QuickBooks and QuickBooks Pro 6.0 for Windows
Payroll

Important: QuickBooks 6.0 Tax Table Service to Be Discontinued on December 31, 2002

This page contains all frequently asked questions (FAQs) related to Payroll in the QuickBooks for Windows program. Use either the following subcategory list to go directly to the area you want to see, or use the Find feature of your Internet browser to search this entire page for a particular word or words.

Classes

• Why do amounts connected to a payroll item show up as unclassified on the P&L by Class report?
• How can I set up payroll to track payroll taxes, Company Contributions, Additions and Commissions by Class?

Employee Name

• How do I resolve the error message "Employee information for EMPLOYEE NAME is not valid for paycheck date. Paycheck tax calculation may be inaccurate" when creating a paycheck or year-to-date amount?

Error Messages

• Why does selecting "Yes" to the message "Would you like to apply changes to all matching employees?", when editing a payroll item on the master employee template, not update all employee templates?
• How do I resolve the message "You have recently downloaded a QuickBooks software update. This update must be installed before you can use any payroll features. Please exit QuickBooks to install the update." when I open payroll after installing the Manual Download update?
• Why do I get the message "Tax table is not valid for this date. Calculated taxes will be based on the tax table year" when creating paychecks?
• How do I resolve the error message "Employee information for EMPLOYEE NAME is not valid for paycheck date. Paycheck tax calculation may be inaccurate" when creating a paycheck or year-to-date amount?
• How do I resolve the error message "Unknown client specific tax form printing error : 215" when printing tax forms?
• Why do I get an Unexpected Error message when I delete a liability adjustment or unpaid carryover?
• How do I resolve the error message, "Warning! 117 (or 122)- Error String Not Found -- perrval.dll could be missing." when printing a Form 940 or 941?
• Why do I receive the message, "Your copy of QuickBooks 5.0 is up to date" when trying to install the new Tax Table for QuickBooks 6.0 or 99?
• How do I resolve the error, "Unknown client-specific tax form printing error-117 ", when printing or previewing a 940 or 941?
• Why do I receive a message that my computer's time does not match the server time when I attempt to send my payroll information to the Payroll Service?

Federal Taxes

• How can I withhold a specific dollar amount for Federal or State Withholding instead of the calculated amount?
• How does QuickBooks calculate FWH and SWH amounts?
• Why is my FWH and SWH calculation incorrect?
• Why is my federal unemployment tax (FUTA) not calculating correctly?
• Why is the Self-adjusting (auto-correct) tax feature not correcting my tax amounts?
• Why are my payroll taxes calculating incorrectly? They are too high or too low.
• How do I set up employees to be exempt from Federal and State taxes?
• Why are taxes being calculated for employees marked "exempt" from Federal Withholding after updating to QuickBooks 6.0?

Form 940/941

• Why are overpayments from last quarter not being included on Line 14, even though I selected the option to Apply Overpayment to Next Return?
• How do I generate the numbers for Schedule B of Form 941 in QuickBooks?
• How does QuickBooks calculate numbers on Form 941?
• How does QuickBooks calculate amounts on Form 940?
• Why is my company address not printing or the zip code is missing on Form 941?
• How do I resolve the error, "Unknown client-specific tax form printing error-117 ", when printing or previewing a 940 or 941?
• Will the IRS accept the QuickBooks Form 941 (revised January 1999) in the year 2000?
• Why does the address on Form 941 print very small?

