I ran into this problem today after migrating to a new Windows machine. I called Quickbooks Support and spoke with multiple people, each who tried to sell me a support subscription, but none of whom could  guarantee the problem could be resolved even if I purchased support or upgraded QB (I'm still using Premier 2018.)

I tried some of the suggestions listed here and some of their suggestions, and none worked. After 4 phone calls, multiple emails and 2 hours of no-help support, I finally insisted that they contact whoever was working on the issue, since it's here on their discussion group and has obviously been identified as a problem. She begrudgingly did, and 30 seconds later she told me to uninstall my 64-bit version of Office 365 and reinstall the 32-bit version. That did the trick.

To do that:

1) Uninstall your current version of Office 365

2) Log into your Office.com account

3) Click the "Install Office" Link (currently at top right of page)

4) Select "Other Install Options" from the drop down that appears

5) Click on the "View apps and devices" button

6) From the resulting page, you can select Office, the language, and the version (32 or 64-bit.) Select the 32-bit version.

Hopefully this post will solve some headaches.

Thanks so much! Reinstalling Office 365 in 32-bit solved the problem for me, too. It must have to do with a compatibility issue with the 64-bit version and Quickbooks.

I am receiving the same error when trying to generate the w2/w3 forms in excel from Quickbooks.  Spoke to someone from Quickbooks support earlier today and she was no help. She told me she "googled the error code" and it is a Microsoft issue not a Quickbooks issue. Please help.

Thank you so much! This solution worked for me as well.

uninstall your excel 64 bit and reinstall 32 bit--this will allow you to run tax form worksheet in excel.  Took me many hours to figure this out. But it finally!

Has ANYONE found a solution to this question?  I completed all of the suggestions multiple times with no success. This includes removing and reinstalling QB desktop 2019 pro and Microsoft Office, updated QBs, etc. There are no issues with exporting reports to Excel EXCEPT for the Tax Form Worksheets, which is a really important report.  I do not understand why QBs can export to Excel, but can't generate this report. Someone please help!!!!

Appreciate the steps you've done to resolve this, @YV07.

To confirm, did you try reinstalling the 32bit? If not, you'll want to install it to get the Tax Form Worksheet working. The 32-bit version is installed by default, but you can choose the 64-bit version when you install the product.

To check if you have 64bit:

1. From the File menu in any Office product (Word, Excel, Outlook, etc), select Help.
2. Find either 32bit or 64bit along the right side of the help window, under the version of Office you have.

For the detailed steps on how to install, please visit the Microsoft Office page.

However, if you already have 32bit and you're still experiencing the same result, download and run the QuickBooks File Doctor tool. This tool help fix issues related to the program. Refer to this article for the step-by-step instruction: Fix common problems and errors with the QuickBooks Desktop Tool Hub.

Make sure to also configure your firewall and security settings for QuickBooks.

I'm also adding this link here in case you need help with other payroll-related tasks: View all help for QuickBooks Desktop Payroll.

Let me know how it goes as I wanted to ensure this is resolved for you. Take care and have a good one.

Per System requirements for QuickBooks Desktop 2021 (intuit.com) , 

• Exporting reports requires Microsoft Excel 2019, 2016, 2013, or Microsoft 365 (includes 64-bit).

Apparently this is incorrect.  You guys need to fix your product.  You may need to rewrite your VBA.  This problem has now existed for over two years.  I do not want to reinstall office; fix you product.

I am working on this issue - all week!!!

Calling QB tech support is a waste of time.

I am trying to upgrade from QB2012 Desktop to QB2021 Desktop.  I have Office 2013 (64 bit). 

The problem is that I cannot export employee tax forms to Excel as others noted.

I am running Windows 10.  I loaded QB2021 (I have not fully migrated) and looked at the templates directory.  The installer did not install QB_taxforms.xlt but it did install QB_taxforms_link.xlt    I made a copy of that directory before doing any updates.  Then I updated and noted that the updates added QB_taxforms.xlt (dated 12/17/21).    I also looked back at the QB2012 template directory and it only had QB_taxforms_link.xlt. 

