2020 Form 944

Hi, @BobOHara.

Regarding this matter, we really need to pull up your account. Since this is a public forum, we're unable to do that. So, I'll point you in the right direction. This way, they can investigate the root cause of why the Employee Retention field is not populating in the 944 forms. Also, they will help you in overriding the said form. 
 

Here's jow: 

1. Go to this link: https://help.quickbooks.intuit.com/prechats/offerings/QB-Desktop-ProPremier-CHAT/22240/view.
2. Complete the required information. 
3. Hit Submit. 

Ensure to call them within business hours to address your concern on time. 

I've added some pages that might help you in the filing, printing 944, and other related topics. 

• How QuickBooks populates the 944
• FAQ: Form 944
• E-file 940, 941, and 944 tax forms
• Year-end checklist for QuickBooks Desktop Payroll

If there’s anything else I can help you with about QuickBooks, click the Reply button and post a comment. I’ll be glad to assist further. Have a great day ahead. 

I had already submitted a case with Intuit support (Dec 17) and there is still no resolution.  I was hoping someone had a better answer.

Bob O'Hara

I want to ensure this is taken care of, @BobOHara.

To fix this, I'd recommend getting in touch with our Customer Support Team. This way, they can pull up your account securely and help you resolve the issue.

Here's how:

1. Go to the Help menu.
2. Select QuickBooks Desktop Help.
3. In the Have a Question window, scroll down to choose the Contact us link.
4. This will display the Contact Us screen.
5. Go to the Tell us more about your question section to enter the issue or topic in the field box.
6. Click the Search button to display the Get Phone Number or Start a Message button.

Also, I’m adding a guide that lists our support hours and calls me back options to fit our customers' schedules: Support hours and types.

I've added this article about filing 944 tax forms: E-file 940, 941, and 944 tax forms.

Leave me a comment below if you have other questions. I'm more than happy to help. Take care!

Already did that.  Spent a couple of hours with them on December 17 and the rep determined that it was an error in the software.  

Bob

Here's an update.  The latest payroll version01120222 populates the fields correctly.  However, there is still the error when filing for a refund.  Attached is a screen shot.  I can't override the error or e-file with the error.

I appreciate you for sharing the update with us, @#BobOHara.

Since the latest payroll populates the fields correctly and you're getting an error while filing for a refund, I'd suggest contacting our Customer Support Team. They can check the setup of your form and provide further troubleshooting steps to get this fix.

Also, you can follow up on the case that you've submitted and ask for any updates. To reach our Customer Support Team, you can follow the steps shared by my colleagues above.

For more details about form 944, you can check out the articles shared by my colleagues.

Lastly, I recommend running any payroll reports in the program. These will help you manage your payroll and employee expenses. You can also customize them to focus on the details that matter the most. 

Feel free to utilize the comments section below if you have any other concerns. I'll get back to you as soon as I can. 

Joesem M

I appreciate the fact that you are required to publish a canned response, and you are suggesting that I spend another couple of hours with the support team to review the set-up on the Form 944.  I wonder if you realize that I have NO control over the form.  If you look at the document I included it's obvious that there is an error in the software.  The form clearly shows that a refund is due, and yet the error message says there is a payment due.  How is this a problem with the way I set up the form?

It took Intuit 2 payroll updates to get the 944 to correctly populate the Employee Retention Credit right.  The rep I spoke with initially acknowledged that I did everything right.  I'm too busy with client payrolls and getting ready for tax season to waste more time.  I respectfully suggest that the development team look into this further.   

Thanks for getting back to us here, @BobOHara.

I'm happy to walk you through the steps in getting your Form 944 sorted out. You'll want to choose the Apply to next return box instead to claim the credit. You can also get an advance refund of the credit using Form 7200.

To create the form:

1. Go to Employees, then tick Payroll Center.
2. Select on the File forms Tab
3. Choose Quarterly Form 7200. Fill in all necessary fields, using the report and totals you calculated in Step 1 above to complete the form.
4. Print and fax to the IRS.

For more information about Form 7200, check out this guide: How to use IRS Form 7200.

Additionally, here's an article that can help you along the way.

• How to calculate the Employee Retention Credit.

If you need help with other payroll tasks, click this link to go to our general payroll topics with articles. 

Keep me posted if you still have questions or concerns with the payroll forms. I'm more than willing to answer them for you. Take care and stay safe.

#1 - Checking the Apply Credit to next return generates the same error.   Leaving both boxes blank creates ANOTHER error (it tells me to check one of the boxes).  So I cannot e-file the 944 under any circumstances.

#2 - since the 7200 has to be mailed or faxed, it makes much more sense to mail in the 944 rather than submit 2 separate forms.  Besides, filing the 7200 will require a reconciliation at some point, at that's even more useless work. 

I'm not asking for workarounds that actually create more work.  I'm asking for a software fix.  I want to e-file a correct 944 and get the client the refund he deserves. 

This is a note to any development manager who may be monitoring this forum:

Form 944 must be filed by January 31.  Errors in the form at this point prevent e-filing if the taxpayer is entitled to an Employee Retention Credit.  While the 944 could be mailed, doing so would significantly increase the time getting the credit into the hands of those businesses which are entitled to it and, in the case of my client, need it to keep their business running.  And I can't believe that I'm the only one with this issue.

