Add student loan manually

We appreciate you taking the time to inform us of your situation, @karen246. We'll provide details to help you handle student loans in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

Efficient utilization of QuickBooks is crucial for us, especially when setting up student loan options for our users. We can provide you with appropriate setup options depending on the payroll service you're currently using.

If you're using QuickBooks Standard Payroll, you can record it as Repayment if the employee has taken an advance from you or owes you money. Repayments are not taxed. Let me help you set it up.

Here's how:

1. Go to the Payroll tab and select Employees.
2. Click Add next to Repayment.
3. To customize this deduction, enter a Name for the loan.
4. From the Rate type, select whether this repayment is going to be deducted from the employee pay slip as a fixed Value or a Percentage.
5. If you select Value, enter a Default amount to deduct. If you select Percent, enter a Default percent to deduct from the employee’s pay.
6. Save your changes, then close the window.

For more details, you can visit this page: Add or customize payroll deductions in QuickBooks Standard Online Payroll.

On the other hand, if you're using QuickBooks Online Advanced Payroll, you can set up deduction categories to automatically deduct money from your employees' salaries. Here's how to set up a deduction category:

1. Go to Payroll. 
2. Under Payroll Settings, select Deduction Categories. 
3. Click on Add to create a new deduction category. Note that there are already two deduction categories available to you. You can select the name of the deduction category to make any necessary edits. 
4. Name your new deduction category. 
5. Choose whether it will be a pre-tax or post-tax deduction. 
6. Add an external ID.
7. Select the impact on National Minimum Wage/National Living Wage, then Save.
8. Once done, assign it to your employees.

For your next step, check out this article: Add deductions categories in QuickBooks Online Advanced Payroll. It includes creating recurring deductions and checking their status.

The Community space is available 24/7 if you need further assistance managing your payroll or have questions about student loans. We'll be here to help you out anytime. Have a good one!