Where is Intuit telling us the password has to be 12 characters?  EFTPS states 12-18 characters.  I've seen no evidence Intuit has communicated that the EFTPS password be certain length or the password must be changed at intervals, only to set-up EFTPS for the client.  It's been 2 years now since this nightmare began.  Payments still randomly reject, email notification is sporadic, epayments tab inaccessible and causes the program to crash.  This is not acceptable.

Intuit is telling us nothing.  For awhile I wasn't even getting the rejected payment emails from QB 2022 (due the upgrade)  This has been ongoing for a few years now.  Every 13 months or so (right in the middle of tax season, now, thanks Intuit) even though the EFTPS website is fine with our existing password, Intuit wants it changed.  For every payroll client.  Only it doesn't tell us that.  The best solution is to change it at the EFTPS website, then unclick "remember my password" while doing the actual payment thru Intuit with the new info, then re-clicking "remember my password" just before saving.  Hoping that does it, but again - communication would be nice.  I know the IRS is all about security, but Intuit's lawyers have got this a bit overboard.

@dso0216 @ManonJen 

For over two years, we have been blasting this news - THE IRS (not Intuit) changed the password requirements for 3rd party processors who store the password within the program.  The password MUST be changed every 13 months.  You must log on to the EFTPS site, change it there, then go to pay the payment and change it in the payment window where it is stored in QBDT.  In between, I HIGHLY recommend that you log out of EFTPS and log back in to ensure that the password change worked and give it a minute to set.  NO - EFTPS will not tell you anywhere that this is required, but it is.  The password originally had to be EXACTLY 12 digits long to work in QB, even though EFTPS tells you it can be 12-18 digits long.  I thought they had fixed that, but from Child of God's post above, maybe not.  This has absolutely nothing to do with the e-payments tab crashing the program.  It has everything to do with lousy documentation on the IRS EFTPS website.  Set a reminder.  Every year, change your password on the EFTPS website.  Log out.  Log back in with the new password.  Open your epay window in QBDT, enter the new password and save it and pay the taxes.  (you can pay $1 just to save the password and adjust it with the next payroll, or you can just do this right before you have to pay the taxes)  Check a day or two later to see if it worked.  Rinse and Repeat.  EVERY YEAR!

You must log into EFTPS and choose another password. If you want to pay through QuickBooks payroll you must change your password once a year. Yes you may login to EFTPS but that does not matter, if you're paying through a program like QuickBooks or peach tree or any other secondary program you must change your password once a year with EFTPS. You change it with EFTPS and then you change it when you go to e-file through QuickBooks. It is the same pin. You could just change the last letter number or symbol and that makes it easy cheesy. I have done this for umpteen clients in the last month and it takes 5 minutes literally.

I don't buy it sorry.  And it may take "10 minutes" for one client but I have multiple, all of whom I now have to monitor if payments post, change all passwords, it's a hassle and has become very expensive in time and money.  Not to mention the loss of clients, trying to explain what happened, etc.  And then I have to respond to the IRS, in some cases request abatement.  That "10 minutes" takes precious time I could spend on something else more productive.

And why if I change the password and can use EFTPS directly do the payments from QDT reject?  Why 12 characters, where does it say that.  I know Intuit has put this on the IRS but I don't buy that either.  When did Intuit state to ProAdvisors with the Enhanced Payroll the password must  A.be changed annually, B.be 12 characters long only.  

@dso0216  You can "not buy it" if you choose, but you will continue to have issues.  Facts are facts and no amount of complaining will change them. 

Here are some references in case you want to do the research yourself:  https://tscpafederal.typepad.com/blog/2019/08/eftps-system-password-update-.html

https://errorgenie.com/quickbooks/change-eftps-password-in-quickbooks/

https://hbecpa.com/attention-quickbooks-users-update-your-eftps-internet-password/

This information has been out there for well over 2 years.  Yep, it is annoying.  Yep, there isn't enough info on the EFTPS or IRS sites about the issue.  But I'd rather spend my time on important and solvable stuff, so I simply set a reminder in my calendar and change my password for every desktop payroll client every year and verify that the new password works.  Haven't had a payment rejected since then. 

The e-payments tab now, that's another kettle of (very stinky) fish!  I continue to complain regularly about that because it is within Intuit's control and the engineers need to fix it NOW. 

I'm sorry you must have misunderstood.  I've been changing the password and I still get random rejects.  And no I don't believe it's fixed.  And if we are instructed to go to the E-Payments tab to determine if a payment posted then why isn't that working.  No I don't need to deal with it I need to find another payroll solution.

PS. Some clients have PW with more than 12 characters and they are working fine, no rejects, so there is STILL a problem.

I don't see where any of the references you provide, although likely credible, are official statements from Intuit or IRS.

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@ManonJen wrote:

Intuit is telling us nothing.  For awhile I wasn't even getting the rejected payment emails from QB 2022 (due the upgrade)  This has been ongoing for a few years now.  Every 13 months or so (right in the middle of tax season, now, thanks Intuit) even though the EFTPS website is fine with our existing password, Intuit wants it changed.  For every payroll client.  Only it doesn't tell us that.  The best solution is to change it at the EFTPS website, then unclick "remember my password" while doing the actual payment thru Intuit with the new info, then re-clicking "remember my password" just before saving.  Hoping that does it, but again - communication would be nice.  I know the IRS is all about security, but Intuit's lawyers have got this a bit overboard.

