tax Report, but would like to going forward.

There is a very large amount in unassigned amounts that date back to 2016. Which are mostly made up of GST payments.

When I drill down to the source it’s a cheque posted to GST Payable and the tax code is not accessible.

Can I just make an adjusting entry to clear the whole amount?

 

JamesM
QuickBooks Team

To clear out Unassigned Sales Tax for Year End

You can create an adjusting entry if you'd like. I recommend seeking accounting advice just to double-check and make sure that's the best way to go. Otherwise if you decide to create an adjusting journal entry, here's how: 

 

 

  1.     Select Create ⨁.
  2.     Under Other, select Journal Entry.
  3.     Select the Is Adjusting Journal Entry? checkbox.
  4.     Enter the journal entry, as required.
  5.     Select Save.               

The journal entry is recorded and identified as an adjusting journal entry. Let me know if you have other questions. I'll be here in case you need further assistance. 

Anonymous
Not applicable

To clear out Unassigned Sales Tax for Year End

Hello James,

 

Thanks for the procedure. I'll give it a try. I'm still unsure what accounts to debit/credit?

 

To understand QB applications, there should be a way to clear this out. I would welcome an Accountant's viewpoint; however, isn't this simply how to manage Unassigned Sales Tax in QB's? To me this is a bookkeeping procedure.

 

Currently, I am adjusting each bill and journal entry to reflect the GST ITC. It seems to clear out the unassigned sales tax, but it is time-consuming. It's why I am trying to figure out a way to do it as one full amount.

 

Sales Tax filing has been completed; it's just a matter of clearing this out and moving forward appropriately; making sure all GST is allocated as an ITC. Hope this clarification helps. It's becoming a topic of interest to others as well. So hopefully QB's can address this issue effectively.

LauraAB
QuickBooks Team

To clear out Unassigned Sales Tax for Year End

Hello again nancybeavirtual,

 

I see what you're saying about how this is could fall under bookkeeping rather than accounting. As members of the QuickBooks Team, JamesM and I are able to offer tech support advice. We're not trained in accounting or bookkeeping, so it's important to speak with a qualified professional when looking for solutions to your bookkeeping or accounting questions.

 

We do have users in the community who are accountants and bookkeepers, so they may chime in and offer guidance. However, I still recommend reaching out to a bookkeeper or an accountant if you're unsure how to proceed.

 

For your reference, here are a few articles about sales tax and journal entries in QuickBooks Desktop. The steps JamesM gave are for QuickBooks Online.

  • Set up sales tax (with related articles linked within)
  • Make adjusting entries in a general journal (Note: This article is accessed through QuickBooks Desktop by following these steps: click the Help menu > QuickBooks Desktop Help > Help tab > Search button > enter the title in the search bar.)

 

I hope that helps clarify things.

HPark
Level 2

To clear out Unassigned Sales Tax for Year End

Did you ever get an answer to this? I am a bookkeeper clearing up the program and same thing. It is previous fiscal years for which I am tasked with cleaning up. Misspalied HST payments and not properly mapping th etax lines in journal entries dating back to 2013. They simply don't want to pay me to go back to correct this but the tax filign is th emost accurate way to do HST in QB Desktop. I just want to know how to clear this in 1 bulk entry, but I find all information says to go back into each entry. That is years of data to sift through

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