Form W-2/W-3

• What do I need to know about the new W-2 and W-3 forms?
• Why does the Year list on Form W-2 list only future years?
• Why don't all the boxes on my W-2 reflect a change made to the tax tracking for a payroll item?
• Why is the information in boxes 1 through 6 on my W-2 out of alignment while the rest of the form aligns correctly?
• Where do the numbers on Form W-2 come from?
• Why doesnt QuickBooks display the full amount in box 14 of my W-2s when I review them onscreen?
• Why does the printed text align a quarter to a half-inch off when printing Form W-2?
• Why does the Other box (14) on my W-2s show a 0.00 amount, when some boxes with no amounts are left blank?
• Why is box a, Control number, blank on my W-2 forms?
• Why is the amount in box 1 of my W-2 forms different from the amounts in boxes 3 and 5?
• Why does box 1 or box 7 of my W-2 form have an incorrect amount?
• Why is box 14 correct in the Review W-2 window but prints only the first four characters on Form W-2?
• What goes into Box 14 of the W-2 Form?
• Why is my employee's street address not printing/previewing on Form W-2 (only the city, state and zip code are printing)?
• The IRS requires that W-2s for more than 250 employees be submitted on magnetic media. How can I do this in QuickBooks?
• What are the filing procedures for incorrect W-2 forms?
• Why does QuickBooks print on every other Form W-2 or one W-2 per page, when using a continuous feed printer?
• Why do my W2s or 1099s print in Wingdings or the Symbol font?
• How do I track company paid health insurance on Form W-2 in QuickBooks 6.0?
• Why doesn't QuickBooks print a 42nd W-2 form as a Subtotal form anymore?
• Why are there are no amounts showing on my W-3 when I print it?
• Why does Form W-3 not include the State ID number?
• How do I get the State ID to show up on my W-3 forms?
• Why do my W-2s or 1099s print garbage or gibberish in Windows NT?
• Why aren't Health Care Subsidy Employee and New Jersey Workforce Development Employee printing on Box 14 of the W-2?
• How do I edit Form W-2, box 14, to show correct amounts for New Jersey worker contributions in QuickBooks 6.0?
• Why do I receive the error, "Intuit Printer Library: The form you are about to print specifies the font (OCR-A) which is not installed on this system. You may wish to install the font. Click OK to print anyway or Cancel to skip printing this form", when printing W-2s, W-3s and 1099s?

How Do I?

• How do I set up employees to be exempt from Federal and State taxes?
• How does QuickBooks handle 401(k) plans in New Mexico and West Virginia?
• How do I link my wage items in payroll to different expense accounts?
• Why do payroll transactions remain in a data file after condensing?
• How do I set up workers compensation insurance with different rates for various employees?
• How do I set up payroll in QuickBooks version 6.0 or later?
• What steps should I take when upgrading my payroll to QuickBooks 6.0?
• Why don't I see the payroll icon or any payroll-related commands?
• How do I turn on the payroll in QuickBooks Pro 5.0 or 6.0?
• How do I set up salaried employees who are paid only 10 months out of the year (teachers)?
• How do I set up payroll items in QuickBooks 6.0?
• How can I sell my products or services to Employees and deduct their payments from their paychecks?
• How do I track officers' salaries separately from other salaries?
• When I start using QuickBooks in the middle of the year, how do I enter year-to-date payroll information?
• How do I eliminate the duplicate tax payroll items that were created when I updated my company file?
• How do I set up a payroll item for an advance against salary?
• How do I track piecework in QuickBooks payroll?
• How do I track commissions paid to my employees?
• How do I handle a Simple-IRA in QuickBooks 6.0?
• How do I return over-withheld taxes to an employee who no longer works for me?
• How do I handle a direct payroll deposit in QuickBooks?
• How do I track company paid health insurance on Form W-2 in QuickBooks 6.0?
• As a subscriber to the Tax Table Service, how can I download the latest payroll tax table within QuickBooks?
• How do I change the way payroll additions and/or deductions affect taxes?
• How do I set up my pre-payment of the company employee-paid health insurance premium, so that the Pay Liabilities window and the Liabilities reports don't show negative numbers?
• How do I set up a bonus for my employees?
• How do I change the way my addition items affect taxes in QuickBooks?
• How do I change the way my deduction items affect taxes in QuickBooks?
• How do I generate the numbers for my Schedule B of Form 941 in QuickBooks?

Local Taxes

• How do I track more than 1 state or more than 2 local taxes for one employee?
• Why is there no field for the tax percentage in the Local Tax window of the employee payroll record?
• Why do local taxes appear with additions, deductions, commissions, and company contributions in the Preview Paycheck window?
• Why am I receiving the message- "Unable to calculate local tax" when creating a paycheck for a MA employee?

Multi-user

• Why doesn't the time information I just added for an employee show up when I create paychecks in multi-user mode?