After messing with this for a week here is what I believe so far

1) QB knows the product (QB2021 Desktop) is defective but apparently sees no reason to solve this perhaps b/c it is pushing subscriptions or online.  Motive does not really matter, its clear QB knows its defective and has been for 2-3 years.

2) QB "Call back" techs are worthless on this issue.

3) QB "chat" techs are worthless on this issue.

4) QB solutions to uninstall, reinstall, run Hub, etc., are all evidence that the techs don't know what the problem is or how to fix it. 

John

@ncgross@ABCON @ShiellaGraceA @YV07 @kbon 

I posted here a few weeks ago but a lot has happened since then and NONE of it appears to be efforts by Intuit or Quickbooks tech/developers to actually diagnose or fix the problem.  If you search this Community, the problem with the XLT file in question has existed for many years.  The "scripted" reply from QB techs might fix some issues but it WILL NOT fix the XLT issue.

The actual fix - if it ever happens - will require QB programmers to fix the XLT file and to deploy one that has a current release date.

For more information, consider this thread:

https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/reports-and-accounting/re-qb-desktop-2021-will-not...

You are a life saver, pmcgv!!!!

Finally a real solution!!  After 5 hours of trying to implement all the other suggestions and fixes  in the above posts, unsuccessfully, this is the one that worked.  And it was so quick and simple!!! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!!!!!!

Thank you for the heads up. This has been a recurring issue with each new update. You pointed me in the right direction. I had to also go to Services. Then I selected Intuit Quickbooks FCS and changed the startup to Automatic from Manual. Success. Thanks again.

Similar solution except ... 

How did you get this updated template QB_Taxforms_Link?

Quickbooks never fixed the problem to my knowledge.  So, although I purchased QB Desktop 2021, installed it and tried to find a solution now for more than a year, I ended up not trusting QB Desktop 2021 and have stayed with QB Desktop 2012 and my accountant is manually calculating the payroll entries since Intuit FAILED to deploy a product that works.

Didn't work for me

None of these solutions have worked for me.

Hey there, bedsmom.

I'm here to help ensure you'll be able to get the payroll report you need in QuickBooks Desktop.

Updating your payroll tax table is a good start before pulling up any reports in QuickBooks Desktop. This is to ensure that your data is accurate and ready to use.

Once updated, you can pull and run the Tax Forms Worksheets report to get all the W2 information. Here's how:

1. Click Reports at the top menu bar and choose Employees & Payroll.
2. Tap More Payroll Reports in Excel.
3. Select Tax Form Worksheets.
   
4. Choose Annual W-2/W-3, filter the Dates, and hit Create Report.
   
5. This will show all the W-2 information you need.
   

You can also pull up the Payroll Detail Review or Payroll Summary report and export them into Excel.

However, if the problem persists, I'd recommend reaching out to our QuickBooks Support to have this investigated. 

The article Excel-based payroll reports describes various Excel reports and how to generate them in QuickBooks Desktop.

Please let me know if you still need assistance payroll reports or if you have any additional QuickBooks questions. I'll be there to assist you.

Rose--have you actually read this thread?

It gives me an error message when I try to run the report just like everyone else on this thread.  

Error 2147221164 in Excel when I try to run the report- can you actually help with this?

Error 2147221164 is what I get when I run the report, like everyone else on this thread--can you help with that?

where do I find services?  

Its mind boggling that they can't fix this!  I was on the phone for over an hour to be told they can't help me because I'm not a payroll subscriber.  Ridiculous!  I've been using manual payroll for over 10 years. 

Thank you so much for this, was about ready to start throwing things....

Hello:

I have been having this issue for over a year. I have spoken to multiple QB reps via phone and chat, but they have not been able to resolve the issue. I have seen this issue posted on several different forums as well. like the others, I am getting an error message whenever I try to export payroll related items to excel. I just need the data to complete my reports. The error only happens when I try to export tax related items to excel. I can export all other reports with no issue. I have taken all the steps that were provided by the various reps, as well as everything listed in this forum. Including changing to 32-bit of Excel. Still nothing works. Is it possible to request a supervisor visit this chat since it is such a persistent issue?

Please assist.