URGENT I need Help to set up sales tax for state, county and city in QB Desktop

I'm here to help share how you're able to set up sales tax, @twilalouisejames.

In QuickBooks Desktop, you can create a sales tax group to combine sales taxes for cities in the same county. And you'll have to create a new item for the sales tax rate in each city. Let me show you how.

1. Go to Vendors.
2. Select Sales Tax.
3. Click Manage Sales Tax.
4. Under SET UP SALES TAX, select Sales Tax Preferences.
5. On the SET UP SALES TAX ITEM section, select Add sales tax item.
6. Enter the name of your new sales tax item. Say it is the name of the city.
7. Below the Tax Rate (%) field, enter the rate accordingly.
8. Choose an agency for your sales tax.
9. Select OK.
10. Click OK.

Once done, go ahead and use the steps outlined in this article to create a sales tax group for each county and city sales tax: Set up Sales Tax and Sales Tax Group in QuickBooks Desktop.

I'm adding this article that'll help guide you through the steps once you need to start collecting and processing sales taxes: Record taxes to easily Monitor and Remit to the Appropriate Tax Collecting Agency.

If there's anything else that I can help you with besides how to set up sales tax, please let me know using the Reply button below. I'll be here ready to assist you. Take care and stay safe!

May I call you?

I have vendor Agency already.  California = CDTFA.

It's the sales/invoices section I am having trouble with.  For example,  Riverside County is 7.75%  Murrieta, Temecula, and some other cities are 8.75%.  At the bottom of the invoice I code the tax as RS-Temecula my sales tax calculates 1%    ?? How do I set up the group?  I have listed all the cities that are 8.75 under Riverside County.  I don't have something right.  May I call you? 

I appreciate you for getting back and sharing additional details, @twilalouisejames. I'll help you with setting up a sales tax group for your invoices.

You'll be able to set up a sales tax group for multiple sales tax items that appear on the same sales transaction through the Item List menu.

Here's how:

1. Open your QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) file.
2. Go to the Lists menu, then click on Item List.
3. Tap on the dropdown arrow under Item.
4. Select New.
5. Choose Sales Tax Group as Type.
6. On the Group Name/Number field, type your preferred name for the tax item group. 
7. Enter each sales tax that you need to include in the group. If the tax item is not set up yet, select Add New, then follow the steps in creating a tax item.
8. Hit OK.

Then, use the tax item when recording your invoices.

To learn more about the process, you can open this article: Set up sales tax in QuickBooks Desktop.

On the other hand, if you wish to connect with a live representative for further assistance, check out these steps:

1. Open QuickBooks.
2. Go to Help, then select QuickBooks Desktop Help.
3. Select Contact Us.
4. Give a brief description of your issue, then select Let's talk.
5. Choose a way to connect.

In case you need help with displaying multiple tax rates on your transactions in the future, you can use this link as your reference: Show multiple sales tax items on an invoice.

If you have any other follow-up questions about sales taxes, let me know by adding a comment below. I'm just a post way to help. Keep safe!

What about quickbooks online?? Can we set up groups?

Thanks for jumping in the thread, @Delonaa02. I'm glad to share some insights about setting up sales tax groups in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

The option to set up sales tax groups in QuickBooks Online is unavailable. However, we can utilize the combined tax rate. That has the same functionality as the Sale tax group option in QuickBooks Desktop. I can show you how to add the combined sales tax rate in QBO.

Here's how:

1. Go to the Taxes menu, then choose Sales tax.
2. Below the  Related Tasks list on the right section, select Add/edit tax rates and agencies.
3. Click New, then select Combined tax rate.
4. Choose a name for the combined rate and the different sales tax requirements.
5. If necessary, select Add Another Component to add more than two rates.
6. Then, select Save.

Once done, please keep in mind the following things that will happen:

• The new rate appears in the Sales Tax Rate and Agencies list.
• You can now select the new combined rate in forms like invoices.
• You can view the amounts owed to each agency in the Sales Tax Owed list in the Sales Tax Center.
• You can view the Sales Tax Liability report.