Payroll Checks

• How do I handle a direct payroll deposit in QuickBooks?
• Why when I go to preview Paystubs, has some of the information on the old Paystubs changed from when I originally printed them?
• How do I avoid printing certain information on the paystub, when I print paychecks?
• How do I edit or delete a paycheck?
• What is the new Self-adjusting Tax Calculation feature in QuickBooks?
• Why is the Self-adjusting (auto-correct) tax feature not correcting my tax amounts?
• Why are my payroll taxes calculating incorrectly? They are too high or too low.
• How do I adjust my year-to-date figures for over-withheld taxes?
• How do I adjust my year-to-date figures for under-withheld taxes?
• What do I need to fix when I accidentally create a duplicate paycheck for an employee?
• Why aren't my paychecks calculating correctly?
• Why do the "Last Date" paid and the "Pay Period Ends" dates not change when processing a payroll?
• Why is the Sick or Vacation Available time on the Review Paycheck window different from that showing on the Preview Paystub window?
• Why is a paycheck for a payroll Advance, which has no taxable wages, still having taxes withheld?
• Why are some payroll item amounts incorrect when I process paychecks?
• Why are taxes being calculated on the paycheck when there are no earnings items or additions?
• How are year-to-date amounts calculated on a paycheck or paystub?
• Why do inactive payroll items still show up on employees paychecks?
• Why doesn't the Pay Period Ending date on the Preview Paycheck window match the date on the Select Employees to Pay window?

Payroll Liabilities

• Why doesn't the Federal ID printed on the Liability checks match the Federal ID in the Company Info screen?
• How do I create a report that shows all Liability Adjustments without "Effective Dates"?
• How do I pay payroll taxes and liabilities?
• Why does the Pay Liabilities window disappear when I change the date?
• Why is a payroll item missing from my Pay Liabilities window?
• Why is my payroll liability report incorrect in QuickBooks 6.0?
• Why does a company contribution or deduction continue to accrue as a liability after the annual limit is reached?
• How do I enter in a discount when I pay my payroll taxes early?
• What should I check when my payroll liabilities show the wrong amount due in QuickBooks 6.0?
• Why does the wrong Employer Identification Number (EIN) print on my Federal liabilities check? Or, why is the wrong EIN in my Payroll Item report for Federal items?
• Can I track payroll expenses and liabilities by department or location?

Printing

• Why is QuickBooks not printing the full State ID number in Box 15 on Form W-2?
• How do I avoid printing certain information on the paystub, when I print paychecks?
• Why does the printed text align a quarter to a half-inch off when printing Form W-2?
• How do I print paystubs?
• Why does QuickBooks print on every other Form W-2 or one W-2 per page, when using a continuous feed printer?
• Why do my W2s or 1099s print in Wingdings or the Symbol font?
• Why am I unable to print Form W-2 in QuickBooks?
• How do I resolve the error message "Unknown client specific tax form printing error: 215" when printing tax forms?
• How do I resolve the error message- "Unknown Client Specific tax form printing error 215," when trying to print or preview a 941or 940 form?
• Why doesn't the Subtotal Form print when batch printing W-2s?
• Why do my W-2s or 1099s print garbage or gibberish in Windows NT?
• How do I resolve the error, "Unknown client-specific tax form printing error-117 ", when printing or previewing a 940 or 941?

Prior Payments

• How do I enter prior payments for payroll taxes and liabilities?
• Why can't the Advanced Earnings Income Credit (AEIC) be entered correctly on a Prior Payment as a negative number?

Reports

• How do I create a report that shows my total payroll expenses?
• How can I get a quarterly report with my employee names, social security numbers, and gross wages?
• Why is my Payroll Transaction Detail report blank, when filtered for a specific employee name?
• How do I create a report that shows all Liability Adjustments without "Effective Dates"?
• How can I create a report that shows the amount of SUI withheld/contributed and the wage base per employee for last quarter?
• How do I set up a report that shows my employee's or contractor's piecework?
• How can I quickly report on my payroll activity?
• How do I create a report that shows the hours each of my employees worked?
• Why do amounts connected to a payroll item show up as unclassified on the P&L by Class report?
• Why is my payroll liability report incorrect in QuickBooks 6.0?
• How can I find the correct year-to-date payroll amounts for an employee?
• How can I learn which rates and wage limits the tax table is using?

