Thanks for bringing this one to our attention, cvwiii87.

You'll see the Manage Payroll Items option if you're using QuickBooks Desktop and has an activate payroll subscription. If so, we can revalidate your service key to get that payroll option available in your software.

Here's how:

1. Go to Employees, on the top menu.
2. Choose then My Payroll Service.
3. Click Manage Payroll Service.
4. Tap the Edit button.
5. Review the Service Key number, then hit Next.
6. Press Finish. When the Payroll Update message appears, select OK.
7. Verify the Service Status shows Active and then select OK.

Once done, track paid leave and sick time for the coronavirus in QuickBooks. Just follow the steps and details in Step 3: Set up payroll items section.

Just in case you're using QuickBooks Online (QBO) Payroll, see Pay employees under the Family First Coronavirus Response Act article for more details. It will guide you on how to pay your employees paid leave if they’ve been affected by COVID-19 in QBO Payroll and Intuit Online Payroll/

Visit our QuickBooks Payroll page for more insights about managing your payroll in your account.

I'll be right here to continue helping if you have any other concerns or questions about QuickBooks. Just reply to this post as I want to ensure this is resolved for you. Take care always.

Hello!  Any update on why this is zeroing out on the Employee portion of SS and Medicare?  If we are paying an employee due to COVID and would like the credit for the payroll, but do not want to defer the SS and Medicare, how do we go about this?  Following the instructions from QB makes the employee and employer portion of SS and Medicare go to 0.00 as well as changes the Federal w/holding for my employee to the add'l amount he has w/held on each paycheck already and does not include any add'l federal w/holding as it should.  Any suggestions?

Hi there, BethatVIVO.

Thanks for following up on this thread and for providing those details about what's going on in your account when you go to pay your employee in QuickBooks Desktop. I want to make sure you're able to get this done without deferring the Social Security and Medicare portions, so I'd like to lend a hand.

One thing I recommend double checking is to make sure your settings haven't been adjusted for Social Security defferal. This may have been done in response to the SS Deferral Memorandum, and would be why the amounts automatically go to 0.00. The following article provides the steps to adjust this setting: How to set up Employee Social Security Deferral in QuickBooks

Additionally, this write-up offers the info on how to track paid leave and sick time for the Coronavirus.

Please feel free to reach back out if you have any other questions. I'll be here to help.

Great, thanks.  I don't see anywhere on how to check if that is what happened though?  That just tells me how to set it up.  Also, why is this tied in w/ the COVID-19 pay thing?  I thought these were separate? 

To further that, it seems the only way to not have SS and Medicare deferred is to have the paid leave be a line item on the Earnings section of the paycheck.  I can then put the National Paid Leave in the Other Payroll Items area and input the amount as well, and it does not register on the paycheck at all. 

I am having same problem with the Paid Leave not used in calculating the 401k deferral.  Any solutions?

Let's ensure you've set up the paid leave correctly, GingerTexas.

This way, it will calculate correctly. You can check this reference for the details: How to track paid leave and sick time for the coronavirus.

If you've set it up correctly, though. I'd suggest reaching out to our payroll support. This way, an agent can take a better look at this. They have more tools, like screen sharing, that can help you resolve this. Here's how:

1. Click Help inside QuickBooks.
2. Go to QuickBooks Desktop Help.
3. Click Contact Us.
4. Enter "Paid leave not used in calculating the 401k deferral" in the description field, then click Continue.
5. Select either Start messaging or Get a callback.

Visit the Community if you have other payroll concerns. We're right here to assist you. Take care!