cada, I feel your pain. I have the exact same question. And the folks here at QB support answered your question about 10 times without actually answering the question you asked. Talk about creating more confusion... I am following this thread daily to get updates on when the issue is resolved.

In my QB Desktop Payroll Items I now see a new item called "National Paid Leave Credit" but it's not clear to me how this is set up or if this is the right item to use.

Oh yeah. Quickbooks is so difficult to work with. If I had a choice I would of never signed up with them, that decision came before I started there. I finally got it fixed, I had to be on the phone for the 5th time (this time really complaining) and telling them I wouldn't get off the phone until they offered a solution. Multiple people later, I got them to create a new deduction (which should of taken 5 mins or less) and had them manually change or force benefit to be offered at pre-tax. They kept setting up the new deduction and when I would run payroll I'd have to delete it and do it again and again. Finally they create the deduction option correctly and it less than 5 mins to post everything AGAIN. Just call and complain I know that sucks, but I didn't want it to effect my employees on their stupidity. Just don't take NO for an answer when they give you the run around! Good Luck

The National Paid Leave Credit was setup with the FFCRA last year.  Since ARPA is mostly an extension of the FFCRA process that is what I am continuing to follow as it worked, of course with the change to withhold employer social security.  QB does have setup info available for the various payroll items and the process that was required under FFCRA, yet 48 days after it became effective...still no guidance for ARPA.    

If  we are still waiting for the payroll item, how will we address payments already being made for qualified leave under ARPA in QuickBooks Desktop?  Payroll is not on hold for us to wait for QuickBooks to get up to speed, so how do we track this so we can have accurate records and be able claim the credit at the end of the quarter?  Will we be able to go in and re-categorize the applicable time for payroll that has already been run?

Thanks for joining this thread, @dtp-user-87. As mentioned by one of my peers, the IRS is still working on ARPA. Thus, we at Intuit are also waiting for their update before we implement this new payroll item.

I'd suggest you check out this article: Latest payroll news and updates. It will give you a breakdown for each update on QuickBooks Desktop Payroll is on this page with their brief description. 

Rest assured, as soon as this payroll item becomes available, you'll see it listed in the article I provided. 

Let me know if you have other questions about QuickBooks Desktop Payroll. I'll be here to help you. 

Hello,

I need some clarification please. I have been using the FFCRA for covid, do I now need to add ARPA to my payroll and if I do am I going to start to pay them under that instead?  Also, will the ARPA be on my quarterly 941 for reimbusement?

Hello,

Can we continue to use the FFCRA until Qb has the ARPA up and running?

Nice to have you joined this thread, @Lowell211.

I want to make sure this is taken care of. I suggest working with your accountant or a tax expert.  They can provide you additional details on whether you need to add American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to your payroll.

Also, if needed, they can walk you through the steps on how to record it accurately in QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT). If you're not affiliated with one, you can visit our ProAdvisor page and look for one from there.

Once everything is all set, you can utilize this link for guidance in filing your tax forms seamlessly: E-file 940, 941, and 944 tax forms.

I'll be around ready to help you out. Just leave a reply in this thread and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Have a great weekend!

FYI, I received a notification of the latest payroll update from QB which I think addresses this issue:

Intuit has released Payroll Update 22110, with revised tax table updates. This tax table update includes three new tax tracking types used to provide employees with paid sick or paid expanded family and medical leave. Due to changes in taxability as defined in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) these new tax tracking types replace similar tax tracking types used previously as defined in Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) of 2020.
For additional information on setting up these new tax tracking types visit our help article.
To confirm you received the latest update, open QuickBooks and chooses Employees > Get Payroll Updates. If you do not see a message that says,"You are using tax table version 22110" click Update. Get complete instructions.

To turn on the automatic updates feature in QuickBooks so that you automatically receive payroll updated when they are released, chose Help > Update QuickBooks. On the Options tab, select Yes for Automatic Update and check the Mark All box to ensure that you receive all updates.

Get the Payroll Update
The Payroll Update ensures that you will be in compliance with legislation that affects your payroll. For details on the contents of this update, go to Employees > Get Payroll Updates > Payroll Update Info.

Sincerely,

The QuickBooks Payroll Team

Hello,

I have just spoke to QB and they are saying the FFCRA and the ARPA is the exact same thing. But this is saying there are three new tax tracking types to used. This is very confusing. Also, if I continue to us the FFCRA is it going to carry over to my quarterly 941? And if we can still use the FFCRA why is QB saying we have to make entries if we paid employees since April 1, 2021.

Once again QB is not on top on things. This happened with the FFCRA and the MA PFML.

I can clear things out for you, @Lowell211.

Currently, you're unable to set up the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) since it isn't available in the system right now.

