Customer Credits and Sales Tax

Hello there, @Bonnie Air. 

I'll share some information about recording sales tax payments. Yes, you can include your penalty and interest along with the tax amount you owe in one tax period. All you have to do is click on the adjustment link.

Let me guide you how:

1. From the QuickBooks Edit menu, click Preferences.
2. On the Preferences window, click Sales Tax then go to the Company Preferences tab.
3. Click the Yes radio button to turn on sales tax.
4. Set up the sales tax items or sales tax groups for each county, district, city, etc. where you collect sales tax. Click Add sales tax item to do this.
5. Assign Sales tax code.
6. Set the Sales tax basis (Accrual or Cash). Take into account your company’s accounting a preference.
7. Set up your preference for paying the sales tax (Monthly, Quarterly, Annually).
8. Click OK.

For complete details about setting up sales tax, please check out this link: Set up sales tax in QuickBooks Desktop. 

Once done, you can create an invoice or an estimate, and a tax column will now appear on your sales form. 

If you have additional questions regarding the process or need help with other concerns, please let me know in the comments below. I'll be around to help you out again. Take care and stay safe.

I appreciate a response but this has nothing to do with my question.

Please reread and advise.

Thank you

Thank you for your response but this is not related to my question.

Sales tax is set up.  I need to know how to apply credits based on a current date and not on the date of the original deposit so the sales tax reports are correct and we can remit the payment.

Please advise.

Thanks for getting back with the Community, bonniep.
 

Since your date is changing to an invalid one and not letting you correct it when applying credits to invoices, I'd recommend using the Verify Data feature to see if anything needs to be rebuilt.
 

Here's how:

1. Choose Window, then Close All.
2. In your top menu bar, go to File.
3. Click Utilities.
4. Select Verify Data.
    

After verification is complete, you'll see one of a few possible messages. I've listed each of them and their meanings:

• "QuickBooks detected no problems with your data," - No action is required.
• "Your data has lost integrity," - This indicates that there's data damage in your company file. You'll want to perform a rebuild to correct the problem.
• An error message could display. If so, there might be an article about it. Try searching Intuit's QuickBooks Desktop support site for specific instructions.

If your Verify/Rebuild Data features didn't solve the issue, you can get in touch with our Customer Care Team so they can conduct further research:

1. In your top menu bar, go to Help, then QuickBooks Desktop Help.
   
2. Click Contact Us.
   
3. Enter a brief description of your issue in our Ask a question (or tell us what's wrong) field.
   
4. Hit Continue.
   
5. Select Start messaging or Get a callback.

They'll be able to pull up your account in a secure environment and create an investigation ticket if necessary. Be sure to review their support hours so you'll know when agents are available.

Please feel welcome to send a reply if there's any additional questions. Have a lovely day!

I believe you are misunderstanding my question.

A customer overpays or double pays an invoice, we enter it as a payment and leave a credit. Since this payment is not applied to an invoice, no sales tax is recorded as paid.

At a later date, we want to use the credit and apply it to an invoice but then the invoice shows as paid for the original deposit date, which in turn puts the sales tax payment/due in a prior date.

Question: what steps should I take to apply the customer credit to outstanding invoices and show the payment at a current time in order to pick up the correct sales tax due.

Please advise

I can share some information that can help you with tracking your customer payment at the current time, @bonniep.

You can set the sales tax basis to accrual or cash. 

If you choose Accrual, QuickBooks calculates sales tax payable as soon as you invoice your customer. 

If Cash, QuickBooks calculates sales tax payable only when you receive the payment. When you receive full payment for the invoice, the full sales tax amount will show on the month when the payment was received.

You can set the preferences from the Edit menu. Follow the steps below:

1. Go to the Edit menu and select Preferences.
2. On the Preferences window, click Sales Tax then go to the Company Preferences tab. Go to the When do you owe sales tax part and choose Accrual or Cash.
3. Click on OK to save.

Refer to this article for more information about the Sales tax basis that you can set within your company file: Set up sales tax in QuickBooks Desktop.

For detailed guidance on how to keep an accurate record of these taxes so you can easily monitor and remit them to the appropriate tax collecting agency, check out this article: Handle cash basis sales tax.

Let me know if you need further help with your invoices and or anything else. I'm always glad to help in any way I can. Have a great rest of the day!

AGAIN, this does NOT answer the question and is NOT a resolution.

The sales tax is set up and I am aware of how all that works.

I need to know how to fix a customer credit when applying it to an invoice without it being backdated.

For example, if a credit is in a customer dated 9-21-2021 and not used until 2-03-2022 it looks like it was paid in the prior period, not the current one (when the credit is used). This is messing with my prior period numbers and that cant happen.

Please provide a solution.

Thank you.

Thanks for coming back to the Community, bonniep.

Let me provide some information about applying a customer refund or credit in the desktop program.

In QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT), the credit will follow the date of the previous payment. That's why you're unable to change the date. You'll only be able to update the information if you manually created the mentioned transaction.

This reference provides detailed information on how to handle a customer credit or refund: Give your customer a credit or refund in QuickBooks Desktop for Windows. It includes instructions on how to create a credit memo, provide a refund, or apply the credit to an invoice.

In addition, this link contains articles that will guide you on how to handle customer-related transactions. The topics include processing customer payments, creating statements, applying for refunds or credits, and customizing sales forms.

Feel free to drop a comment below if you have any clarifications on how to manage a customer refund or credit. I'm always ready to answer them for you. Have a good one.