You can refer to this article for more details:  Set up your sales tax in QuickBooks Online.

If you want to use the automated sales tax feature in QBO, you can check out this article for guidance: Set up and use automated sales tax in QuickBooks Online.

I'll be here if you need help managing your sales taxes or other QuickBooks-related concerns. Stay safe!

Thank you for your reply.

However that doesn't address the issue with preparing a sales tax return in California with different district and city taxes that all should appear under the correct county.  

We have several customers that will ship products to different counties, cities and districts with different sales tax rates.    It would be helpful if the reports at least clumped the counties together.  

Thank you!

Delona

Thanks for your reply, @Delonaa02. I'm here to share additional information and make it will help you resolve your concern.

As I've mentioned above, the option to set up sales tax groups is unavailable. Since the combined sales tax doesn't work for you and that's the only option available in QuickBooks Online.

I'd suggest sending feedback to our product developers for the feature you'd like to add that will help resolve your concern in QuickBooks Online. This way, our product development team will get a great chance to know this and may add these feature enhancements in future updates.

Here's how:

1. Go to the Gear icon.
2. Choose Feedback.
3. Enter your comments or product suggestions.
4. Then, click Next to submit feedback.

You can visit our QuickBooks Online Feature Requests website to track the status of your submitted feedback.

I've also added the following articles for future reference:

• Manage sales tax payments in QuickBooks Online
• File your sales tax return and record sales tax payments in QuickBooks Online
  
  

Don't hesitate to reply if you have clarifications or additional information. I'd be glad to assist you. All the best to you and your business!

Hello @GebelAlainaM .

As I consider switching to QB Online, this is a feature we will likely need. I see your answer is now over a year old. Is it now the case that it is in fact possible to setup sales tax groups in QB Online? According to the following document, it seems that is the case.

https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-ca/help-article/sales-taxes/add-group-sales-tax-rate/...

Thank you for your answers here and for clarifying this.

I know how significant setting up sales tax groups,brandon. Let me chime in and provide more details about this feature.

Sales tax groups are available in other regions, such as Canada. However, we can combine sales tax rates in the US. Although the terms differ, they serve the same purpose. Please note that you can add up to 7 components in a combined tax rate. 

Here's how to add a combined tax rate:

1. Go to Taxes, then select Sales Tax. 
2. Under the Related Tasks list on the right, click Add/edit tax rates and agencies.
3. Select New and click Combined tax rate.
4. Provide a name for the combined rate and the different sales tax requirements.
5. If necessary, select Add Another Component to add more than two rates.
6. Once done, click Save.

You can check this article for more information about setting up, editing, and deactivating your sales tax rate and settings: Set up your sales tax in QuickBooks Online.

I've added this article for the complete guidelines on how to manage your sales tax payments to handle them correctly: Manage sales tax payments in QuickBooks Online.

Please don't hesitate to ask any additional questions or provide more details by simply hitting the Reply button. I'm dedicated to guiding you in managing your sales taxes in QuickBooks Online. Keep safe.

My tax rate districts are messed up in QBO.  Isn't there a way to download the sales tax rate district from the Washington State Department of Revenue?  You could do it with desktop.

Hi there, 22222. I'm here to help you understand how QuickBooks Online (QBO) calculates your sales tax.

QuickBooks calculates the correct tax rate on each sale based on the following:

• Your customer's tax-exempt status
• Where you sell and where you ship
• What you sell

Furthermore, you can refer to this article for additional information about how QBO calculates sales tax: Learn how QuickBooks Online calculates sales tax
 

Regarding your other question, downloading your tax rate in Sales tax is unavailable. You can only view the amount you need to pay in every state. I suggest running a Sales tax Liability report. This way, you'll be able to see the tax rates and export them or print them.

Here's how:

1. Go to Reports. Search for Sales Tax Liability Report.
2. Click the report. Once pulled up, click the district you want to view. 
3. Click the Printer icon or Export button.

