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Themark
Level 3

How do I correct overcharging customers tax owed on sales

I feel dumb for asking this because it involves a small amount.

 

Every 6 months I get an updated tax table from Avalara for my state (NM) and add that tax table into my woocommerce for my e-commerce sales for my state.  (I have very few in-state sales).  Then if I have a sale within my state (NM) I add or edit the tax rate for that region in QB Desktop when I add the sales in QB.

 

Every quarter I pay my quarterly sales tax.  This quarter I discovered a discrepancy between what I charged the customer and with what the state shows I own.

 

It turns out that for 2 customers, Avalara had the old tax rate, and as a result, I overcharged these 2 customers for a very small amount.  I am talking about an overcharge of $.06 for one customer and $.05 for another.

 

I am not sure what the process is to correct this.

I know that I could either refund the customers for this amount or pay the additional $.11 to the state.

 

I do not know what corrective entries I need to do for either scenario within QuickBooks.

 

Hopefully, someone can give me a bit of help for this ridiculously small amount.  But I figure it could help someone who has overcharged taxes for a much larger amount.

 

Mark

 

2 Comments 2
Mich_S
QuickBooks Team

How do I correct overcharging customers tax owed on sales

I appreciate the details you shared with us, Themark. Let me guide you through the necessary procedure to correct the overcharged amount.

 

You can give the money back to your customer by creating a credit memo or refund check. Here's how:

 

  1. Open the Customers menu and go to Create Credit Memos/Refunds.
  2. In the Customer:Job drop-down, select your customer.
  3. Enter the items you're giving credit for, then click on Save & Close.

 

After that, select how you want to handle the credit:

 

Option 1: Retain as an available credit.

 

You'll see the receive payments window.

 

  1. Tap Customers and then Receive Payments.
  2. Under the Received from drop-down, pick your customer.
    Then, choose the Discounts and Credits icon.
  3. On the Credits tab, check the credit you want to apply and then Done.
  4. You may see a prompt to Confirm transfer. If you do, select Yes. The amount will be applied automatically to the invoice.
  5. Tick Save & Close.

 

Option 2: Give a refund.

 

  1. The check is filled out automatically. Select OK.
  2. Link the check to the overpayment. Go to the Customers menu and then select Receive Payments.
  3. From the Received from drop-down, select the Customer.
    Then, choose the Discounts and Credits icon.
  4. In the Available Credits section, select the check you created and then Done.
  5. You may see a prompt to approve the transfer. If you do, hit Yes. The amount will be applied automatically to the invoice.
  6. Click on Save & Close.

 

Option 3: Apply a credit to an invoice.

 

  1. When you create the credit memo, make sure you pick Customer: Job. This will open the Apply Credit to Invoice window.
  2. Select the credit you want to apply automatically and tap Done.

 

Moving forward, you'll also need to make sure you select the right tax rates when creating an invoice. This avoids charging your customers incorrectly for the tax owed on sales. Kindly check the snapshot below for reference:

 

 

If you're all good with this, browse this extra article regarding invoice personalization: Create custom email templates in QuickBooks Desktop.


You can always comment if you need more help with this matter or QuickBooks in general. The Community is available 24/7. Stay safe.

Rainflurry
Level 13

How do I correct overcharging customers tax owed on sales

@Themark 

 

Is the $0.11 sitting in a liability account right now?  If so, the easiest thing to do is to move that small amount to income.  To do that, create a journal entry - debit the sales tax liability account, and credit your sales/income/revenue account.  

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