Sales Tax collected and Sales Tax payable

Hey there, bwaugh1986.

I’m here to help determine why the tax collected doesn’t match with the tax payable column.

If you're using the desktop version, this issue may happen when the Sales Tax Liability Report and Pay Sales Tax window don’t have the same date ranges or report basis. Let's perform some troubleshooting steps to resolve this.

The first thing to do is open the Sales Tax Liability Report. Then, make sure the ending date matches with the date in the Show sales tax due field.

Here’s how:

1. Go to Reports at the top menu bar, and select Vendors & Payables.
2. Choose Sales Tax Liability.
3. Delete the From date, and ensure the To date on the report matches the date in the Show sales tax due through box on the Pay Sales Tax window.
4. From there, review the amount.

If you get the same result, check the Sales Tax Preference and make sure the reporting basis are the same. I'll guide you through the steps.

To change the reporting preference:

1. Go to the QuickBooks Edit menu, and select Preferences.
2. Choose Sales Tax.
3. On the Company Preferences tab, note the selected basis in the When do you owe sales tax? box.

   •    As of invoice date - Accrual basis
   •    Upon receipt of payment - Cash basis.

4. Ensure the STLR basis matches the preference.

If the issue persists, you can refer to the Sales Tax Liability Report and Pay Sales Tax window do not match article for further troubleshooting steps. Make sure to go directly to the Audit the Sales Tax Payable Account for section.

However, if you're using QuickBooks Online, create a sales tax adjustment to correct the amount. You'll find the detailed instructions through this link and go directly to the Sales tax adjustment section.

That'll do it. By performing these steps, the sales tax collected and sales tax payable will show the same amount.

Reach out to me directly if you have questions about QBO. Please know that I'm here to lend a helping hand. Wishing you the best.

I have done all of the suggested above and still do not understand why my "tax collected" is different from my "tax payable". I am also dealing with the difference between the two columns are the exact dollar amount as the previous month's payment.  I need something outside of an automatic answer. 

Rasa! 

YOU are a genius. Thank you so very much :-)

Hi Rasa-LilaM

Can I ask a question here? I was told to adjust the sales tax payable in December 2018 for the sales tax payment made in January 2019. I was confused about why I need to adjust the December 2018 sales tax payable. Can you give me some light about this?

Hi accountant_fos!

Sure you can ask a question here. I'm jumping in since Rasa-Lila is already out.

You would need to adjust your sales tax payable if it is incorrect. I'd suggest checking your record with the one who advised you to adjust it. Or, you can run a Sales Tax Liability report to know your tax amounts in a certain period.

You can dig deeper by double-clicking the total amount in the Tax Collected column to see the transactions. If you find out that you need to adjust your sales tax, you can go to Vendors, choose Sales Tax and Adjust Sales Tax Due. Here's an article for additional reference: Process sales tax adjustment.

Please go back to this thread if you have other questions.

See Attached PDF file for directions on correcting.

Hope this helps.

I feel like I should jump in here since there's another reason the two columns may not match. Many times, a user will change either the amount of a taxable item on an invoice OR even change the taxability of an item or the whole invoice after that period has been reported to the state and paid.  I deal with this more frequently than I would prefer and am working through a pretty big puzzle right now with that exact issue.  Hope it helps.

Can you tell me where the sales tax audit section is? I'm having the same issue and would like to audit my sales tax payable. 

This is true and think I have done this. I just need to know how to fix. 

I'll be here to help you fix the sales tax issues you're experiencing, DebbieS.

To take a look at your sales tac payable amounts, you can follow the steps provided by my colleague Rasa-LilaM. Ensure that the reports' date range and accounting method are correctly selected. Once you set up the report, you can drill down to the amounts in the Sales Tax Payable and Tax Collected column so you'll identify the transactions associated with it. 

If the amounts are still posted incorrectly, you can run a Verify and Rebuild Data Utility process to fix discrepancies on reports. Feel free to use this link to help you manage your sales taxes.

You can also use get in touch with our Phone Support Team if the issue persists. 

Keep me posted on how this works. I'll be here to help you. Take care!

My issue is the SALES TAX COLLECTED & SALES TAX PAYABLE do not match. I did find the problem with an invoice that was made out twice. I deleted on of them but the columns are showing the same difference. How can I sync this up?

@bwaugh1986 

Did you ever figure out what the issue is? I am having the same issue. The difference between my two numbers is the paid amount from the previous month. I don't know how to fix it.

I think this was due to a credit being issue to a customer. My head was spinning on how to balance it out. I don't clearly recall what I did, but at the end of this month when it comes time to file again it will be interesting to see if it now balanced. I wish I could remember what I did.

I just had this problem.

After reading all the replies I went back and checked the date I put for the payment.

The Sales Tax payment was due 4/1/24 for February and that's the date I put for the payment.

After changing the date to 3/31/24 and ran the sales tax liability report again , Ta Da ! 

My payable and collected amounts match up !

Thank you for all your input it helped me figure this out .

Laurie G.

Hello, Sorel.

I’m glad to know that the information provided in the thread above has helped you to figure this out. Thank you for doing business with us in QuickBooks.

If you have any other concerns about QuickBooks count me in. I'll surely get back to you. Take care.