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Lochkelly
Level 3

SC Withholding suddenly withheld for pastor when they had not been - Desktop QB Premier Nonprofit with Enhanced Payroll

Church Bookkeeper here.  Since January of 2020 (when we went to QB) until last month our pastor's paycheck did not have South Carolina taxes withheld.  (Please don't get into if a pastor should or shouldn't have withholdings.  This has been discussed with the pastor's tax accountant.)  When I began to pay the SC payroll tax liabilities, the total was over half again as much as usual.  After digging, I discovered that for some reason the SC Withholdings had been switched on for the pastor!!  I have not adjusted these settings and neither has anyone else.  Mystery to me!  Anyway...

 

Now I need to know the best way to return this money to the pastor in May's paycheck while also getting the SC tax liability amount corrected.  I tried to reverse the amount in his May check detail by entering a positive amount but it keeps defaulting it to a negative number, which of course will double the amount of withholding!  Ugh.

 

Any suggestions?

 

Thanks,

Lisa

4 Comments 4
katherinejoyceO
QuickBooks Team

SC Withholding suddenly withheld for pastor when they had not been - Desktop QB Premier Nonprofit with Enhanced Payroll

Hello there, @ Lochkelly. 

 

In QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT), we can set up your pastor's payroll as a clergy.

 

To correct, let's start off by following the steps to exempt your employee from Federal or State Withholding

 

Then, let's exempt him from all other payroll taxes. 

 

Here's how:

 

  1. Select Employees, then double-click your clergy. 
  2. Select Taxes from the Payroll Info tab, then uncheck the FUTA, Social Security, or medicare boxes as appropriate from the Federal tab.
  3. From the State tab, uncheck the SUI box and any other state tax boxes as appropriate. 
  4. If your state has an SUI surcharge or tagalong: from the Other tab, select your state's SUI surcharge or tagalong item, then select Delete
  5. When finished, select OK twice.

 

You'll want to reimburse the pastor by writing a check manually.

 

For us to adjust the wages and taxes being withheld from the existing paycheck, I'd suggerst getting in touch with our Payroll Support team. They can assist you in making correction.

 

You can also check these links about setting up a clergy in QBDT: 

 

• Set up a clergy housing allowance

• Clergy and church payroll

 

Feel free to post again if you have another concerns. I'm always here to guide you more.

Lochkelly
Level 3

SC Withholding suddenly withheld for pastor when they had not been - Desktop QB Premier Nonprofit with Enhanced Payroll

I already had the pastor's payroll settings as you instructed.  However, somewhere along the way, possibly when I ran a payroll checkup, Enhanced Payroll changed the box for his state filing status set to withhold.  I have since changed that back to "don't withhold."

 

I was hoping that someone here could advise me on the best way (other than a manual check to the pastor) to return the money accidently withheld in his next paycheck and the best way to get my state liability payment amount corrected, too.

 

Thanks for your effort anyway.

 

Lisa

AileneA
QuickBooks Team

SC Withholding suddenly withheld for pastor when they had not been - Desktop QB Premier Nonprofit with Enhanced Payroll

Hello, Lochkelly. 

 

Thank you for following the instructions provided by my colleagues above. The best way to make taxes payment corrections is by contacting our QuickBooks Payroll support. They have the necessary tools to pull up your account in a secure way and help you with this withholding matter. 

 

Here's how: 

 

  1. Open QuickBooks.
  2. Go to Help, then select QuickBooks Desktop Help.
  3. Choose Contact Us.
  4. Enter your concern, then tap Continue.
  5. Pick a way to connect with us:
  • Start messaging with a support expert.
  • Get a callback from an expert (availability may be limited).

 

I recommend you check out our article on setting up clergy and church payroll

 

Let me know how the call goes. I want to ensure everything has been taking care of. Have a great day, and stay safe!

daniellez
Level 3

SC Withholding suddenly withheld for pastor when they had not been - Desktop QB Premier Nonprofit with Enhanced Payroll

Hello. You can do a payroll liability adjustment (Employees>Payroll Taxes & Liabilities>Adjust Payroll Liabilities) and put it into a liability account called "Payroll Adj". You'll most likely have to make this account on your chart of accounts. This will reduce the liability as well as the taxable state wages to the pastor. Then create a payroll item as a net addition (not affecting any taxes at all) and reimburse the pastor on his next paycheck(s). Manually put that item in when you reimburse him and keep an eye on that "Payroll Adj" account you made to make sure it's reducing it to 0. 

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