I'm an S corp employee owner (no other employees) trying to enter employee + employer 401k contributions made by my corp through the year. How to do this in QB payroll?

I see you are trying to enter employee plus employer 401k contributions made by your corp throughout the year in QuickBooks Online Payroll. Worry not. I've got you covered. I have here guidelines to help you record these contributions in your QBO account.

You can set up a payroll item for 401K to record both employee and company contributions within QuickBooks Online (QBO) Payroll. After processing a payroll, this will automatically log the deductions in your bank account. Here's the process:

1. Go to Payroll, then select Employees.
2. Click the name of your employee and select the Pay pencil icon.
3. Go to Does employee have any deductions? section and click + Add/edit deductions.
4. Select + Add/edit deductions/contribution.
5. From the Deduction/contribution ▼ drop-down list, choose + Add deduction/contribution.
6. Select a Deduction/contribution type and Type. 
7. Add a Description. This is the deduction or plan name which appears on paychecks.
8. Choose whether you want the deduction to be calculated as a Flat amount or Percentage of gross pay. Then enter the amount or percentage. 
9. Click Save, then Done.

For additional details, including instructions on allocating retirement plan deductions and company contributions, refer to this article: Set up or change a retirement plan.

With all that, you can enter employee plus employer 401k contributions made by your corp throughout the year in QuickBooks Online Payroll. Drop me a comment below if you have further questions about setting up 401k or other QuickBooks-related concerns. I'll be happy to help you some more. Have a great day ahead!

Thanks for the response. Since these contributions were applied upstream to my paying myself via payroll, these contributions were not automatically included in my payroll during 2023. How do I add what I contributed now that we're at year's end, with no additional normal salary/payrolls I need to run? For example, let's say I have $20k employee contributions and $40k employer contributions to account for for the year. I've already added the deduction ($20k/paycheck) and company contribution ($40k/paycheck) through your mentioned method, but have not actually subsequently run the payroll. How does this get translated into my W-2? Thanks in advance!

Hi jpksiu-qbpayroll,

I appreciate your detailed response regarding your contribution. However, we'll need help from our QBO Payroll team to do some adjustments to reflect the contributed amount. Please contact them from 6 AM to 6 PM PT, weekdays.

1. Sign in to your QuickBooks Online company.
2. Go to Help (?).
3. Select Contact Us.
4. Enter your concern, then select Let's talk.
5. Choose a way to connect with us:
   • Start a chat with a support expert.
   • Get a callback from the next available expert.

If you have other questions in mind, feel free to go back to this thread. Have a good one!

I got on the phone for 2 hours with the QB payroll team and ultimately does not appear solved yet. At the end they came up with possibly creating a net zero paycheck to account for the lump sum retirement contributions, but doesn't this create increased tax burden for myself since I'm not able to zero out the FICA taxes on the paycheck?

Thank you for coming back to the Community, jpksiu-qbpayroll.

I acknowledge your concern regarding the potential tax implications arising from a net zero paycheck. I'm here to help you find the best solution for your situation. 

Managing retirement contributions and taxes can be challenging. I advise contacting our Payroll Support Team again to address the potential increase in accumulated taxes. Our specialists will be able to make the required adjustments to ensure the accuracy of your payroll data.

Here's how to reach them:

1. In your company, tap the Help icon in the upper right to display the support window.
2. Choose the Assistant tab and enter a brief description of your concern in the Type something bar.
3. Press the Get help from a human link to see more options.
4. In the How would you like to connect with us? section, choose Chat to initiate a conversation and Callback to speak with an agent.

For comprehensive information on the support hours offered for each payroll service, refer to the following guide: Contact Payroll Support.

These articles will come in handy for future use as they obtain solutions to correct any incorrect amount in your paychecks, helpful tips for year-end filings, and valuable information on creating a zero net paycheck.

• Troubleshoot paychecks calculating incorrectly
• Year-end checklist for QuickBooks Online Payroll
• Create a zero net paycheck

Feel free to reach out if you have any additional questions about tracking 401(k) contributions or other payroll-related matters. I'm here to help and would be delighted to assist you, jpksiu-qbpayroll. Enjoy the rest of your day!

Thanks for the response. Getting mixed information here - your reply suggests that there are adjustments to be made in the background by Quickbooks payroll staff, but upon speaking to another rep for about 1 hour, it ultimately led to the conclusion that there shouldn't be any adjustments made in the background, that the net zero paycheck would be the correct thing to do, and that the FICA taxes would "not be counted", somehow. [email address removed] was also given to send any tax notices to should I receive one from the IRS regarding underpaying those taxes. 

I have  two employees whom are s corp owners  they personally contributed to 401 k not the company there are no company contributions to date how does this reflect on the w-2    they intend to do the maximum amount of 22,500.000 and 7500 catch up

Hello, @accomacktax.

In this case, you'll need to verify under those employee profiles if the 401k is included in the setup so it will be reflected on their W2. If it's verified and still not show, I suggest reaching out to our Payroll support team to help you with payroll correction.

Here's how:

1. In your company file, click the Help button.
2. In the QuickBooks Assistance chatbox, select Talk to a human and choose I still need a human.
3. Then, hit Contact Us.

Please check out this article for QuickBooks support hours: Contact Payroll Support in QuickBooks Online.

Just in case you want to run payroll reports to view useful information about your business and employees, you can check out this article for further guidance: Run payroll reports.

Come back to this post if you have clarification about managing payroll in the program. I'll always be happy to assist you.

THANK YOU 

Hello there, Accomacktax.
 

We're glad to hear that our colleague was able to inform and assist you with your concerns. Your experience is our topmost priority.
 

We continually strive to improve our product to improve your QuickBooks experience.
 

You're always free to get in touch if you need help with anything else in QuickBooks. We'll be right here to back you up. Best wishes!