WA Paid Fam Med Leave Questions

Hey there, @JayBook. It's my pleasure to share information about your Washington (WA) Paid Family Med Leave setup and other questions about it with QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) Payroll.

Since you've mentioned that the WA Paid Fam Med Leave was set up by one of Intuit's agents, I recommend reaching out to them again so they can carefully check the setup and verify if it's correct or not. They can also share more information about it.

Here's how:

1. Click Help at the top menu bar, then select QuickBooks Desktop Help.
2. Select Contact Us and then enter that you get Reminder prompts and Continue.
3. Then choose to chat with us or Have us call you.

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

Additionally, with regards to your concern you saw in the taxes menu on the Other tab, I will agree that the system will automatically update since Washington has implemented Paid Family and Medical Leave. Moreover, you're right again that the WA Paid Fam Med Leave Co item never got created as in the article since the WA Cares premium is paid by the employee, not by the employer.

If you want more details about managing WA workers' compensation, check this article: Manage Washington (WA) workers' compensation.

Please let me know if you still have questions about managing your Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave or concerns with your company file. I'm here to assist you every step of the way. Stay safe, and have a wonderful day ahead.

@GebelAlainaM

I really would prefer not to reach out to the agents about it. One reason being that if this was not the right way, I have little trust in them to fix it.  Perhaps you can post screenshots of the correct set up. And just to confirm - the WA Paid Fam Med Leave Emp under the Other tab for the employee taxes is automatically created by Quickbooks?  Because it’s not in the list when you click the drop-down for new tax. 

Regarding the WA Paid Fam Med Leave Co item that never got created, it should be different from WA CARES which starts July 1st because employers do contribute to WA Paid Fam Med Leave if they have 50+ employees and they can still opt to contribute with less than that. 

Thanks for getting back to us, @JayBook.

I'll gladly show you the correct setup of the WA Paid Fam Med Leave Emp. payroll item in QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) Payroll.

The WA Paid Fam Med Leave Emp payroll item isn't automatically created by QuickBooks unless someone created it for you (since it already shows up on your employees' paychecks). When you download and install the latest payroll update and add a new employee that 's subject to WA Paid Family Leave, the system should prompt you to set it up. Please see the screenshot below for your reference. 

For the complete guide on how to set up QuickBooks Payroll to track paid family and medical leave in Washington, please see this article: Set up Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave.

Once you're done, run your payroll so you can get your team paid and track taxes accordingly.

Also, you may want to run and customize payroll reports to get a closer look at your business finances and employee transactions in QBDP Payroll. For the complete list and guide on how to access them, you can check out this article: Run payroll reports.

Keep me posted in the comments if you have other payroll concerns or questions about managing employee taxes in QBDT Payroll. I'll gladly help. Take care always, @JayBook.

@Rea_M 
Thank you for your response. So you do need to create this tax in the other taxes section of employee screen initially. I wasn’t aware because I’m helping this employer sort out a problem he’s having with it.

So what about having a WA Paid Fam Med Leave item in the Payroll Items List?  There’s one(named with an EE at the end) in that list that also shows in the “Additions and Deductions” section of the employee payroll info. So it shows up on the pay stub on top of the one with Emp at the end, potentially deducting from the employee twice for the same thing, the way I understand it. That’s not what we want. Also, if it should be in the payroll item list, should the item have a tax tracking type?

@Mark_R 

Thank you for answering my questions

 
However I do have a couple concerns.  If we keep the item under Additions, Deductions, and Company Contributions instead of under the Taxes section, it would appear under the adjustments to net income section of the paystub if I recall. Instead of the employee taxes section.

Also, notice the fields Print on W-2 As and Emp Portion Rate in the Other Tab. I don’t believe you get to see these for this tax in the Additions, Deductions, and Company Contributions section. Or is that only my experience because we had None for the tax tracking type?

Plus, how is Quickbooks supposed to know the total amount of the deduction so that the Emp Portion Rate for their contribution will calculate the correct amount(instead of from the total gross) if you split it between company and employee?  In other words, 0.8% of gross is the total deduction, but of that amount the employee pays 72.76% and I don’t want Quickbooks to take 72.76% of the gross instead of premium amount. 

@Mark_R 

I appreciate the image for the tax tracking type as well. But I’m confused why the one ending in EE is there as well as the other two. Where would the EE one go in the employee menu?

Hi there, @JayBook.