State Taxes

• How do I withhold the correct New Jersey Workforce Development Fund (Company) Tax for tax year 2001?
• Why is payroll still calculating State Unemployment Insurance even after the maximum gross wages have been met?
• How can I withhold a specific dollar amount for Federal or State Withholding instead of the calculated amount?
• How do I set up employees to be exempt from Federal and State taxes?
• How does QuickBooks handle New Jersey Retirement Plans?
• Why is SUI or SDI incorrect?
• Why has State Unemployment Insurance stopped calculating before the wage base has been met?
• Where do I put in the maximum wages for State Unemployment Insurance?
• What should I do if the wage cap for State Unemployment Insurance is incorrect?
• Why is payroll still calculating State Unemployment Insurance even after the maximum gross wages have been met?
• How does QuickBooks calculate FWH and SWH amounts?
• Why is my FWH and SWH calculation incorrect?
• Why is my State Withholding (SWH) being calculated at zero on paychecks?
• Why is my New Jersey State Disability calculating incorrectly?
• Why won't QuickBooks allow me to enter a high enough rate for my New Jersey State Disability or SDI calculates at an incorrect rate?
• How do I track state withholding (SWH) for two different states on one paycheck?
• How do I edit the percentage rate of the Oregon Worker's Assessment Rate tax for an employee and company?
• Why are my payroll taxes wrong after adding a payroll addition or deduction to a paycheck in QuickBooks version 6.0 or later?
• Why isn't my state withholding calculating in the year 2000, for Arizona and North Dakota?
• Why is QuickBooks calculating the wrong amount for New Jersey Health Care (HC) in the year 2000?
• How do I change the way my addition items affect taxes in QuickBooks?
• How do I change the way my deduction items affect taxes in QuickBooks?
• How can I be sure that I have withheld the correct California State Disability Insurance (SDI) for employees in 2000?
• What should I do if an employer-paid State tax is cancelled or is no longer used?

Tax Table

• Frequently asked questions regarding the discontinuation (sunset) of the QuickBooks Tax Table Service
• How do I resolve the message "Could not find QuickBooks version information." after downloading an AutoPatch; attempting to apply the AutoPatch; or attempting installation of a tax table that was downloaded from the QuickBooks Update Service window?
• Why do I get the message, Error- Invalid Session. This error can be caused by one of the following reasons- 1. Either your session has expired, or you have not logged in yet. Please login again. 2. Your browser does not accept cookies. Please modify your browser setting so that it accept cookies and login again., when I attempt to download a tax table from the tax table Website?
• Why are the tax tables zeroing out after Feb 15, 1999 in QuickBooks 6.0?
• Why can't I update my tax table from the tax table website, using NetZIP and Internet Explorer 4.0?
• How do I resolve the message, "Could not find QuickBooks version information," when using the Tax Table Update Utility?
• Do I need tax table updates?
• Are my tax tables up to date?
• Why does Intuit charge for tax table updates?
• Why doesn't Intuit allow me to change the tax table rates myself?
• Is it OK to copy the tax tables from a friend?
• Why should I get a subscription to the Tax Table Service, instead of a one-time update? My state and the federal government only change rates once a year.
• How do I subscribe to the Tax Table Service?
• As a subscriber to the Tax Table Service, how can I download the latest payroll tax table within QuickBooks?
• Why do I receive the message, "Your copy of QuickBooks 5.0 is up to date" when trying to install the new Tax Table for QuickBooks 6.0 or 99?
• When tying to update my tax table, why do I receive the message, "Update incomplete. Try again later." or "Invalid subscription. Click Tax Table to review." even though I have a valid Tax Table subscription?
• Why do I get the message, "Do not update the county percentage rate on your employee records in QuickBooks until you receive Tax Table 20004. If you enter your new percentage while using Tax Table 20003 or earlier, your state withholding will not calculate correctly" when I install tax table 200-03?

Timer/Timesheets (Pro Only)

• Why do I have duplicates in my Time Activity Log?
• Why do I get the message "The date you've entered is not valid" when I enter a date in the QuickBooks Pro Timer?
• How to I resolve the message "Would you like to set this employee to use time data during paycheck creation?" when entering time for an employee of the type Owner or Sales Rep Only?
• Can I use the Timer independently of QuickBooks Pro?
• How do I export Timer data back to QuickBooks Pro?
• How do I user the QuickBooks Timer feature to time an activity?
• How do I