Which category should I use for Solo 401(k) employer (NOT employee) contribution in Self-Employed Intuit?

Thanks for posting in the Community, cupidchan.

Currently, the option to categorize Solo 401(k) employer contribution is unavailable. You may want to classify it as a personal transaction. 

Also, I highly suggest reaching out to your accountant for other ways of recording it. This is to ensure your books are accurate. If you don't have one, you can find an accountant near you using this link: Find an Accountant tool.

For your reference, check out this article for more details: Categories in QuickBooks Self-Employed. 

To help you in managing your QuickBooks Self-Employed account, you may visit our Schedule C and expense categories page. Here you can find the steps on how to record your self-employed income and expenses, as well as prepare your Schedule C.

Feel free to comment below if you need further assistance in categorizing transactions in QuickBooks Self-Employed. We're always here to help.

I can see your answer loud and clear that currently, the option to categorize Solo 401(k) employer contribution is unavailable. Isn't 401(k) employer contribution one of the common transaction for self-employed? Why are there other common category, but not for this one? BTW, i don't see contribution as Employee either...

I appreciate you for getting back to us, cupidchan

You can run some troubleshooting steps to isolate why you're unable to see the 401 K categorization.

To start with, try opening QuickBooks on a private window. You can use these keyboard keys to open one:

• Google Chrome: Ctrl + Shift + N
• Mozilla Firefox: Ctrl + Shift + P
• Microsoft Edge: Ctrl + Shift + P
• Safari: Command + Shift + N

If it works, you can go back to a regular browser and clear its cache. You also have have the option to switch to a different browser like Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, or Microsoft Edge.

For more information, check out this article: How QuickBooks Self-Employed tracks self-employment taxes.

Please visit our help articles. This page contains a lot of topics about managing your estimated tax, forms, reports, and other related topics. 

Let me know if you have follow-up questions. I'm always here on your back ready to help. 

Hello Adrian:

I see no 401(k) as one of the category listed even using your approach. In fact, my observation aligns pretty close to the page suggested by Giovann_G in this thread https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/chart-accounts/updates-expense-catego...

Are you really able to see 401K as the category for Self-Employed Intuit?

Thanks,

Cupid

I'm here to help clear things out for you. Cupid.

Currently, the 401K category is unavailable in QuickBooks Self-Employed. Rest assured, the expense categories the program line up with the Schedule C tax form to ensure that your estimated taxes are accurate.

To ensure that this transactions is properly categorized, you can select the closest category tag. You may also reach out to your an accounting professional, They can help you in choosing them most appropriate category for this type of expense.

I also encourage reading this articles to help organize your expenses transactions more accurately:

• Updated to Expense Categories.
• Schedule C Categories

Keep me posted if you need additional assistance in completing your other tasks. Have a pleasant day ahead.

Hello @KlentB , I have a question regarding to "the expense categories the program line up with the Schedule C tax form to ensure that your estimated taxes are accurate.", If there is no such category for 401(k) employer/employee contribution, how can the estimated taxes be accurate since they are supposed to be exclude from the tax calculation? Also, "To ensure that this transactions is properly categorized, you can select the closest category tag", what should that "tag" to be?

A recurring theme I receive is "reach out to your an accounting professional", which I am 100% agree. However, my question here is pinpoint to Self-Service Intuit as how should I use this software properly in categorizing the transaction (one of the key function this software should provide) and so that my accountant can view them without too much confusion. 

Is there any more concrete suggestion to show how should this Solo 401k employer/employee contribution be handled in Self-employed?

Thanks a lot!

Hi there, cupidchan.

I appreciate you for coming back to the thread and adding extra details about the information shared above. With this, I'll ensure to provide added details.

It's necessary to add all of your business income and expenses and categorize them in QuickBooks. It constantly corrects your estimates based on what you enter to give you accurate estimates. Then, each time you record and categorize an entry, QuickBooks Self-Employed includes it as part of your federal estimated quarterly tax payments. This gives you an estimated amount to pay the IRS for taxes each quarter for your self-employed work.

To ensure your records are in shipshape, I suggest consulting an accountant. They can provide suggestions on how to properly handle the 401(k) and the closest category/tag that should be used.

On the other hand, QuickBooks Self Employed is developed to help you record your self-employed income and expenses, track mileage, and prepare your Schedule C. With this, you may open this article to see different details on how you can explore and utilize the system properly: QuickBooks Self-Employed Overview.

Lastly, as mentioned above, the 401K category is unavailable in QuickBooks Self-Employed. Rest assured, the expense categories of the program line up with the Schedule C tax form to ensure that your estimated taxes are accurate.

I'm also adding this article to view various information and how to review and correct your tax profile in QuickBooks: Review your tax profile in QuickBooks Self-Employed. 

Don't hesitate to post again if you have other questions. I'm always here to help.

