Hi there, @aziggs.
Great day and welcome to the Community. I appreciate you for sharing detailed information.
The best way to account for the 401K employee contribution in QB Online is through a journal entry. That way, you can keep track of payroll transactions from a third-party payroll service. Here's how:
- Click the + New button, then select Journal Entry.
- Enter the transaction date in the Date field.
- Fill out the necessary fields to create your journal entry.
- Then, click Save and new when done.
To make sure your books are accurate, I'd suggest you consult an accountant to help you account for it on your Chart of Accounts.
To answer your question, yes. Both your employee contribution and the upcoming employer will be marked as a normal Payroll Expense line item.
You can get more details in this help article: Record payroll transactions manually.
For future reference, read through this topic on the IRS website: Retirement Topics - Contributions. It helps you learn more about the deferral limits and benefits.
Should you have any more questions, feel free to visit again and leave a comment below. We're always delighted to be your QuickBooks guide.
