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Make an active employee inactive in QuickBooks Online Payroll

by Intuit•1• Updated 4 days ago

Update an employee's status in QuickBooks Online Payroll in just a few steps. You can change a status from active to inactive, or back again, at any time.

Note: This article is for customers who use QuickBooks Online Core, Premium, or Elite Payroll.

⚠  Billing change from 15 June 2026 — action required
From your first bill on or after 15 June 2026, how QuickBooks Payroll calculates your monthly employee fee is changing. Instead of being charged for employees payroll was run for during the month, you will be charged based on employees marked as Active at the start of your billing month (your Billing Day of Month, or BDOM).
To avoid being charged for employees who are no longer on your payroll, review and update employee statuses before 15 June 2026.
Employees who are not on the current pay run should be marked as Not on payroll. The steps below show you how.

Update employee statuses

  1. Go to All apps A bunch of numbers and letters on a tile wall., select Payroll, then select Employees (Take me there).
  2. Select the Active Employees â–Ľ dropdown.
  3. Select All Employees to see your full employee list.
  4. Select the employee you want to review, then select Edit in the Employment details section.
  5. Update their Status as appropriate. Employees who are no longer being paid should be marked as Not on payroll.
  6. Complete any additional required fields, then select Save.
  7. Repeat for each employee who needs updating.

Once updated, you will only be billed for employees marked Active at the start of your billing month.