I am having the same issue with my QuickBooks Online Payroll. I see a lot of the replies are not relevant to that. I have run employee reports and do not have anyone in California. It is holding up our ability to run payroll automatically. Seems like the older desktop versions were simpler and can deactivate.

I have already done all the steps mentioned above, AND I have disabled "automate taxes and forms."

And yet... QB online continues to insist that I must create tax forms and payments for a State where NO BUSINESS IS CONDUCTED. It should be easy to block a state where NOTHING is happening. Instead... I can't file or pay the 940 federal tax because your software doesn't work.

The lack of user controls to help manage payroll in QB online is really disappointing, and makes it impossible for me to recommend this half hearted product to anyone.

This doesn't work.

QB online needs a reliable way to block state payroll tax returns for users who have no need to file.

Good attempt, but this didn't work in my case.

This "solution" doesn't work.

QB Online needs to be updated and allow the user to choose to setup states rather than being forced into it.

Minimally, it needs a way to block states where no tax returns will be filed.

I finally got Quickbooks to remove the two states my employees haven't worked in for 3+ years.  It only took 5 (1+ hour) calls.  

And yes, if you aren't manually or electronically sending $0 payments/filings via Quickbooks to those states you don't even work with then QB won't let you file your 940 electronically. 

seems like from this stream of questions that it's happening across the board..or country? i've been with qb from the beginning and the error rate and lack of skilled support is raging. It wasn't always like this. That's how it became a monopoly i guess. We never added virginia to our filings, never had an employee who had an address in virginia, have been told multiple times by phone payroll support for core that it would be removed and it never has been. It's been a year of relentlessly contacting support about this. But this is a relatively minor error compared to the other stuff they've messed up. Just can't seem to get rid of this state reporting requirement..even if it's NOT included in the state reporting in the gear icon/payroll settings. So a ghost in their machine. i guess.

Hi Guys,

I wanted topmost an update. So this has to do with the employee work location. There is definitely some flaws in the quickbooks interface as there is no way to delete the previous work location and/or modify the new one. I had to have several direct calls to have this changed. The system is not pulling the data from the the employee profile and there is nowhere to make the change. We had a previous location in California and although the current location was moved out of state the system was still listing California as a tax/ui insurance requirement.

This is definitely a bug and should have a patch creating to allow users to make these changes and take the data from the account or employee settings where applicable.

If there is a quickbooks moderator could someone file a ticket for a patch ? This seems to be a persistent issue as you can see I spent HOURS trying to get this resolved. While the online version is pretty user friendly. Some key functionality has been missed in user testing. Cheers.

It appears that many have the same issue. It also appears the QBO Support Staff doesn't know how to help any of these unhappy, paying customers. It seems to be a trend at Intuit since around 2019. It's been a steady decline in support, unreasonable & inconvenient changes to software, rate changes (always up) and complete frustration for those who have been loyal customers since 1997. Seriously, send this message up the line. This needs to stop. Do better. Hire better. I literally have been hung up on, listened to kids scream in background, and these work from home agents of Intuit have no clue, don't care to get a clue and are literally rude as if we are ignorant when their software doesn't work properly. Hey Support Staff Members...if you cannot figure it out...at least try to help the customer get to a person who can. There are few and far between GOOD support staff members. Often takes numerous calls to get one so, once they show their ignorance, I hang up and call back until I get one who seems like they have a clue. So far 12 times is my limit & I give up. I am a ProAdvisor and am embarrassed. 

This is not accurate for quickbooks online. They are missing the edit work locations part of interface!! Super frustrating, but was able to get them removed from customer service.

QuickBooks Support is terrible. I've called and chatted 11 times.

ZERO resolution, they're all clueless

The only way I was able to fix this is to go into every employee file and make sure the did not have out of state addresses.

There is no Company and Account, or Work Locations. in Payroll Settings on my QBO.  I can't find anything about work locations anywhere.  Please clarify.

I can clarify things for you on where to see the work location, rf25.

Using the new interface in QuickBooks, you can find the work location through the employee's profile. And, I'm glad to show you how to do it.

1. Go to Payroll, then select Employees.
2. Find the inactive employee and select the name.
3. From Employment, select Edit ✎.
   
4. Select the Work location drop-down and choose the business work location.
5. Click Done.

If the state is still showing up, I recommend contacting our QuickBooks Payroll Live Team. They can pull up your account, update the work location, and remove states that you don't pay taxes.

In case you have employees moving to another state, you may need to set up and pay taxes in that state. Check out this article for instructions and detailed steps: Set up employees and payroll taxes in a new state.

