Learn what to do if you receive an IRS or state tax notice of discrepancy.
If you have QuickBooks Payroll and received a tax notice of discrepancy, we're here to help. It’s important to take care of it promptly to avoid additional tax penalties, interest, or notices.
Step 1: Make sure your notice is payroll-related
Determine if the tax notice is related to services QuickBooks Payroll provides for you. QuickBooks Payroll handles IRS forms 941/944, 940, W-2, state unemployment insurance, state withholding tax, and local withholding taxes where applicable.
| Unemployment rate notice: If you can update your unemployment rate yourself in your payroll product, you don't need to send your rate notice to us. |
Notices for other business taxes, such as sales tax, corporate income tax, and franchise tax, should be directed to your accountant or tax advisor.
Step 2: Determine if you were on service during the period of the notice
Make sure your notice applies to a time you used QuickBooks Payroll. If the notice timeframe is outside of service, contact the person or company who handled your payroll at that time.
Step 3: Send in your tax notice
Choose your payroll service below to learn how to send us your tax notice.
QuickBooks Online Payroll
- Handwrite your Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) on the first page of your tax notice. If you have more than one notice of discrepancy, send each one separately.
- Send your notice to us.
Upload your notice in your payroll product (if you currently use our payroll service)
- Go to Taxes then select Payroll tax.
- Select Resources.
- Select Tax Notice.
- Follow the on-screen steps to send your notice to us.
Next Steps
Once we get the tax notice, we’ll send an email confirmation to the Principal Officer and Primary Admin on file with a case number and additional details. When complete, a tax specialist will send another email with the required resolution, any steps we have taken on your behalf, and additional action required from you (if applicable). Note that the response will only be sent to the Primary Officer or Primary Admin of the account.
You can also check the status of your notices inside your QuickBooks.
- Go to Settings ⚙ then under Tools select Resolution center.
- Select the Payroll tab.
- Find your tax notice. Select View details.
- Review the info about your notice.
Send your notice to us via email
Email your notice to taxnoticeresolution@intuit.com. Add the notice to your email as an attachment. Acceptable formats include .pdf, .jpeg, .doc or .docx, .xls or .xlsx, .tiff.
Next Steps
Once we get the tax notice, we’ll send an email confirmation to the Principal Officer and Primary Contact on file with a case number and additional details. When complete, a tax specialist will send another email with the required resolution, any steps we have taken on your behalf, and additional action required from you (if applicable). Note that the response will only be sent to the Primary Officer or Primary Admin of the account.
QuickBooks Desktop Payroll Assisted
- Hand write your Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) on the first page of the tax notice you received. If you have more than one notice of discrepancy, send each one separately.
- Email each federal or state notice to taxnoticeresolution@intuit.com.
- Note: the notice must be included as an attachment to your email. Acceptable formats include .pdf, .jpeg, .doc or .docx, .xls or .xlsx, .tiff.
- If you have more than one notice of discrepancy, please send each one in a separate email.
Next Steps
Once we get your tax notice, you’ll get a confirmation email with a case number and additional details. When complete, a tax specialist will email you with the required resolution, any steps we have taken on your behalf, and additional action required (if applicable).
Frequently asked questions
Will I always get a response?
- The Tax Notice team sends an acknowledgement email within 3-5 business days. If the Primary Officer or Primary Admin didn't receive an email, contact us to confirmation if we received it.
- Double-check the document attachment type, as our system can only accept: PDF, JPEG, PNG, Word, Excel, and Outlook MSG.
- If you forwarded the notice via Email, make sure you included it as an attachment instead of an embedded image.
- For rate or deposit frequency change, Intuit sends a response once your payroll account has been updated.
Note: Don't attempt to ask questions or obtain status updates using the tax notice email; this is an automated inbox and inquiries sent here will not be answered.
Do I need to respond to the agency myself?
Possibly. If you receive a notice for a payroll tax filing prepared by Intuit, forward it to us. We will provide the required proof of payment, filing, or correction on your behalf.
You may need to work directly with the agency if:
- The notice pertains to a tax return or payment not prepared by Intuit.
- We have validated the balance due or overpayment.
- We don't have enough information or authorization to resolve the issue.
What if I receive a second notice for an issue that should have been resolved?
If you receive a second notice for an issue to which Intuit has responded, forward it to us immediately. We will contact the tax agency to make sure that our correspondence was received, and that we have provided enough information to resolve the issue.
On average, tax agencies take 6 to 8 weeks to process correspondence and close an issue. Some agencies automatically issue new notices until the case is closed. Most second notices result from correspondence crossing in the mail or in the agency’s research queue.
