company paid moving expenses

I'm here to provide an overview of the Adjust Liabilities feature in QuickBooks Desktop, @debbiedp.

When you enter incorrect information in your employee's payroll, we use this functionality to make corrections. I'll lay down reasons why we need to make use of this feature:

•  When you mistakenly use the wrong tax tracking type in a payroll item.
• To resolve a year-to-date (YTD) wages, taxes, and deductions item.
• Make adjustments to the amount set for company deduction and contribution.

Please visit this article for reference: Adjust payroll liabilities in QuickBooks Desktop Payroll.

Moreover. it's best to consult your accountant for guidance on since they have the knowledge to assist you in handling this. 

Additionally, here's a helpful article you can read about personalizing, managing, and keeping track of your employee's payroll in QBDT: Customize payroll and employee reports.

Let me know in the comments if you have further questions about using Adjust Liability feature. I'm always ready to help you anytime. I'm just one reply away.

Adjust Liabilities doesn't work for this if I click don't affect accounts, because then the paycheck doesn't add in the tax amounts. (I did a test to try it out for next month's paycheck and then deleted it before seeing your reply.)

What is the correct procedure for setting up the payroll item for a fringe benefit that has already been paid so that it doesn't post the expense twice?

Allow me to chime in and help you remove the payments from your liability screen to prevent duplicate postings, @debbiedp.

The correct procedure to avoid duplicate posting for the pending liabilities is to make a prior payment to ensure it impacts the liability account if you have already recorded the moving expenses. If not, then you must affect both the liability and bank accounts.

Here's how: 

1. Go to the Help menu and choose About QuickBooks.
2. Press Ctrl + Alt + Y or Ctrl + Shift + Y to open the Setup YTD Amounts window.
3. Select Next until you reach the Enter Prior Payments section.
4. In the Enter Prior Payments window, select Create Payment to enter all prior payroll tax and non-tax payroll liability payments.
5. Put the Payment Date based on what's in the liability screen.
   
6. In the Taxes and Liabilities field, select the payroll tax item you've already paid and want to record in QuickBooks Desktop. After, input the amount. 
   
7. Open Accounts and Affected, then select Affect liability accounts but not the bank account if you already recorded the moving expense. If not, choose Affect Liability and Bank accounts.
8.  Select Done to save your work.
9. Select Finish to close the window.

Please reach out to Payroll Support to further assist you in checking the moving expenses. Our support hours are from Monday-Friday, 6 AM to 6 PM PT.

Moreover, check this article to guide you if you need to pay your federal taxes and file the necessary payroll forms: E-file and e-pay federal forms and taxes.

Keep us posted if you have other questions about liability payments. We're here to help you promptly. Stay safe.

Thank you, MichaelaS,

That did get the amount off of the Payroll Liability Balances report, so that's an improvement.

However, the duplicate amount is still showing in our expense account for Moving Expenses.  It lists the Check payable to the moving company that was sent and also the Paycheck dated 4/30/2024 direct deposited to our Employee.  That effects the profit/loss statements and the YTD Budget vs Actual report.  I needed one more option on the Prior Payments window to Affect Liability AND Expense accounts but not the bank account.  

Is there another secret hidden window to fix the expenses or do I need to find someplace to Journal Entry it to?

Making sure your account has the correct balance is vital in maintaining the accuracy of your books, @ debbiedp. I'm here to help you fix it.

To do so, let's pull up your Payroll Item Listing report and move the amount to the correct account. Before doing so, I recommend creating a backup copy of your file to ensure you have the original data you can restore at any time. Once done, refer to these steps: 

1. Navigate to the Reports tab and select the Payroll Item Listing under Employees and Payroll.
2. From there, review the payroll item to check if it’s associated with the correct account. If not, double-click on the account name to open and correct the account. Then, click Next.
3. Next, in the Liability Account dropdown, choose Payroll Liabilities.
4. Then, click Next until you reach Finish and select it.
5. In the Update transactions with new account window, click Update all existing transactions to use this new account, then OK.

For reference, check out this article: Fix a discrepancy on Payroll Liability Balances report in QuickBooks Desktop Payroll.

However, if the issue persists I recommend getting in touch with our Payroll support team to further investigate and help you correct the amount. Once connected, you can request a screen-sharing session so they can review your setup. 

Should you have other concerns about managing your payroll liabilities, just drop a reply below. I'm always around in the Community to give a hand. Keep safe. 

Thank you.  That is all very helpful, except it still doesn’t solve the problem. 

The expense has already been posted.  I issued the check to the moving company.  The problem is getting the amount to show up for tax computation and reporting for the employee without it showing up as a duplicate expense.  Yes, I understand that you need to pay liabilities with a liability payment.  I do that through payroll every month with medical insurance, HSA payments, and pension payments.

I can’t believe that we are the only company in the country that has paid for a new employee’s moving expenses before they paid the employee’s first paycheck.

Thanks for following up with the Communikty, debbiedp. I appreciate your detailed information.

To properly identify how you can get the moving expenses to show up for tax reporting, but not show up as a duplicate expense, I'd recommend working with an accounting professional.

If you're in need of one, there's an awesome tool on our website called Find a ProAdvisor. All ProAdvisors listed there are QuickBooks-certified and able to provide helpful insights for driving your business's success.

Here's how it works:

1. Go to our Find a ProAdvisor page.
2. Use the City or ZIP search field to specify a location.
3. Select Find a ProAdvisor.
4. Browse through your results and find one that works best for the business. You can click on each ProAdvisor's profile to learn more information about them.
   
   

Once you've found an accountant, they can be contacted through their Send a message form:
 

1. Use the available text box to introduce yourself. Be sure to include details about which services you're looking for.
2. Enter your appropriate info in the Your name, Your email, and Your phone number (optional) fields.
3. Select Send message.

You'll also be able to find many detailed resources about using QuickBooks in our help article archives.

If there's any additional questions, I'm just a post away. Have a wonderful Thursday!