How do you set up Aflac as an employee deduction? (100% employee pd, after tax) Can I use other payroll deductions? Would COA be Payroll Liabilities & Payroll Clearing?

I have just been writing checks  to Aflac and not debiting them to a liability account. The checks are posted to my wages-Aflac account. How do I create a journal entry to correct this?

Thank you for this info.  I am kind of in the same situation, but the CPA wants to make sure only st and fed w/h gets taxed , not medicare and SS.  Is that even possible?

Hello everyone, you all have great questions and I will be happy to answer all of them.

I will tag each of you with the answer to your individual questions to help avoid any confusion.

@Anonymous provided some great steps for setting up a deduction and contribution in QuickBooks Online. 

@office5. You would use the same steps provided, but instead of setting up a deduction you would set up the company contribution section. This will allow you to track how much is being paid for them, while not actually paying it to them. 

@lmj11611. To add a deduction in QuickBooks Desktop, check out this article.

@Brandy23. To create a Journal entry, please follow the steps in this article.

@dianem1. You can add the reimbursement pay type by following the steps here.

@MAWIL. The system automatically will apply the applicable taxes. If you'd like to let me know which payroll product you are using I will be happy to provide the best way to get this working the way your CPA prefers.

If anyone has any further questions, please don't hesitate to reach out! I want to make sure everyone is able to get this set up the way they need to. 

Why is Aflac not showing up on the W2?

I am having problems setting up Alfac in desktop for employees who want both pre and post tax options.  I don't see the dropdown box on employee setup that gives those options. In payroll setup, company, I can choose either/or. you give me specific instructions for desktop please. Thanks Jane

This only works if you are using the Quickbooks payroll. 

How do you set up these accounts if you are using a 3rd party payroll service or even manual payroll.

Let me help you with this, @ondemandoffice.

You can set up an expense and liability accounts for your payroll expenses and liabilities.

Let me show you how:

1. From the left menu, select Accounting, then Chart of Accounts.
2. Click New.
3. Select an Account type and Detail type.
   
4. Enter a Name that describes the account.
5. Click Save and Close.

Then, use a journal entry to record the paychecks processed by the third-party payroll service. Feel free to read through this article for your guidance: Record payroll transactions manually

Let me know if there's anything else you need and I'd be glad to help.

There is no taxable insurance premium category on my list in Quick Books.

Hey there, Rufus7.

Thanks for following up on this thread. I want to make sure you're able to get this deduction set up for your employees.

I followed the steps provided above by my colleague GarlynGay, and was able to see the Taxable Insurance Premium option. This option is found by:

1. Hovering over the Workers tab, then selecting Employees.

2. Choose the employee you'd like to add the deduction for.

3. Click +Add deductions in section number 5.

4. Select the drop-down menu for Deduction/contribution (the bottom drop-down menu).

5. Choose New deduction/contribution.

6. Select Health Insurance from the next menu that appears.

7. Choose Medical Insurance as the Type.

8. Scroll to the bottom of the page, and click Taxable insurance premium.

Please let me know if you're able to locate this option after giving these steps a try. I'll be here to help.

The AFLAC deduction summary that I download has partial dollar amounts listed as pre-tax deductions and partial dollar amounts listed as post-tax deductions.  Should I create 2 separate payroll deductions to track each type of AFLAC deduction?

Hello there, @lmg6215.

Yes, you can create two payroll items to track each type of AFLAC deduction. QuickBooks uses payroll items to track individual amounts on a paycheck and accumulate year-to-date wage and tax amounts for each employee. This too will ensure that your forms are correct. 

You may refer to the steps provided by my colleague GarlynGay to set up the payroll items. Also, slightly alter the display name when adding the second deduction item for easy tracking.

I've attached some articles you can use as a reference about how to add, edit, and delete a deduction item, as well as a list of articles about running payroll in QuickBooks Online: 

• Manage a payroll deduction item
• Payroll tasks: Resource hub

Should you need further assistance with adding the customer or anything else, please let me know. Cheering you to continued success.

When I set up my AFLAC accounts I went through the payroll item list.  I thought I set it up correctly, but my end of the year accounting reports are not correct.  Our employees pay 100% and on my P&L shows that I have the total amount I paid for the year as my AFLAC expense.  Shouldn't my AFLAC expense be 0. 

Hi there, @kkcornett. 

Welcome to the Community. Allow me to step in in the thread. We can double-check the setting of your payroll account you've set up for  AFLAC. You may refer to the steps provided by my colleague GarlynGay to check the set up of the payroll items. 

However, if all still fail. I recommend contacting our Customer Support Team, as they have the tools to pull up your account in a secure environment and to check the Setup and Payment. 

Here's how: 

1. Sign in to your QuickBooks Online company.
2. Go to Help (?).
3. Select Contact Us.
4. Enter your concern, then select Let's talk.
5. Choose a way to connect with us. Start a chat or Get a call back. 

Please take note that it may take a few minutes to connect with our agents as we are receiving a high volume of calls and messages. You can check also the available hours when contacting our support.  

If there's anything else I can do for you, please let me know. I want to make sure everything is taken care of for you. Have a great day!

 We also have Aflac and have the accounts set up as instructed for Pre & Post Tax. Our issue is that our billing cycle is different than what QB calculates so what QB shows that we owe is either more or less than we owe. I have been making adjustments to the liability checks to get them to equal the premium payment for the month, but is there a way to avoid having to do this each month? Our Aflac payment is automatically deducted from out bank account. 

Thanks for joining this thread, @Price Tire Center

Let me provide additional information about Aflac payment in QuickBooks.

At this time, we're unable to set up a schedule for deductions and other contributions in QuickBooks Online.

However, if you're using QuickBooks Desktop, you can turn off or change the payment schedule under the benefit and other payments tab.

Here's how:

1. Go to Lists.
2. Choose Payroll Item List.
3. Right-click the deduction you want to verify and select Edit Payroll Item.
4. Click Next until the Gross vs. Net screen.
5. Verify the selection is correct.
6. Click Next until you can hit Finish.

I'll leave you with this article on editing payroll item for your reference. 

Should you want to learn some tips on managing your QuickBooks Desktop account, check our Help articles page for reference.

I'm just a post away if there's anything else you need. Take good care.

We have QB Desktop Pro with Enhanced Payroll. Maybe I am not looking in the right spot, but I do not see the options available for the steps you supplied. I've only had the program a couple of months so I'm still learning the ins and outs.

Thanks for your help!!

Hello, @Price Tire Center.

If you're not seeing the options listed by my colleague, I recommend making sure your QuickBooks Desktop has the latest payroll update and tax table. This will ensure you have the steps listed and can turn off or change the payment schedule. Here's how:

1. Navigate to the Employees tab.
2. Select Get Payroll Updates.
3. Follow the onscreen steps to complete the update.

You also want to make sure to update QuickBooks Desktop. The steps below will show you how:

1. Go to the Help menu.
2. Choose Update QuickBooks Desktop.
3. Press Update Now.

Once the update is complete, you can follow the steps above to continue editing payroll items. 

I'm only a comment away if you have any other questions. Enjoy the rest of your day!

How do you set this up for the State of California in Quickbooks Online? Apparently, AFLAC accident insurance that is 100% paid by the employee, can have pretax status for federal, but not for the state of California.

I don't see how this can be set up as a healthcare deduction in Quickbooks Online to assign pretax for federal but not for state.