---

I randomly do not receive the emails for some clients.  I'm having all diverted to a separate folder in Outlook.  Specifically so I can be alerted right away if a clients FTD rejects.

Have to update your password to exactly 12 characters 

I was having the same issues. I did the password to exactly 12 characters and worked! 

I just had a client get the same rejection notice that his 941 e-pay payroll deposit was rejected because the password expired.  I logged onto his EFTPS account online with no problem, and there was nothing there indicating he needed to change his password.  This is clearly a QuickBooks issue!

Quickbooks, it's March 2022.  I see this same issue being reported from the community dated back to 2019.  Can you please RESOLVE this issue?!  I had this happen in 2021 to the same client, who incurred some pretty hefty penalties because his tax payments were overdue.  And now this same client has two tax payments that are overdue and he will likely get penalized again.  This is not only irritating but it leads your community to not trust your product.

I would also like to suggest that you update the program so that it is blatantly clear that the payment has been rejected.  My client gets a ridiculous number of emails every day and I'm lucky he caught the one that notified him today (he didn't in 2021).  I therefore, have no way of knowing that there's an issue.  It should return any rejected payments back to the Pay Taxes & Other Liabilities window so it's clearly seen by anyone who opens that section.

Also, in QB Pro 2021 desktop payroll, the e-Payments tab is under the All Payments tab so you can't see any rejection notices.  And even if you do click on e-Payments, it defaults to oldest on top so you don't see any current messages.   Please fix this so that rejected payments are clearly visible and can be remedied timely.

Thank you.  

Thank you @Rea_M !

Voiding the liability check and re-submitting worked for me.

Can that be added to the "Update your EFTPS internet password" page?  That article shows how to update on the EFTPS website and then the steps to update QB, but I'm sure lots of people were like me and did not know they needed to update the password until AFTER the payment was rejected.  It took me quite a bit of searching to locate your wonderful solution.

Thanks again!

Hi, @cegrier.

 I'm here to help you keep your software up to date so that you always have the most recent features and fixes.

QuickBooks Desktop can be updated automatically or manually. When you enable Automatic Updates, QuickBooks downloads and installs the most recent updates as soon as they become available. If you decide to do your updates, make sure to check for updates at least once a month.

Let's check to see if you have the most recent version:

1. Open QuickBooks Desktop.
2. Press F2 (or Ctrl+1) to open the Product Information window.
3. Check your current version and release.

To set Set up automatic updates, here's how:

1. Go to the Help menu and select Update QuickBooks Desktop.
2. Go to the Update Now tab. Tip: You can select the Reset Update checkbox to clear all previous update downloads.
3. Select Get Updates to start the download.
4. When the download finishes, restart QuickBooks.
5. When prompted, accept the option to install the new release.

If you want to set an automatic or manual updates, check out this article for the tailored steps: Update QuickBooks Desktop to the latest release.

Moreover, QuickBooks Desktop payroll includes the most up-to-date state and federal tax tables, tax forms, and e-file and payment options. These updates provide the most current and accurate rates and calculations for supported state and federal tax tables, payroll tax forms, e-file and payment options. Check out this article as your reference: Get the latest payroll tax table update.

Please comment on you're follow-up question below. I'll be there to assist you. Hope you enjoy the rest of your week.

If it has been more than a year since you've changed your EFTPS password, the first thing to do is to log on to your EFTPS account outside of QuickBooks and change the password there.  After that, go back in to your QuickBooks file and update with the new password.  This is a relatively new (past few years) requirement from the EFTPS system and has nothing to do with QuickBooks.  The password must be changed annually.  Why Intuit does tell people this up front is anyone's guess......  

I have had this issue as well. I CAREFULLY enter my EFTPS credentials each time and it is rejected every time by EFTPS but when I go directly to the govt site I have no issues logging in. QB support says its EFTPS issue;  EFTPS says it’s QB’s issue. Meanwhile I cannot process Fed payroll taxes via WB and must go directly to EFTPS every pay period for the last two quarters. 

I have done the above procedure 7 times and each time the e-payment is rejected forcing me to USE THE SAME CREDENTIALS directly on the EFTPS site to submit my deposit. 

The password must be exactly 12 characters long. I had to change mine about a month ago and it worked with no problem.

Every 13 months you MUST change your password on the EFTPS website and then change it in QuickBooks. This has been true for years.  Your credentials will work forever on EFTPS, but the government requires you to change it if you use a 3rd party app that stores the password. 

Thank you. Yes, I know that the PW has to be changed every 13 mos. The most recent change of my PW, which was prompted by reminder after the 13 mo expiration,  is what caused the current issue. After following the instructions to the letter the problem persists.

Thank you. If indeed that is a requirement you would think the techs  at Intuit or the EFTPS would  have suggested that solution instead of blaming each other for the problem. I will give that a try. 

Yes, you'd think as much as we pay for QuickBooks and the payroll subscription, and with all of the other bells, whistles, and warnings that the software gives us, they would be able to add a "WARNING: Your EFTPS password is about to expire" message. Alas, as old as this thread is, it doesn't appear one is coming.

Maybe you should add the information about the 12 character password to the instructions. That has been the solution in multiple cases.

You're welcome!