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Pam F
Level 1

S Corp owner health insurance

I have a situation where an S Corp owner's health insurance was being recorded as other the other employees with pre-tax deductions.  I'm trying to correct this to get the medicare/social security paid in on the "pre-tax" amounts already paid for the year.  My first thought is to create a paycheck that reverses the insurance deductions (postive amount for the pretax item) but I'm not sure what other item I would use to zero out the check.  The s corp owner obviously already received these wages, they just weren't taxed properly so it should be a net zero check.  Any help or other suggestions greatly appreciated.

4 Comments 4
ChristineJoieR
QuickBooks Team

S Corp owner health insurance

When managing payroll in QuickBooks, understanding tax tracking types is essential for accurate reporting and compliance, Pam. I've got some information that can help you streamline your pre-tax deduction in QuickBooks Desktop Payroll.

 

In QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT), health insurance premiums paid for S-Corporation owners can be treated as a pre-tax deduction. In this case, we'll need to properly set payroll items to default to help QuickBooks automatically select the taxes that are always affected by the payroll item.

 

Here's How:

 

  1. Go to Lists, then Payroll Item List.
  2. Tap the Payroll Item  dropdown, then New.
  3. Pick the Custom Setup, then Next.
  4. Select Deduction, then Next.
  5. Enter the name of the deduction, and select Next.
  6. If applicable, select the name of the plan administrator (or add it),  and the account number. Then select Next.
  7. Choose the applicable Tax tracking type or click the Default button.
  8. Press the Next three times.
  9. Leave the Default rate and limit fields blank unless these apply to all of your employees. You’ll add the rate and limit when the item is added to the employee profile.
  10. Choose the Finish button.

 

As for your adjustment concerns, you don't have to make manual adjustments for them since we have a payroll liabilities adjustment feature to correct or update payroll records. This could involve adjusting employee wages, hours worked, tax withholdings, or benefits deductions due to errors, changes in employment status, or other factors.

 

  1. From the top menu, choose an Employees.
  2. In the Payroll Center, select Adjust Payroll Liabilities.
  3. In the Adjust Payroll window, select an Employee to correct your employee’s YTD info and the payroll item you wish to adjust, such as federal tax, state tax, or other relevant tax categories.
  4. Input the adjustment amount in the Amount column. You need to enter a positive amount to increase the Social Security and Medicare.
  5. Review the adjustments and click OK or Save to apply the changes.

 

Furthermore, I recommend consulting with a tax professional  to ensure compliance with tax regulations and to maximize your potential tax benefits. A qualified expert can provide tailored advice based on your specific situation, helping you navigate complex tax laws and identify deductions or credits you may not be aware of. 

 

After making adjustments, I suggest checking your liabilities are already updated in your accounts by running the payroll summary report again to verify that all information is correct. 

 

If you have any further questions or need assistance with specific adjustments, don’t hesitate to reach out. Keeping your payroll accurate not only benefits your employees but also strengthens your overall financial management. 

PFreijeTax
Level 2

S Corp owner health insurance

Thank you for the quick reply.  I do appreciate it.  Let me clarify a few items. I am a tax professional and this question is for one of my clients. S corp owners insurance is not pre tax. It is paid by the s corp. The s corp owner then takes the SEHID on their 1040. However, payroll to date was done incorrectly and the insurance premium deductions were entered as pre-tax and they are not.  They are subject to FICA (medicare and social security) so I need to manually adjust them to get this tax figured in. I've corrected everything so it is being tracked correctly now. My only question was how to adjust for the ytd amounts that were pre-taxed and now need to have the FICA calculated on them. A manual paycheck is usually the clearest way to track this years down the road but I'm not sure what to offset the positive insurance adjustment to to make sure it doesn't affect soemthing else in wages or taxes that it isn't supposed to.  

Carneil_C
QuickBooks Team

S Corp owner health insurance

I recognize the urgency of getting this issue sorted out, @PFreijeTax.

 

Let me provide information about correcting the pre-tax deductions.

 

I see that you've posted twice here in the Community space regarding your concern. My colleague already addressed this matter in another thread. Please click on this link to see the response: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/employees-and-payroll/re-s-corp-owner-health-insur... 

 

Moreover, you can run this Payroll Summary report if you want a quick view of your payroll totals: Create a payroll summary report in QuickBooks.

 

This thread is still open for replies if you still have queries about your payroll tasks. We're here to help. Keep safe always.

FishingForAnswers
Level 10

S Corp owner health insurance

@Carneil_C   "However, I'd still recommend communicating with your accountant to provide you with the best process for handling this matter."

 

Good grief.

 

@PFreijeTax  is a tax professional, you dingus.

 

Do any of your staff actually read the questions, or do you just look for shiny keywords to whip out your scripts on?

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