Sales Tax is picking the wrong location constantly

EthanDale · ‎July 12, 2024

We're having issues with QuickBooks Online. We just started using the Sales Tax feature of it, and are having a miserable time. We do sales in Washington, which requires you to charge and pay sales tax based on location. Sales tax in Seattle is different than it is in Pullman, which is different than it is in Spokane. We do many jobs that are in Pullman, WA. The "based on location" option gets it right 80% of the time, but the other 20%, it just picks something random. We were notified by the State of Washington that we paid taxes to Albion District and should not have.

I looked back at QuickBooks, and even though we had entered a Pullman address, it put the tax as Albion district. I changed the shipping address to say nothing other than "Pullman, 99163" and it still puts it as Albion District.

How is this supposed to simplify anything? I've now filed incorrectly with the State of Washington, they're not happy about it, and QuickBooks customer support basically said to pound sand. Maps is something that have been figured out for ages through Google and other companies. This should be extremely easy.

FishingForAnswers · ‎July 12, 2024

@EthanDale Sounds pretty consistent with every other facet of QBO, quality-wise.

EthanDale · ‎July 12, 2024

I agree entirely. I've never used a software that is this broken, especially not an official one. Most CPA firms for medium companies require it though, so we can't switch away from this garbage.

KayePe · ‎July 12, 2024

Sales tax is based on the address showing on the transaction, where you sell, and where you ship, Ethan. Let me explain this further to you.

Sales tax is determined based on the address shown on the transaction, including the location of the sale and the shipping address. QuickBooks calculates the total sales tax rate by combining state and local rates for each sale based on the specified location.

Since you're experiencing issues with sales tax posted to the wrong location despite editing the shipping address, I recommend contacting the support team for further assistance. The support can also help you correct your sales tax record. Here's how to call them:

Log in to your QuickBooks Online company.
On the upper right corner of your screen, click on Help (?).
Select or type Contact Us.
Start entering your concern, then select Let's Talk.
Please choose a way to connect with us:

Assistant tab and select Talk to a human.
Search tab and click on Contact Us to connect with a support expert.

Additionally, I recommended reading these articles to gain a better understanding of sales taxes in QBO:

On the other hand, I'll include another link for a reference in filing your sales tax return and transcribing sales tax payments in QBO: File your sales tax return and record sales tax payments in QuickBooks Online.

Let us know if you still have questions about managing your sales tax. We'll be back to assist you once again.

EthanDale · ‎July 12, 2024

I'm guessing you missed the part where the support team had no idea what to do, why it was happening, or how to help me...

FishingForAnswers · ‎July 12, 2024

@EthanDale Unfortunate, really, how many accountants they suckered into going from QBD to QBO.

Wish I could offer a proper solution rather than sympathy, but, well, here we are.

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Sales Tax is picking the wrong location constantly