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Cancel or delete payroll tax payments and forms

SOLVED•by QuickBooks•301•Updated February 15, 2024

Learn about canceling a tax payment or form filing in QuickBooks Online Payroll or QuickBooks Desktop Payroll.

Need to stop a tax payment or form filing? You may be able to depending on your payroll service and situation.

Note: Not sure which payroll service you have? Here's how to find your payroll service.

Requirements to cancel or delete a tax payment

Your payroll service

The ability to cancel or delete tax payments for forms varies depending on your payroll subscription. View your payroll product to see what you can do.

  • QuickBooks Online Payroll - If you choose to have QuickBooks automatically take care of tax payments and form filings, you can’t cancel tax payments yourself. Contact us to find out if we can cancel a payment. If you choose to pay for and file your tax filings yourself, you may be able to cancel tax payments.
  • QuickBooks Desktop Payroll Assisted - You can’t cancel or delete tax payments or forms.
  • QuickBooks Desktop Payroll Enhanced - You may be able to delete tax forms or payments

You can delete a payment if: 

  • It’s manually recorded (non-electronic payments).
  • It hasn't been processed electronically.
  • The date of your federal payment is at least two banking days prior to the payment date, before 5 PM PST. 
  • The date of your state payment is before the lead time (state lead times vary).

You can't delete a payment if:   

  • It’s in process or already processed electronically.
  • The form along with the payment was sent or accepted by the agency.
  • It was rejected due to insufficient funds (NSF).

Cancel or delete a tax payment

If we pay taxes for you automatically or you initiate payments using QuickBooks, you may need to contact us to check if the tax payment can be canceled or deleted.

If you manually record the tax payment you've paid outside QuickBooks, you may be able to delete this payment. Here's how:

  1. Select Taxes, then Payroll tax.
  2. Select Payment history.
  3. Select the tax payment you want to cancel or delete. Change the date range if necessary.
  4. From the Edit dropdown ▼, select Delete. If you don't see delete, you can’t delete the payment. 
  5. Select Yes to confirm.

Federal e-payments can’t be canceled through QuickBooks once they've been transmitted.

You may be able to cancel the payment on the EFTPS website. To learn more about EFTPS payment guidelines, review these FAQs. To do this:

  1. Go to the EFTPS website.
  2. Select Payments.
  3. Sign in to your EFTPS account.
  4. Select Cancel a Tax Payment from the menu then follow the instructions.

Contact us to find out if we can cancel your state tax payment. If your payment can’t be canceled, contact your state to learn more.

Cancel a tax filing

Federal Forms 941, 944, 943, 940

Federal forms can’t be canceled once filed electronically. If you need to correct or change a filed return:

Form W-2

Contact us to find out if we can cancel your W-2 filing. If you need to correct or change a filed W-2, see Fix an incorrect W-2.

State forms

Each state has different policies on canceling forms that you've filed electronically. Contact your state to learn more.

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