QB Desktop Sales Tax Payable is calculating incorrect value - not accounting for all sales tax collected and required to pay

Should also mention, I have run through a verify data.  File drop down -> utilities -> verify data. No issues reporting. 

Thank you! 

I’m here to make sure this incorrect calculation will be taken care of so you can pay your sales tax in QuickBooks, @Kames5.

I appreciate all your efforts in determining why QuickBooks incorrectly calculates your sales tax payable. Since there are no issues found after verifying your data, I recommend contacting our support team to get this resolved. Our representatives can check your account further and help find more solutions.

Before that, make sure to check our support hours so you can reach out to us at a time convenient to you. Then, follow the steps below.

1. Open QuickBooks.
2. Go to Help, then select QuickBooks Desktop Help.
3. Select Contact Us.

You can also visit this guide to learn how to troubleshoot issues or unexpected results while managing sales tax in QuickBooks Desktop: How to resolve common sales tax issues.

Moreover, here's a reference if you'd like to make sales tax adjustments in the program: Process sales tax adjustment.

Don't hold back to drop a comment below if you have any other questions or concerns about your sales tax. I’ll be here. Always take care! 

Hi MadelynC,

Thank you for the quick response.  I do not have a support contract with quickbooks and would need to pay for additional support.  If this turns out to be a system issue and/or bug, am I still obligated to pay for the support call?  

If it is user error/input, I would understand the charge.  

Regards,

Keri 

Let's make sure you'll get the help you need with your sales tax payable, Kames5.

Generally, you'll get an incorrect value with your sales tax payable if you're using the Write Checks window when recording a payment. To resolve this, you can follow the steps below:

1. Back up the QuickBooks company file
2. Find the incorrect sales tax payments by going to the Bank Register that you used to make the payments.
3. Reenter your sales tax payments.
   1. From the Vendors menu, select Sales Tax, then choose Pay Sales Tax.
   2. If you have more than one checking account, choose the one you want to use for these tax payments in the Pay From Account.
   3. Check the Ending Bank Balance at the bottom of the window to make sure you have enough money in the checking account to make the sales tax payments. If not, choose a different checking account.
   4. In the Check Date field, enter the date of the sales tax payment. Start with the oldest payment first.
   5. Under Show sales tax due through, change the date to the end of the payment period in question.
   6. In the Starting Check No. field, type the check number used in the original payment.
   7. In the Pay column, check to select the items you want to pay for.
   8. (Optional) If you need to change the amount for any of the items, select the amount in the Amt. Paid column, and make the change.
   9. Verify that the total amount matches your original payment, then select OK.
   10. You may see the message, "Problem: Another Check already has a number [xxx]...", select Keep Number. This will preserve the original check number when you later delete the original sales tax payments (which will be replaced with the one you're entering now).
   11. If you have more payments to enter, repeat steps 2 through 9 for each payment before proceeding.

Then, remove the original payment transactions for other areas in QuickBooks. Next, verify if the problem is solved. To give you clearer steps with the process, go through this article for your guide: How To Resolve Common Tax Issues. 

In connection to that, you'll want to check out our care plan benefits in QuickBooks Desktop: Care Plans For QuickBooks Desktop. Furthermore, learn more details with our sales tax reports. Please check this out: Review Sales Tax Reports. 

Fill me in if you need additional assistance about sales tax payable. I'll be here to help.

MariaSoledadG,

Thank you for the response and link to help.  I am a small business owner and the only user for quickbooks.  I just started using QB in 2021 and used a pro advisor to both set up my quickbooks and train in use.  Per my QB advisor, I can say for certain, I have always used the "pay sales tax" feature and have never used the the "write check" feature to pay my sales tax.  You can see it is referenced in my original post as well.  I access this either from the "pay sales tax" icon on the home page or via the "vendors" drop down -> sales tax -> pay sales tax.  

I would appreciate any other suggestions that I can look into to resolve this. 

Regards,

Keri 

Hello there, Kames5.

I appreciate you for letting us know that you’re not using the Write Check window to pay the sales tax. We’ll have to perform a sales tax adjustment to correct the amount you’ll have to pay. I’m here to help and make sure the process is a breeze for you.

Here’s how:

1. In your QuickBooks, go to the Vendors menu at the top to select Sales Tax and Adjust Sales Tax Due.
2. Performing this action will open the Sales Tax Adjustment window.
3. From there, fill in the fields with the correct information.
4. In the Adjustment section, tick the appropriate option: Increase Sales Tax By or Reduce Sales Tax By.
5. Key in the adjusted figure in the Amount box.
6. If you wish to keep track of what happened to the transaction, enter a description in the Memo field.
7. Press the OK button to save the changes.

For more insights into this process, refer to the Process sales tax adjustment guide. It includes instructions to fix an incorrect amount for sales tax items.

Also, this self-help link contains resources on how to pay and manage sales tax: QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) reference. From there, you’ll see the article for requesting a sales tax exemption and refund, use discount and subtotal items, etc.

Reach out to me again if you need assistance managing your sales taxes. I’m always ready to lend a helping hand. Wishing your business continued success.

Rasa-LilaM, 

Thank you for the response and support.  Although this is a work around/bandaid for this situation, it does not address the root cause as to why this happened.  If this is not identified, how do I know future sales tax owed will be properly calculated?  The reason for using Quickbooks is to accurately provide this accounting data.  I don't want to have to continue to question the amount and run through my invoices manually as a cross check.  In this instance it was quite obvious to me the sales tax due amount was way off causing me to dig deeper into it.  Not sure that it would be quite so obvious in the future.