Hi @ChristieAnn  sorry for being blunt and direct as I have tried to ask the same question different ways but still not be able to get an answer after 3 attempts. 

There is a transaction in Self-Serviced Quickbooks, which I used as employer contribution to my Sole 401(k). I tried to find 401(k) or retirement plan... etc  as the category but cannot find it, which you also confirm that this is not something available in Self-Employed. If so, how should I categorize that transaction? I just need one simple answer, "Which category should I use in Self-Serviced if 401k is not available?" Can someone just provide a direct answer, instead of keep saying something like " Rest assured, the expense categories of the program line up with the Schedule C tax form to ensure that your estimated taxes are accurate.". If I cannot even categorize that, how can I rest assured?

Thanks,

Cupid 

Hi @ChristieAnn  sorry for being blunt and direct as I have tried to ask the same question different ways but still not be able to get an answer after 3 attempts. 

There is a transaction in Self-Serviced Quickbooks, which I used as employer contribution to my Sole 401(k). I tried to find 401(k) or retirement plan... etc  as the category but cannot find it, which you also confirm that this is not something available in Self-Employed. If so, how should I categorize that transaction? I just need one simple answer, "Which category should I use in Self-Serviced if 401k is not available?" Can someone just provide a direct answer, instead of keep saying something like " Rest assured, the expense categories of the program line up with the Schedule C tax form to ensure that your estimated taxes are accurate.". If I cannot even categorize that, how can I rest assured?

Thanks,

Cupid 

Hi @cupidchan,

I would feel the same way in that situation regarding the category. Allow me to chime in and share some clarification about the information you need in QuickBooks Self-Employed.

Currently, the Self-Employed version only calculates federal estimated quarterly taxes. For the other types of taxes, the option to track them is unavailable. Check out this link for more details about what it doesn't keep track of: How QuickBooks Self-Employed tracks self-employment taxes.

Since there's no category for 401k, the only option is to tag the transaction as Personal (see screenshot below). This way, it'll be excluded from the tax calculation in QuickBooks.

When you categorize transactions, our system matches them to a line on your Schedule C. It would be best to seek expert advice from an accountant to ensure your filing will be error-free.

I've attached a link you can use to create a new transaction rule in QuickBooks: Create rules to speed up reviews in QuickBooks Self-Employed.

Feel free to hit that Reply button if you need further assistance managing your transactions in Self-Employed. Have a great day ahead.

Thanks @AlcaeusF as you clearly told me it should be categorized that to Personal with certainty. However, that also leads to another question. How can this "Personal" transaction be finally land in the the right slot when I use TurboTax to file my text? I know the product changes from Quickbooks Self-Employed to TurboTax. But since they both under Intuit, I assume either you or your co-worker should be able to answer that, right?

Hello, cupidchan. 

Since QuickBooks Self-Employed doesn't calculate other types of taxes except federal, don't worry. You can track your income in QuickBooks and calculate them yourself in TurboTax. If you have complicated taxes, we recommend working with an accountant. 

Once everything is ready, you can now send your info to TurboTax Self-Employed and review everything after you send it. Refer to this article for detailed guidance: Send QuickBooks Self-Employed tax info to TurboTax Self-Employed or Live.

Additionally, I'll link this article again if you'd like to know how the estimated taxes are calculated in QuickBooks Self-Employed. You can also check Schedule C Category details here. 

Please let me know if you have other questions taxes. I'm still open for replies for other QuickBooks Self-Employed concerns. Stay safe!

@AileneA I use TurboTax Home and Business, NOT TurboTax Self-Employed and I assume they should work the same, right?

Hi cupidchan!

Thanks for the additional details.

We have a dedicated team who can further assist you in using TurboTax. They can help you in preparing your data for filing your taxes and explain differences with their plans. Please visit this link: https://turbotax.intuit.com/resources/support/.

Let us know if you need more help with this. Take care!

S-corp Owner's Health Insurance income is a W-2, line 1 income. It is not used in the 401(k) employer contribution calculation. It should be. I have called 6 times and nobody will help me with fixing it or provide a work around. 

Hi there!

I understand your sentiments about categorizing S-corp Owner's Health Insurance in QuickBooks Self-Employed (QBSE). Currently, QBSE only supports Health Insurance Premiums and Health Savings Account (HSA) contributions. Thus, other taxes such as S-corp Owner's Health Insurance isn't supported.

Please know that QBSE uses a Schedule C form to report your self-employed income and expenses. In your case, I recommend seeking help from your accountant to guide you on how to properly categorize the S-corp Owner's Health Insurance in QBSE.

Just in case you're ready to get and file your taxes in QBSE, you can check out this article for more guidance: QuickBooks Self-Employed annual tax guide.

Come back to this post if you have other concerns or follow-up questions about this. I'll be around to provide further assistance.