How do I add a Garnishment account to the withholding for an employee?

I'll make sure you can add a garnishment account in QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT), @lilavalv. This way, you can withhold payments from your employees' paychecks accordingly.

A wage garnishment is a court order for you to withhold a certain amount of an employee's wages as repayment for debt. You're able to add a garnishment account when you create a payroll item. Here's how:

1. Go to Lists located at the top, select Payroll Item List.
2. Click the Payroll Item button, and select New.
3. Choose EZ Setup or Custom Setup, and then select Next. (For EZ Setup, follow the onscreen instructions.)
4. Select the Deduction option, and click Next. Type the name of the payroll deduction, such as Child Support Smith for employee Bob Smith, and hit the Next button.
5. Enter the agency name in which the liability is paid. If you currently do not know the name of the agency, you can add it later. Choose the Liability account (employee-paid). Then, select Next. 
6. Click the Tax Tracking Type drop-down arrow, and unless instructed otherwise by your accountant, select None. Then, select Next twice.
7. Make sure that Neither is selected in the Calculate Based on Quantity window and click Next. Note: Do not select Hours or Quantity, as those will not calculate the garnishment correctly.
8. Choose Net to calculate the amount after taxes in the Gross vs. Net window. If you choose Gross, it will calculate the deduction of the amount before taxes.
9. Enter a Default Rate and Limit (if there is one). Then, click Finish.

Once you're done, set up the garnishment deduction item on each employee's record. For the detailed steps, you can check out this article: Set up a payroll garnishment item.

On the other hand, if you want to create a separate garnishment account, you can add one from your chart of accounts. For the step-by-step guide, you can refer to this article: Add accounts in QuickBooks Desktop.

Additionally, when you receive the court order to send the payment, I'd recommend pulling up the Payroll Liabilities Balance report. This way, you're able to have all the information you need about the payroll items assigned to a liability account, deductions, and company contributions.

To do this, I'd recommend checking out this article: Run payroll liability balances report. It also includes details about the payroll liabilities account.

Let me know in the comments if you have other payroll concerns and questions about the garnishment account in QBDT. I'm always here to help. Take care always, @lilavalv.