PAYROLL TAXES NOT CALCULATING PROPERLY

This is the Federal Withholding in the Employee Summary section of the page where the payroll is entered.

I have attached a photo for you.  I have never altered any taxes manually, but I think QB miscalculated the taxes incorrectly and is now trying to make up for it.  My question is WHY IS QB MISCALCULATING THE TAX IN THE FIRST PLACE.  I used another system for many years and this never happened.  It is only happening since I started using the QB enhanced payroll.  There is no way to contact anyone other than basic tech support and they know nothing about this and how to correct it.  I would like to stop getting notices from the DOR.

Oh.  QB doesn't do any make up for Federal Withholding (FWH). There's no way to do it, mathematically because each check's tax is calculated in isolation, per the rules.

I'd guess that if you edit the employee record and review the federal tax set up, $2 is entered as an 'extra' withholding amount.  That's the only way I know to make this happen.

I didn't think you were referring to FWH, because with FWH there is no way to determine your original claim, that "Q2 taxes collected by QB Desktop were incorrect".

With enhanced payroll, QB does all the taxes.  They either calculated incorrectly or sent the wrong amount to the DOR.  Either way, the taxes paid were not what was calculated in Q1.  I then got a notice that Q2 taxes were overpaid.  There is no extra tax amount checked in the tax setup.  Where the -2.00 is coming from is beyond me and apparently beyond anyone at QB.  Last check had -1.00 in there and now it is -2.00.  I'm just trying to find out how to get in touch with a QB person who can figure this out.  Like I said, I used to be able to call the Office of the President after exhausting tech support and they would have someone who actually knew what they were doing call me.  Now that is not an option. 

I just figured out the -2.00.  It was in the tax setup.  Thanks for having me look there.

However, I still don't know to get QB to do the taxes without me getting a notice from the DOR.  I'm hoping Q3 will go without a notice.  LOL

Thanks for your help with that.  If you know of a way to get expert level tech support thru QB, let me know.

RE: With enhanced payroll, QB does all the taxes. 

That is not exactly correct. With Enhanced Payroll, QuickBooks calculates the taxes on paychecks based on the way you have set up the employee - and it also lets you overwrite the numbers if you don't like them. However, it neither files or pays your taxes for you automatically. You have to do that. When you do, you are in charge of the process, and in charge of making sure the numbers are correct.

RE: They either calculated incorrectly or sent the wrong amount to the DOR. Either way, the taxes paid were not what was calculated in Q1.

What's the DOR? How is it related to Federal Withholding? Without specifics and understanding the case in detail, there's really no way for anyone here to determine what happened.

In any case, as noted you are in charge of tax filings and payments, whether on paper or done electronically. QuickBooks will suggest amounts and will pre-fill forms, all based on the way you've set up employees and the numbers on the paychecks (which you can override, either to make them correct or more often to accidentally make them wrong or mask a set up issue.)  But, in the end if your setup is wrong, then the results will be wrong.

RE: Where the -2.00 is coming from is beyond me and apparently beyond anyone at QB. 

I think from the employee set up for Federal Withholding, as previously mentioned.

There's nothing wrong with that, though, if the Employee's W-4 asked for have an extra $2 taken out. And there is nothing about taking an extra amount that will cause any sort of issues with the IRS or with paying or filing taxes. If the Employee's W-4 does not request an additional $2 taken with each check then you should not do that and that means the employee is set up incorrectly.  However, in the end it isn't a mistake that will ever raise a flag when paying taxes or filing tax forms, because there is no way for the government to determine how the employee filled out their W-4, and also because there are multiple ways to calculate Federal Withholding, and each will produce a different result.

RE: However, I still don't know to get QB to do the taxes without me getting a notice from the DOR. 

What's the DOR?  What is the notice complaining about? Please be very specific, as there are many types of notices.

You are incorrect.  QB does collect and pay our payroll taxes.  It is part of the Quickbooks Plus.  

The DOR is the Department of Revenue.  The notices are for taxes that are not paid properly.  If you don't have a phone number for advanced tech support, then you will be of no further assistance.  Thanks.

Hi there, @MissMary. I'd like to join in and guide you through the right support who can help you further with payroll taxes calculating incorrectly.

There are a couple of ways on how you can reach out to our Payroll Support team. Here's how:

1. Run QuickBooks.
2. Open the Help menu, then choose QuickBooks Desktop Help.
3. Click on Contact Us.
4. Type in your concern, then choose Continue.
5. Select a way to connect with us:
   • Post a question 
   • Start messaging
   • Get a callback 

You can also chat with us online. Please note as well their support hours to make sure they're available for assistance.

Once everything is in order, check out these modules about keeping track and handling payroll transactions:

• Create a payroll summary report in QuickBooks
• Customize payroll and employee reports

Let us know if you need anything else about payroll or QuickBooks in general. We're here to assist as soon as we can. Keep safe!
 

RE: You are incorrect. QB does collect and pay our payroll taxes. It is part of the Quickbooks Plus. 

Automatic payment of taxes is not part of the Enhanced payroll product, according to Intuit. In my experience t never has been. See:

https://quickbooks.intuit.com/payroll/desktop/

RE: The DOR is the Department of Revenue. The notices are for taxes that are not paid properly.

The Oregon Department of Revenue will not send you notices regarding Federal Income Tax payments. Those would come from the Federal Internal Revenue Service.

If you're getting notices that your taxes were not paid, and you're using Enhanced payroll, then that is probably not related to your Federal Withholding calculation complains, but might be because you didn't pay the taxes through QuickBooks or otherwise.

Enhanced payroll does not pay your taxes for you automatically. You have to trigger that process. You can pay them electronically through QuickBooks, but you have to start the process manually when the taxes are due.

The only Intuit payroll service for Desktop that I know of that pays your taxes for you is Assisted Payroll.

RE: If you don't have a phone number for advanced tech support, then you will be of no further assistance.

First, that's rude and presumptive. Second, I don't think there is such a thing as "advanced tech support" at Intuit. Third, you need to contact Payroll support, not Tech support, to answer questions about tax payments you made with your Enhanced payroll service, especially if they were ePayments sent through QuickBooks to the state of Oregon.

Are we seriously having a confrontation about what QB does and does not do?  Can we end this interaction now please?

Sure!  After you get done with support, be sure to make all those tax payments you thought QuickBooks was doing automatically for you.