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Set up, change, or delete employee-paid payroll deductions

SOLVED•by QuickBooks•4256•Updated September 08, 2023

Learn how to add deductions your employee needs to pay each payday in QuickBooks Online Payroll and QuickBooks Desktop Payroll.

Payroll isn’t just about paychecks anymore. Sometimes employees need to pay for things like health insurance, retirement contributions, uniforms, tools, or dues. Maybe you gave your employee an advance on their paycheck and they need to pay it back. 

You can set up these benefits or deductions in QuickBooks Payroll. They’ll come out of your employee’s pay each payday.

Set up a new deduction item

In QuickBooks Payroll, you can set up pre-tax or after-tax deduction items. If you aren’t sure how the deduction is taxed, talk to your plan administrator or an accountant. You can use the steps below to set up general deductions like uniforms, tools, commuter benefits, or miscellaneous. 

To set up specific deduction items like insurance, HSA, FSA, retirement, garnishments, or advances:

To set up other general deduction items, select your product below.

Note: Not sure which payroll service you have? Here's how to find your payroll service.
  1. Go to Payroll, then Employees.
  2. Select your employee.
  3. From Deductions & contributions, select Start or Edit.
  4. From the Deduction/contribution ▼ dropdown, select + Add deduction/contribution.
  5. From Deduction/contribution type, select Other Deduction. If you need to set up a pre-tax item that isn't listed like commuter benefits, AFLAC Accident or Cancer, etc, select Health Insurance.
  6. From Type, select Other after tax deductions. If you need to set up a pre-tax item that isn’t like commuter benefits, AFLAC Accident or Cancer, etc, select Vision Insurance. Then after Step 7, select Pre-tax insurance premium.
  7. Add a Description. This is the deduction or plan name. Appears on paychecks. 
  8. Select how your deduction is calculated. Then enter the amount or percentage. 
  9. Select Save, then Done.

Check out this video starting at 3:42 to see how to set up employee deductions.

Step 1: Set up the deduction item

  1. Go to Lists, then Payroll Item List.
  2. Select Payroll Item ▼ dropdown, then New.
  3. Select 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. Select the applicable Tax tracking type. Select None if the deduction is after-tax. 
  8. Select Next three times.
    • For None tax tracking type, select net pay in the Gross vs. net window, then Next.
  9. Leave 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. Select Finish.

Step 2: Add the item to the employee profile

  1. Select Employees, then Employee Center.
  2. Select your employee.
  3. Select ✎, then select Payroll Info.
  4. From Additions, Deductions, and Company Contributions, add the deduction item.
  5. Enter the amount per period and a limit if applicable.
  6. Select OK.

Edit a payroll deduction item

If you want to change the employee’s deduction info such as amount, percentage, or its description, follow the steps for your product.

  1. Go to Payroll, then Employees.
  2. Select your employee.
  3. From Deductions & contributions, select Start or Edit.
  4. Select Edit ✎ next to the deduction you want to modify.
  5. Edit the information as needed.
  6. Select Save, then Done.

If you need to change the payroll item itself:

  1. Go to Lists, then select Payroll Item List.
  2. Right-click the item and select Edit Payroll Item.
  3. Change the info as needed on each window.
  4. Select Finish.

If you need to change the deduction amount for your employee:

  1. Select Employees, then Employee Center.
  2. Select your employee.
  3. Select Payroll Info.
  4. Change the amount or limit.
  5. Select OK.

Delete a payroll deduction item

You can delete a deduction from your employee. There isn't a "list" to remove deduction items from payroll completely.

  1. Go to Payroll, then Employees.
  2. Select your employee.
  3. From Deductions & contributions, select Start or Edit.
  4. Select the trash bin icon next to the deduction you want to remove.
  5. Select Delete, then Done.

If the deduction wasn't used on paychecks, you can delete it from the payroll item list. If it was used, you can edit the item and rename it Do Not Use.

  1. Go to Lists. 
  2. Select Payroll Item List.
  3. Right-click the item and select Delete Payroll Item.
  4. Select OK on a message, Are you sure you want to delete this payroll item?

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