For a Payroll Deduction IRA (i.e., an employee's personal IRA), do I setup a deduction, or just split their direct deposit? I don't see a deduction that matches this.

Hi, @Art. Let me route you to the right support to address your needs.

What specific IRA are you trying to set up? Knowing this would help me provide you with accurate information. For now, I suggest reaching out to our Payroll Support team. They are equipped with the necessary tools to pull up your account securely and help you with setting up the payroll deduction.

Here's how to contact them: 

1. Go to the Help icon in the top right-hand corner.
2. Select Search, then press the Contact Us button.
3. Enter your question in the box and hit Continue.
4. Choose the best way you'll want to reach out to us.

Make sure to review their support hours so you'll know when agents are available. 

You might also want to check this link to learn more about setting up Simple IRA in QBO: Set up a payroll item for retirement benefits (401(K), Simple IRA, etc.).

Let me know if you have any concerns about IRA contributions. I'll be right here to help.

Thanks @Nicole_N.  The help only mentions how to fund IRAs that are created by the employer. In my case, the employee has already created this personal IRA on their own, with no connection to our business. They would like us to make direct deposits into this personal IRA that they have already setup.

Thanks!

I recommend adding this info to your help doc about retirement accounts since this is an IRS-recognized Payroll Deduction IRA: https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-sponsor/payroll-deduction-ira

I have the same situation where an employee would like to split his paycheck so a portion goes into his personal IRA account, but we use QB Desktop Enterprise Contractors version, not QBO.  I know there are some differences in the capabilities of online vs. desktop.  Assuming the personal IRA is set up through a financial institution with a nine-digit routing number and an account number, it seems logical that the same process would work for both but I have been unable to confirm that through QBD support.  Your assistance would be most appreciated.  

Thanks for getting involved with this thread, swdiete.

If you're referring to the steps shared by Kurt_M for splitting direct deposits into two different accounts, you can do so in QuickBooks Desktop Payroll as well, but your steps will be a bit different.

Here's how to split an employees direct deposit into two accounts:
 

1. Have the employee fill out, sign, and date a direct deposit authorization form and attach a voided check from their bank account(s).
2. Confirm their account is a checking or savings account. QuickBooks only works with these types of accounts.
3. In your top menu bar, go to Employees, then Employee Center.
4. Find the employee and access their profile.
5. Open your Payroll Info tab, then click Direct Deposit.
6. In the Direct Deposit window, hit Use Direct Deposit for [employee's name] and choose whether to deposit their paycheck into one or two accounts.
7. Enter your employee's financial institution details (Bank Name, Routing No., Account No., and Account Type).
8. If you chose to deposit to two accounts, enter the amount or percentage that your employee wants to deposit to the first account in your Amount to Deposit field. The remainder goes to their second account.
9. Select OK and enter your direct deposit PIN when prompted.

I've also included a detailed resource about working with payroll which may come in handy moving forward: Set up direct deposit for employees

I'll be here to help if there's any additional questions. Have an awesome Wednesday!

Thank you for your response, ZackE.  I understand the technical steps for setting up direct deposit.  I was looking for confirmation that a personal IRA account could be used as if it were a regular savings account.  

Thanks for getting back to this forum, swdieter. I'll join this thread to share additional details about using the IRA account and ensure your employee is paid accurately.

In QuickBooks Desktop Payroll, treating a personal IRA account like a regular savings isn't possible. Since you plan to split the paycheck, the Direct Deposit requires bank account information, and the IRA account isn't considered one since it is a retirement account.

Once you process the paycheck, your employee will be the one to send the designated amount to their IRA account. You don't need to take additional action within QuickBooks regarding it.

Additionally, QuickBooks Desktop allows you to run various payroll reports to help you monitor and get a closer look at your business' finances to ensure all your tracking is correct. You can also export them to Excel to modify the data according to your needs.

I'm here to provide continuous assistance and support if you need help paying your employees or managing their profiles. Don't hesitate to reach out if you require hand-in-hand guidance. I'm committed to helping you every step of the way.