I alerted Support in mid-December to problems with the 944.  My background is in high-tech, having almost 40 years on both the vendor and client side, so I appreciate the complexity of rolling out a new product.  However, the Employee Retention Credit has been working well on the 941s so it's curious why the 2020 944 didn't handle it correctly on initial release, and why it took almost a month and 2 payroll updates to get that right.  Furthermore, the fact that errors in claiming the credit still exist indicates that there was incomplete testing of the 944.    This is not what your customers expect, and not what our clients expect from us. 

Feel free to contact me at [email address removed] if you want to discuss this further.

Just want to add,  I experienced the same issue with Form 944 efile; hoping/waiting/ expecting an update a.s.a.p.

It isn't the kind of experience that we want you to have, AEPM.

If you've already tried the suggestions shared above, yet the same thing happens, I'd recommend reaching out to our Phone Support team. Our agents there can pull up your account and ensure that you have the updated tax table.

Here's how:

1. From the Help menu, select QuickBooks Desktop Help.
2. Scroll down and click Contact Us.
3. Enter E-File Form 944 as your keyword.
4. Click Continue.
5. You can choose how you'll want to contact our support.

Feel free to bookmark these links that have detailed information as to how QuickBooks populates the details for Form 944:

• How QuickBooks populates the 944
• FAQ: Form 944
• E-file 940, 941, and 944 tax forms
• Year-end checklist for QuickBooks Desktop Payroll

Let me know if I can be of help. I'm just around if you need help. Keep safe!

Just released payroll version 1182149 DOES NOT fix this error.

Same issue.. we have 5 days left... just mail it I guess??? Since the company who literally gets around $9k a year of my money for software can't seem to figure out how to actually fix a problem....  and this isn't the first time.....

Please no canned responses..it'll just make me angry lol

Frustrating!

This is not the impression we want you to experience when suing QuickBooks, angie39.

If you've already performed the recommended solutions provided by my colleague above, I'd suggest reaching out to our Technical Support Team. They'll pull up your account in a secure environment and help you with this one.

Also, if you're trying to print your 944 Reporting agent form and Page 3 is not populating correctly when printing, we have an ongoing investigation about this one. Where it shows the exact same information as with Page 2. Our engineers are working together to have a permanent fix on this issue. 

You may send a message via chat, call us at a time convenient to you, or we’ll get in touch with you instead. Then, they'll add you to the list of affected users and send you an email notification once there's an update. To ensure we address your concern, our representatives are available from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM on weekdays and 6:00 AM - 3:00 PM on Saturdays, PST. See our support hours and types for more details about this one. Here's how to reach them: 

1. Click the Help icon on the top menu. 
2. Choose QuickBooks Desktop Help. 
3. Tap Contact us.
4. Select Search for something else and enter your concern in the Tell us more about your question: field. 
5. Tap Search. 
6. Choose Start a Message or Get Phone Number to connect with our support. 

Feel free to visit our Tax Forms page for more insights about adding and managing your tax forms.

I'd like to know how things going after contacting our support agent, as I want to ensure this is resolved for you. Please reply to this post and I'll get back to you. Take care always.

Another canned response.  There are NO recommended solutions that work.  The ONLY solution is for the development team to fix the erroneous errors that prevent e-filing the 944.  Since the error logic for the 941 is identical to the 944, it's extremely frustrating that this is still outstanding with just a few days left till the deadline.

found it funny there is a typo... he said when "suing" quickbooks... I'd love to sue them lol!

They seriously underestimate how busy I (we) are at this time of year... noone has time to "chat" or sit on hold while someone from another country tells you to rebuild your quickbooks or check this or that....  I'm fairly intelligent and if I ask for help fixing something, it's because I've exhausted all the "fixes".....

Now Quickbooks...it's YOUR turn to fix something... the 944 is not working correctly...  the signature page is NOT printing.  So...not only can we not efile it... we can't print and mail it...   I'll just manually do one and mail it in..

Curious to know, Bob, does your 944 include wages for statutory employees?  Mine does...interested in knowing if that is why there might be an error.

Hi, Angie

No statutory employees.  Regular salary coded as CARES Emp Retention.

This is beyond frustrating!!

Bob

I just updated to payroll version 01231112 and the error preventing claiming the credit is still there.  It's obvious that either the development team is unaware of this error or they're totally incompetent.  Does anyone in authority actually monitor this forum?  Is there any mechanism for users to direct questions or suggestions to somebody who can actually do something?  Or is this forum a farce? 

OK, here's where my frustration level just increased 10-fold.  The employer's version of the 944 accepts the Request Refund box-check.  However, this form cannot be e-filed.  The reporting agent version, which is the one we use to e-file, still has that error.  I won't repeat my previous criticisms, but I'm leaning toward "incompetence".

Another day, another payroll update and STILL the error persists.  I'm stuck in Groundhog Day!

I just updated to 01282252 and get the same error.  The reporting agent form 944 does not allow the Employee Retention Credit to be refunded. 2 more days to filing deadline. Isn't anybody listening??? 

Just updated to version 02041013 and STILL NO FIX!!!