Do I have to create an invoice or a sales receipt in order for the automatic sales tax to work? Can sales tax be calculated from my deposits only?

Yes, you're correct, @BKeyes14.

QuickBooks automated sales tax only applies to invoices or sales receipts. Although, the option to calculate sales tax using deposits is unavailable in the system.

QuickBooks Online automatically calculates the total tax rate for each sale based on the following:

• Your service or product’s tax category.
• Your customer’s tax-exempt status.
• Where you sell and where you ship.

If you haven't set up your sales tax yet, you can follow the steps provided in this article to keep track your sales tax in QBO: How to set up your sales tax.

You'll want to use the Sales Tax Liability report in QuickBooks Online to see how much sales tax you owe.

I'll send this feedback on your behalf for consideration in future product updates. I want you to be the first to hear about the latest QuickBooks innovations, so I’m adding an article to view the details: Firm of the Future.

Reach out to me if you have any other concerns or questions.