I'm here to provide additional info. To clear things up, you can remove the payroll item under the Additions, Deductions and Company Contributions to stop it from showing under Adjustments. 

Additionally, the tax tracking type identifies how the payroll item shows on tax forms. That's why ensure to choose the correct tax tracking type for accurate forms. Let's change the "None" tax tracking type to "Other". Here's how:

1. Go to Lists.
2. Select Payroll Item Lists.
3. Pick the WA-MED and Leave.
4. Move to the Tax tracking type, and change to Other.
   

Furthermore, about the Emp portion rate, QuickBooks only depends on the rate you enter in the default rate. The rate will be the default for the item added to the employee record. You can change it by clicking the Next icon on step 4 above and moving to Default rate and limit. Ensure to enter it correctly, then, click Finish.

With regard to the one ending with EE, you can check with each employee if the item is being assigned and remove it from the employee menu.

If you want to learn how to create a payroll summary report to see what you've paid, you can read this article: Create a payroll summary report in QuickBooks.

Please know that you're always welcome to post any questions you have in this space. Have a great day ahead. 

@Bryan_M

Thank you for clarifying these items. 

I’m just still confused on the matter of how Quickbooks knows the total premium amount before calculating the Emp Portion Rate?

Thanks for getting back to us, @JayBook.

Allow me to chime in and add some information on how Quickbooks knows the total premium amount before calculating the Emp Portion Rate.

QuickBooks is only compliant with your state agency. Regarding the calculation, it'll depend on the rate you set up in QuickBooks.

For the details of running the report, you can consider checking out these articles:
 

• Create a payroll summary report
• Export reports as Excel workbooks in QuickBooks Desktop
   

If you have other questions about QuickBooks Desktop Payroll, leave a reply below. I'll be glad to assist you in the future. Have a great day!

I’m not sure if that answers my question. By saying Quickbooks is only compliant with my state, does that mean it automatically knows the premium is .8% and we just have to allocate the employee and company shares?

Hello there, @JayBook. I have here some insights to share about your query.

Yes, QuickBooks is compliant with every state, which means that QuickBooks uses the current WA Paid Fam Med Leave premium rate. All you have to do is to assign the rate to your employee and company share. 

Moreover, I recommend updating your tax table in QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) to ensure you'll have accurate tax rates and calculations.

Additionally, I'll also share this link where you can browse for articles that can guide you in managing taxes in QuickBooks: Help Articles for Taxes in QuickBooks Desktop.

Feel free to leave a reply if you have additional QuickBooks-related queries. The Community team always has your back. Have a good one.

@DHeraV 

Thank you for your reply. 

The tax table is updated. So we went to payroll setup and entered the 72.76% for the employee portion and left the company rate blank because they don’t contribute. But it took out well over $100 when it’s supposed to take out $7 and change.

Why would it be taking out so much?

Welcome back, @JayBook.

I appreciate you updating the payroll tax table to fix the calculation issue. I'll share some information on how QuickBooks calculates deductions and contributions.

QuickBooks calculates employees' deductions and contributions depending on how you set up the payroll item. Since you've entered 72.76%, QuickBooks uses this percentage to calculate based on the employee's total gross, not the premium amount.

To ensure you'll have the correct percentage or amount, I recommend contacting Washington State. Then, update the percentage or amount from the Default rate and limit on your payroll item.

I'm also adding this article to learn how to troubleshoot incorrect calculations of taxes in QuickBooks Desktop: Troubleshoot paychecks calculating incorrectly.

Please feel free to leave a comment below if you have other concerns or follow-up questions about this. I'm always here to help.

@Mark_R 

I will have to check out your link on incorrect tax calculations, but otherwise It still doesn’t make sense. Because 72.76% of total gross would have been over $700, not $100 or $200 which was the deduction it came up with.

I thought Quickbooks automatically knows the total premium and it splits that between the employee and company portions. I guess I need to go to the item from the Other tab in the Taxes section and look at the Default Rate in its setup then?  That should be the premium amount?

Hi there, JayBook. 

Joining you here to add more clarification on how this tax is tracked and calculated in QuickBooks Desktop. 

The system will calculate the deduction based on the rate that you entered in the employee setup page. As you can see, there are two separate items for this tax: 

• WA – Paid Fam Med Leave Emp: Employee portion of the total insurance premium
• WA – Paid Fam Med Leave Co: Employer portion of the total insurance premium will be added to the Payroll Item List.