I've also added a screenshot for your visual reference.

In addition, you can refer to this article to learn how to manage sales tax payments in QBO: Manage sales tax payments in QuickBooks Online.

Comment on this post if you still have concerns about your sales tax rate in QBO. I'm always here to help you in any way I can.

Well, that's inconvenient.

Another problem I have is the math is wrong on the taxable income.  For example on my transaction report it shows a taxable amount of $5437.50 and a tax rate of 6.5% and the tax amount of $381.69, it should be $353.44.  This particular customer was overcharged $38.28.

When I check my transaction report most of the calculations are right but some are wrong, what's up with that???

Let me help you manage your taxable transaction report in QuickBooks Online (QBO), 22222.

QuickBooks can correct any sales tax calculation errors during AVS system downtimes or communication issues if something went wrong with your transaction report. 

To ensure the sales tax is accurate, we can review each transaction from the report to make sure they are accurate to ensure we get the correct amounts. Here's how to do it:

1. From Reports, select Reports. 
2. Use the Find report by name, to find and open the Transaction List by Date report. 
3. Select Filter, then Last Modified Date, and enter your Custom dates.
4. Example:  08/01/2023 to 08/02/2023. 
5. Click Save to run the report.

Furthermore, you can refer to this article for additional information about

Correct calculation errors with Automated Sales Tax address verification in QuickBooks Online

After that, we can override the sales tax directly into any different types of payments by the following steps below:

1. In your invoice or sales receipt, select See the math. 
2. Select Override this amount. 
3. Before entering the adjustment, read the provided options and steps. Then, enter the desired rate or amount. 
4. Choose a reason for making the change, then select Confirm. 
5. Select Save. 

Once done, you can select See math again to see the adjustment if you want to see the sales tax you override.

Additionally, you can visit this article to learn how to file your sales tax return and record your sales tax payment: File your sales tax return and record sales tax payments in QuickBooks Online.

If you have any other concerns about Sales tax adjustments in QBO, please don't hesitate to reply in the comment section. I'm just around to assist you again.

Why would we ever need to override the math? Are you saying that QBO can't be trusted to calculate basic math?

As I said in an earlier thread, two out of 21 invoices the sales tax was miscalculated and missed the correct amount by 8% and 5%.   Half of the invoice sales tax where off by 2-3 cents and the rest were exactly right. I do not know how that is possible???

I recognize your concern about the discrepancies in sales tax calculations and the need to override within QuickBooks Online (QBO), 22222. My main goal is to ensure the computations are correct. Let me explain why we'll have to override in such cases.

QBO automatically calculates sales tax based on the data entered. However, in some situations, the system may encounter complexities that lead to discrepancies, such as rounding issues, changes in tax rates, or unique business scenarios that require manual adjustments.

When discrepancies like the ones you've experienced occur, where sales tax amounts vary significantly, or minor differences appear. It often indicates a need for manual intervention to ensure accuracy. Overriding allows users to correct these anomalies promptly and align the calculations with the correct tax obligations.

Additionally, QuickBooks automatically calculates the total tax rate for each sale based on the following:

• Your customer's tax-exempt status
• Where you sell and where you ship
• What you sell

For more details, see this link: Learn how QuickBooks Online calculates sales tax.

Also, I suggest contacting our Customer Support Team to investigate the discrepancy securely. They can identify the cause and provide a thorough analysis to resolve the issue promptly.

Here's how:

1. Go to the (?) Help icon.
2. Select Talk to a Human.
3. Enter a short description of your concern.
4. Click on I still need a human.
5. Tap Contact Us to connect with our live support.
6. Choose to Get a callback.

I'm adding this link about managing sales tax in QuickBooks. It contains topics with articles to guide you with the process: Manage taxes in QuickBooks.

Moreover, you can learn how to use the Sales Tax Liability report to see how much sales tax you owe in QuickBooks.

You can always count on me if you need additional assistance handling invoice sales tax in the program. Leave your comment below by clicking the Reply button.