Sales Tax Payable Balance

Hello, @MP11.

I can share some information on how to record your sales tax payable and pay your sales tax liability.

Using the Write Checks or Pay Bills feature to pay your sales tax will lead to errors in your bookkeeping and sales tax reports. You can run the Account Quick Report and filter Checks to get removed them more easily.

Here are the steps:

1. Click the List tab at the top menu bar.
2. Click Chart of Accounts.
3. Search for the account.
4. Right-click the account, and click QuickReport.
5. Choose a date range.
6. Click Customize Report.
7. Go to the Filters tab.
8. Filter Transaction Type.
9. Below Transaction Type, click the drop-down arrow and select Check.
10. Click OK.

Once completed, you can follow the steps below in paying your sales tax in QuickBooks.

1. Go to the Vendors menu.
2. Choose Sales Tax.
3. Select to Pay Sales Tax.
4. On the Pay From Account drop-down, select the checking account you want to use for the tax payments. 
5. In the Show sales tax due through field, check and make sure the date is correct.
6. Enter the check number in the Starting Check No. field.
7. You'd see the following:
   • Sales taxes your company owes
   • The tax agency to which the sales tax is payable.
   • The amount due as of the date in the sales tax due through.
     • If you want to make a partial payment, go to the Amt Paid column then type the amount you intend to pay for each tax item on the list.
     • Select Pay All Tax if you want to make a payment for all the taxes due. 
     • Select Adjust if you need to still need to make an adjustment for a credit, fine, etc.
8. Put a checkmark on the To be printed box if you need to print or handwrite the checks later.
9. Select OK.  

Lastly, if you encounter problems while working on your sales tax, you can check this article: 

• Sales Tax Liability Report: Total sales is different from total income

• Sales Tax Liability Report and Pay Sales Tax window do not match

• Resolve common issues when running Sales Tax Liability Report

• Resolve common sales tax issues

Keep in touch with us here in the Community to us know how it works on your end. I'm always here to help you with running your sales tax liability report.

Thank you for the detailed instructions. I am now working on running the reports. I do have another question is the B&O Tax entered in the sales tax screen or is that a separate entry in Quickbooks? 

Thank you

I have the sales tax set and its capturing sales tax. Am I just added the B&O tax as an item and when I pay monthly through pay sales tax it will be a line item I can add?

Hello there, @MP11.

Let me step in and share with you the information after adding the sales tax item in the line item.

You can select the sales tax you want to pay by putting a checkmark beside them. Once done, make sure you fill up all the necessary fields in the Pay Sales Tax windows. Then, hit the OK button to confirm the action.

You can follow the steps provided by my colleague IamjuViel as your reference in paying your sales tax. Or, you can refer to this article for more detailed information: Pay sales tax in QuickBooks Online.

I also added an article in case you need help adjusting your sales tax: Process sales tax adjustment.

If you have follow-up questions, please don't hesitate to leave a message in the comment section. I'll be around here in the Community to help. Keep safe, and have a great day.

I have followed the steps I've come across where the sales tax window shows we paid $626.76 the STLR and what we paid was $1059.44. I've checked the data and its all correct and should reflect what we paid. I looked through all the steps listed on what to check if there are differences and can't find any. The sales tax window is clearly wrong our sales tax for the month was much higher. How do I correct this?

Thank you

Hi there, MP11.

You'll want to process sales tax adjustment to increase the sales tax amount you paid. 

1. From the Vendors menu, hover over Sales Tax and select Adjust Sales Tax Due.
2. Enter the Adjustment Date, Sales Tax Vendor, and Adjustment account.
3. In the Adjustment section, select Increase Sales Tax By and enter the adjustment amount.
4. Select OK.

Also,  here's an article for your reference about multiple sales tax items on an invoice. It would also be best to reach to an accountant so they can better guide you regarding sales taxes.

I'll be here if you need more help. Stay safe and healthy!