The Washington Paid Family Leave Contribution has a flat rate of 0.8%, shared by employees and employers. Employees contribute 72.76% of this while employers pay 27.24%. 

QuickBooks would still use the total flat rate of 0.8%. However, you will need to determine what rate you will assign for each portion depending on the size of your company. Then, enter it on each field in the employee setup. The calculation will also be based on the taxable amount and  the rate you assigned to each item.   

For example, if you enter 0.8% (if the employee shoulders the entire premium) for the employee portion, the system will use it to calculate the deduction from the total taxable wage. 

To get more details, you can export your payroll data in excel. This will give you a detailed information when it comes to the wage base and rate used in all tax calculations. Here's how:  

1. Go to the Reports menu, scroll-down to the Employees and Payroll, and then click Summarize Payroll Data in Excel.
2. Select This Year and click QuickBooks Data.
3. Proceed to the Calculated % tab and look for the tax item.   

You can also go to the Other tab in the Taxes section to see the rate for the employee portion. Here's how:

1. Go back to the employee's information.
2. Proceed to the Payroll Info menu, then select Taxes.
3. Go to the Other tab and choose the WA Paid Fam Med Leave Emp. item.
4. Make sure the rate in the Emp. Portion Rate field is correct. 

Let me also share these articles in case you need guidance when running payroll in QuickBooks:

• Run Payroll Reports 
• Set Up, Change, or Delete Employee-paid Payroll Deductions 

The Community is always here if you need anything else.  

Hello @jenop2

Yes, I see those two, employee and employer portion rates on the employee setup page. How do I get Quickbooks to recognize the total premium needs to be 0.8% so that when I enter the employee portion it will calculate based on that and NOT on the total taxable wage like you said?

I'm hoping that by simply using a tax tracking type Other instead of None this will basically solve itself. But if not I really want answers as to how we can tell Quickbooks to apply 0.8% to the taxable wage and then deduct 72.76% of that for the employee portion. 

I appreciate you for a quick reply, @JayBook.

Let me help you clear things up. 

QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) doesn't have the ability to apply the 0.8% to the taxable wage and deduct 72.76% for the employee portion. Since QBDT is an automated system, whatever you enter in your payroll system it will automatically calculate your employee taxes and other deductions.

In your case, it is best to manually calculate it and reach out to your accountant to correctly apply the taxable wage and deduct 72.76% for the employee's part. 

To tackle taxes in QBDT, check out this link: Manage taxes in QuickBooks.

I'm glad to have you here. Feel free to reply to this post for additional questions. Keep safe, and have a good one.

Thanks for coming back @Bryan_M.

Someone here told me “QuickBooks is compliant with every state, which means QuickBooks uses the current WA Paid Fam Med Leave premium rate. All you have to do is to assign the rate to your employee and company share. ”.

I took that to mean that it somehow knows the premium rate of 0.8% so that we can split that amount between the employee(72.76%) and company(if applicable) shares. So if what you are saying is true, we have to apply the rate a different way.

How do I export the DATA in a CSV format?  (excel)

My numbers are right, but I have to enter the data into the State system by hand because I cannot figure out where the "export to excel" place is.  I'm getting to the point where I may be forced to (over 50 employees).

I've looked at other reports and tried to customize something that I could play with in excel to get the correct format,  but each report is always missing something (or I can't find it).  

Here is a link to their site which has reporting requirements to prepare a file:   HOW / Where can I do with in the quickbooks payroll?  https://paidleave.wa.gov/reporting/ 

I'm here to guide you in exporting reports via comma-separated values (CSV) file in QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT), @cheriesontop.

Keeping you compliant with your state's requirements is also vital to us to ensure that QuickBooks makes your tasks easier and more convenient. 

Also, you're correct that reports from the application may not contain all the required information that has been asked by your state. However, you can pull up another report to extract particular details and manually combine them within your Excel file.

You can take the steps below to start exporting reports via CSV:

1. Go to the Reports menu and locate the particular reports you want to export.
2. Customize the report to add the details needed.
3. In the report window, click the Excel dropdown and select Create New Worksheet.
4. Select Create a comma-separated values (.csv) file and tap the Export button.
5. Save and name the file where you can easily identify and locate it.

You can repeat the same steps to another report to export them.

Moreover, you can visit this resource to help you save your current customization: Create, access and modify memorized reports.

Stay in touch on how we can assist you further with your report or any QuickBooks-related concerns. I'll ensure you get assistance in no time.