Don't hesitate to post again if you have additional payroll questions. I'll be right here to help you.

Sign me up.  Quickbooks support is terrible.  I'm apt to believe your statement that it's on purpose because they don't want to fix it or don't know how.  Intuit is already facing a big class action settlement, but the service is ridiculous, so I don't doubt it will happen again.  Such a bother to have to fight with technology that's supposed to work on top of a challenging job.  The state filing issue still exists for me, they also cannot fix what bank account my payroll pulls from after more than 10 attempts on phone, forums and chat with Intuit.  Totally ridiculous and not worth the thousands of dollars we pay QB every year.  Crazy.

-Adam

I am having the same issues as everyone else in this thread. I'm surprised there are this many complaints with no solutions. It is neither cost nor time efficient to be calling support every time a state needs to be deactivated. I also have spent countless hours on the phone trying to sort this out all while being charged by QB for a "multistate" subscription every month when there is no activate payroll in 4/6 states. Can you please revert to the old system that seems to allow the user access to deactivate states through "Company and Account"? I have provided my feedback already as well.

Hello @KesterJ,

I appreciate you for posting here in the Community space. I know the importance of having this option in QuickBooks Online.

The ability to deactivate the State info from the settings is a must feature for QuickBooks users. I would also feel the same if a complete resolution is unavailable after seeing many complaints about the missing feature.

Thank you for taking the time to let us know about this issue. We'll share this feedback with the right team for the option to be considered in future updates.

Additionally, I've added an article you can use to request exemption from sales tax and to learn more about the needed documentation: Request sales tax exemption and refund.

Please know I'm always available to lend a hand with any questions or concerns about managing taxes in QBO. Take care always.

Same! Absolute nonsense. Infuriating!!!!!!!!!

I THINK I FOUND A SOLUTION TO THIS ISSUE!!! This worked for me and I was just as frustrated as many people in this thread - I was about to pull my hair out! 

1. Go to TAXES and then to PAYROLL TAXES

2.  Scroll down to TAX PAYMENT HISTORY

3.  Click the first state tax payment you show in your list (Mine says LA Income Tax).

4.  Originally, when I tried to do this it would give me a pop up that says "Must Finish AL State Tax Setup"

5.  When that popup shows for you - click the green button that brings you to the tax set up for that additional state.

6.  There is a VERY SMALL box that says something to like "you do not file in this state" or something similar to that.  (I can't remember the correct verbiage that it said".  CLICK THAT BOX

This fixed the problem for me.  I hope that this helps everyone struggling with this issue!

I am experiencing the same issue as everyone else in this thread.   I do not have to file or pay taxes in CT.  My accountant has confirmed this.   I have no work location in CT.    It is impossible to turn off CT tax support.

If anyone from Quickbooks is reading this, please PLEASE do NOT respond to this post with instructions on how to contact support.  I would jump out the window.

Thank you for this advice.  I tried and it did not work for me but I hope it works for others.  MN is still showing on my tax history... so frustrating 

I completely understand your frustration, Dsimm54057.  

Please know that I hear you, and I want to help. And I appreciate following the steps my colleagues and other users outlined above. Since the solutions didn't work for you, I suggest contacting our Customer Care Team. Our experts can verify your account securely and help with tax problems.  

Here's how: 

1. Click Help on the top menu.
2. Choose Contact Us.
3. Enter your concern in the What can we help you with? field.
4. Hit Let's talk.
5. Select Get a callback or Get the number to connect with us.

To make sure you get prioritized on your concern. Please check out our support hours and contact us at a time convenient: ​​Support hours and types.   

Feel free to browse this article for additional reference about multistate employment payroll situations.

Don't hesitate to drop a comment below if you have additional taxes concerns. I'd be glad to help. 

You used to be able to turn off states, but about 1.5 year a go quickbooks started adding in an additional charge PER STATE in the payroll subscription. Once this was rolled out you could no longer mark a state as exempt. Even if you enter the correct work location & mark them as exempt Quickbooks now says you owe taxes on the state they enter for their W4.

I've got you covered, CB108.

In the past, you could disable States to avoid the multi-state fee. The option to remove the state on your end is no longer available once it's added to QuickBooks Online.

I recommend contacting our QuickBooks Payroll Support if you wish to remove it from your account. They have the tools to address your issue and prevent additional state charges moving forward. Please follow the steps provided by my colleague above to reach them.

I've also included an article that will assist you in tracking the employee and payroll expenses: Run payroll reports in QuickBooks Online Payroll.

Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help so I can give you further information on how to fix your problem. Stay safe.