Payroll Tax Liability Quarter issue

Hi, @Fishmarket1001.

I'm

 very eager to lend a hand in setting up your payroll tax liabilities in QuickBooks Desktop Payroll.

According to the IRS guidelines (the doctrine of constructive receipt), employers are responsible for payroll taxes on the date they pay the employees regardless of when they did the work associated with that paycheck. Therefore, payroll taxes are calculated based on the paycheck dates. So if the payroll period is in March but the pay date is in April, those taxes will fall on Quarter 2 of 2024.

Once you're ready to set up your QBDT Payroll so you can electronically pay your state payroll taxes and file state forms based on your product, check out this article for a detailed step-by-step process: Set up and e-file and e-pay in QuickBooks Desktop Payroll Enhanced.

If you want to pull up various payroll reports in the future to see a glimpse of your payroll tasks, you can check out this article: Run payroll reports.

Let me know how else I can help you with your QuickBooks-payroll-related tasks by commenting below. I'm here to lend a helping hand. Keep safe.

Thanks for this. I'm assuming state is probably the same? Not sure if it depends on which state you're in but I'm in California.

I appreciate the quick response, @Fishmarket1001. 

Yes, it's the same with the state of California. Let me add further info about this.

Since the constructive receipt rule applies to state agencies, like the California Employment Development Department (EDD), the liability period is determined based on when the paychecks are issued rather than the payroll period itself. 

For your example of paychecks dated April 5, 2024, for the payroll period of March 16 to March 31, 2024, these would fall into the second quarter of 2024 for both federal and state payroll tax purposes.

To stay informed about any particular state guidelines that can affect payroll tax filing and payments, you can refer to the California EDD resources: E-file and E-pay Mandate for Employers. 

Should you need to correct employees’ year-to-date (YTD) or quarter-to-date (QTD) payroll info in QuickBooks Desktop Payroll, let me add this article as a reference: Adjust payroll liabilities in QuickBooks Desktop Payroll.

You're always welcome in the Community should you need further assistance managing payroll tax liabilities in QBDT Payroll. We're committed to offering ongoing support. Take care.