We'll post updates about the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. On the other hand, you can also visit these pages to gather and check for QuickBooks news and the latest enhancements:

• For QuickBooks Desktop: Product Updates and Industry News.

• For QuickBooks Online: The QuickBooks Blog.

Additionally, payroll is affected as to how payroll items are set up according to the tax tracking type, and employee information is recorded. 

I can route you to the right support who can check your payroll setup and check the eligibility for the provisions found under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. You can click here and then enter a brief data of your company and then Submit.

I'll be attaching references for future use: 

• New Exclusion of up to $10,200 of Unemployment Compensation

• Track your deferral payments for Social Security tax payments.

I'll be here if you have more questions. Take care always!

Okay, so the payroll items are available now.  What do I do about paychecks that have already been issued that fall under the ARPA umbrella.  There was not a way to itemize them before.  What do I do to ensure our records are accurate and that we are able to claim the credit we are entitled to?  Is there an article for that yet? 

According to the article that explains setting up the new ARPA tax tracking, those who use Quickbooks desktop have to retroactively change the payroll for April that used the FFCRA tax tracking lines.   The article currently links a very generic article on how to correct a payroll but it is very difficult to understand for this situation w/ the tax credits.    Can someone post a step by step article on how to do that for this specific situation?    

Hello dtp-user-87,

An article for the step by step process is already available just like what Mcsbend mentioned. You can check it out here: Pay employees under the California COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave.

You may need to do an "in and out" on the employee's next paycheck. This is to remove the amount included on paychecks dated on or after April 1, 2021 from the previous item and place it into the new payroll items set with the ARPA tax tracking types. 

For Mcsbend, you can contact our Payroll Support Team and share more details about your situation.

Here are the steps:

1. In your QuickBooks Desktop program, go to Help > QuickBooks Desktop Help.
2. In the Have a Question window, click the Contact Us link at the bottom.
3. From the Contact Us page, select any topics.
4. Under Here's how to connect with a QuickBooks expert section, click the Start a Message or Get Phone Number button.

Pease feel free to comment on this thread if you have any additional questions or other concerns. We're always around to answer them. Stay safe.

Thank you.   Yes, everyone who ran payroll in April who used the FFCRA will have to do an "in and out" for the new ARPA tax line.  The instructions at https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/set-up-payroll/correct-year-to-date-ytd-additions-... are very generic and do not address the FFCRA / ARPA adjustments specifically.   Since EVERYONE is going to have to do these changes, I was hoping Quickbooks would put out a step by step article that explains these exact adjustments instead of the "if / then" general instructions for any adjustment -- trying to apply that to this seems complicated. 

Thanks for the additional information.  The "How to track paid leave" article states to do an in-and-out if you used the already existing payroll items on or after April 1, 2021. In our case, we did not use the existing FFCRA payroll items.  We just ran payroll as usual because we had no way to track the ARPA line items yet.  Does the In-and-out method still apply here? Or can I just apply the ARPA line items to the next paycheck for the amounts that would have applied to the last paycheck?

I am on the phone with QB now and they are telling me to go under the CARES Act for the ARPA payroll and that won't work.  This is not going to be a big mess.  They have not updated their system to accommodate the new payroll laws.

To my understanding after reading the instruction is that the National paid leave EE payroll item has been updated to National Paid Leave APRA.

The health care and Medicare item hasn't been changed. I would assume to just use the one we had set up last year.

As far as those pay checks that was issued as normal checks, last year customer support agent told me to pull up the old check and unlock net pay to switch it to the correct payroll item (I am using quickbooks desktop). 

I am needing to know the same thing Cada, but they are not reading your question thoroughly...... 

totally in agreement with you Cada, this should be a simple answer and not turning into more confusing :-(   sure wish they had a thumbs down option for some of these replies

Hello Maybelle_S

First I do not understand why this is taking so long to set up in quick books? If QB has told me it is the same as the FFCRA I don't understand what needs to be changed? Was I given incorrect information? Why do I need a payroll check up if the ARPA is not in QB yet? My payroll is running fine. And the CARES is this part of the FFCRA & the ARPA?

Thank you.

Hello,

I see that the ARPA is set up in QB. I have set up my GL codes I did an account for ARPA and then did 3 sub codes for Family, FML & Employee. I assume it will be an addition like the FFCRA National Leave was? It does check of the employer SS as were the FFCRA did not. I do not see any updates about this, can we start to use this? Also, how do I do an "in and out" on employees check if I already have the out wouldn't it just be an in for the employee ss part that is do? Please respond we are now almost 2 months into this.

Hello,

I am confused as to why you have an article for FFCRA we are now supposed to be using ARPA? And when you say in and out. SS for FFCRA was not taxed for employer so it wasn't taken out in the employer part so wouldn't it be just and in?

Hi,

When I click on the link it brings me to a page that says invalid perimeters?