I'm trying to view form 940, but it shows that there is an overpayment and i need to resolve that first. How do I find out what overpayment ?

Hi there, royacho, 

I’ll share some insights on how to handle the tax overpayment when viewing your form 940.

In QuickBooks Online Payroll (QBOP), it won’t allow you to generate a form if there's a tax overpayment associated with it.

To resolve it, let’s first determine the validity of the overpayment. Here are the valid causes:

• A tax rate was decreased after a tax payment was made.
• One or more paychecks were deleted after a tax payment was made.
• A duplicate tax payment was made.
• A historical tax payment was incorrectly entered.

You become aware of a tax overpayment from these following scenarios:

• A negative entry on the Pay Taxes page in your payroll account.
• An indication of an overpayment when you attempt to file a form.
• Receipt of a notice of credit from the IRS or state tax agency.

It's important to correctly resolve them for these reasons:

• You can receive the credit that's owed to you.
• You can successfully file forms, including your form 940. 
• You can pay your FUTA taxes.

Please keep in mind that not all of them are valid. Here are the invalid causes:

• Incorrectly entered tax rate.
• Incorrect liability period on a tax payment.
• Incorrectly recorded historical tax payment.

Once you’ve verified it appears as a negative entry on the Pay Taxes page, you can resolve it. Here’s how:

1. Click the Resolve OverPayment button beside the 940 link.
2. You'll see a summary of the overpayment.
3. If the state tax agency allows you to either request a refund of the overpayment or apply it forward, you'll see the options on the next page.
4. Make your selection, then click Save.

Once done, you can review the resolved overpayment by checking the negative entry on your Tax Payments report. For more details, please go through this article: https://community.intuit.com/articles/1771354.

If you have no Resolve OverPayment button, you’ll need to contact our QBOP Support Team. This way, they can securely look upon your account and help resolve them.

Here’s how to reach out to them:

1. Go to https://payroll.intuit.com/support/contact/?infosrc=qs&service=64.
2. Get the phone number for QuickBooks Online Payroll.

Feel free to add a comment below how the steps above work on your end, royacho. If you need any help, please let me know. Rest assured, I’m glad to assist you further.

 What do you do if the overpayment is invalid?  How do you clear this out?  Do not give me a generic response.  If you resolve it, changes the balance of your liabilities account for the overpaid amount,  but how do you clear it with a journal entry, since there is no associated other account. 

Hi, az121. Allow me to elaborate and clarify things for you.

If you have invalid tax overpayments, you’ll need to fix the issues below rather than resolve the overpayment:

• Incorrectly entered tax rate
• Incorrect liability period on a tax payment
• Incorrectly recorded historical tax payment

However, if you need to clear out the overpayment using a Journal Entry (JE), you may need to consult with your accountant. This is to ensure the accuracy of your books. If you don't have an accountant, we can help you find one through this link: Find a ProAdvisor.

You can also visit this article to learn how to handle underpaid taxes in QuickBooks Payroll: Resolve a payroll tax underpayment.

I'm always around to lend a hand if you have more QuickBooks concerns. Take care and have a productive day.

The payment is a valid payment,  the overpayment is invalid (wrong).   There is nothing to edit, because the tax payment is recorded correctly, but quickbooks thinks its an overpayment, and it is not.  (Its a 940 payment.)   How do I clear the false "overpayment."  Please do not give the generic response.  Do not refer me to support.  Find someone that knows something.   This is your mission.    That way, when other people have this problem, they can find this post, and not waste your companies time calling in. 

Your extra information about your overpayment of tax liabilities is much appreciated @az121. I'm here to clarify things and help you through some additional procedures to rule this out.

While we recognize how valuable your time is, contacting our Customer Support staff is an important step in resolving overpaid taxes. This is for them to double-check and ensure everything is settled.

You can either apply the overpayments to any additional payroll tax liabilities you have for the rest of the quarter until it's all used up. Or you can apply it to the next quarter or request a refund. Here's how:

1. Open the Taxes menu, then click on Payroll tax.

2. Choose Payments.

3. Locate the Overpaid tax, then hit Resolve. If you don't see the Resolve option, contact us for help.

4 . Choose one of the following if available:

• Request a refund (Note that you'll need to contact your tax agency to get your refund)
• Apply to a future tax payment (recommended)

5. Click on Confirm, then hit Done.

6. Reach out to the IRS or your state agency to request refunds or apply taxes to future periods.

Furthermore, I recommend contacting your accountant to ensure your books are in order. They can also give you more details on the best action to take.

For future use, check out this guide to complete certain tasks in QuickBooks Online to prepare for the new year: QuickBooks Online year-end guide and checklist.

Please know that your satisfaction is important, and I am here to assist you in any way I can. Comment below if you have other questions regarding taxes or QuickBooks in particular. Keep safe.