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J
joy-riversidetre
November 4, 2022
Question

I am not required to pay PA UI taxes but require to pay PA withholding -- QBO won't let me set up payroll without the UI information. Is there are workaround?

  • November 4, 2022
  • 2 replies
  • 0 views
I try to enter all zeros but QBO won't accept that either. I can run payroll but the proper PA withholding won't be deducted.

2 replies

Tori B
Tori B
November 4, 2022

Good morning, @joy-riversidetre. 

 

I hope your Friday is going great so far. 

 

In QuickBooks Online, you can exempt your employees from Unemployment tax. I've included the steps to do this below. 

 

  1. Go to the Payroll or Workers menu, then select Employees.
  2. Click your name, proceed to the Employee Details or Pay section, and select Edit (pencil icon).
  3. Proceed to the Withholdings section and click the Edit (pencil icon) again.
  4. Scroll down to the Tax exemptions section. Then, uncheck the unemployment tax.
  5. Click Done.

 

I also wanted to share some steps to update your SUI rate at any time in QuickBooks. Here's how: 

 

  1. Go to Settings, then select Payroll settings.
  2. Next to the state you want to update, click on the Edit icon.
  3. In the State Unemployment Insurance (SUI) Setup section, hit Change or add a new rate.
  4. Enter your new rate and its effective date. For most states, the effective date is 1/1. For TN, VT, and NJ, the date is 7/1.
    • Contact us if you have already created paychecks with the wrong rate or need to correct a prior quarter rate.
  5. If you have a surcharge or assessment tax rate, enter it here.
  6. Enter your new rate and its effective date.
  7. Hit OK to save your changes.

 

For more information about this process, check out Update your State Unemployment Insurance rate. 

 

I'm here if you have any additional questions or concerns. Take care, and have a great weekend! 

J
joy-riversidetreAuthor
November 4, 2022

Hi Tori,

 

Thanks for the info, however, those employees still have to pay into NJ UI since they work in NJ. I was able to run payroll by making them exempt from STATE UI but now they are missing the deduction for NJ UI as well as PA withholding.

 

Here's the breakdown:

  • EE resides in PA and works in NJ
  • Per PA UI laws, EE gets deductions for NJ UI taxes and PA withholding
  • Employer is responsible for NJ UI taxes as well as PA withholding and NJ withholding

 

Furthermore, QBO will not allow me to "sign my tax documents" without entering a PA ID number for UI (I do not have since we don't pay that) as well as percentage for deduction for PA UI (which is 0%). I will never be able to sign my tax docs without a workaround for this. 

 

 

R
rvrfrf
November 4, 2022

Thanks for following up with the Community, joy-riversidetre.

 

Since you're saying your payroll isn't configured properly, I'd recommend getting in touch with our Customer Care team. They'll be able to pull up the account in a secure environment, conduct further research with you, and help make sure it's set up correctly.

 

They can be reached while you're signed in.

 

Here's how:

  1. Use the Help (?) icon.
  2. Click Contact Us.
  3. Enter a description of your situation in the What can we help you with? field, then hit Let's talk.
  4. Select Start messaging or Get a call.

 

Be sure to review their support hours so you'll know when agents are available.

 

I've also included a detailed resource about setting up deductions which may come in handy moving forward: Set up, change, or delete employee-paid payroll deductions

 

Please feel welcome to send a reply if there's any questions. Have a great day!

N
NK-919
April 6, 2025

Sorry that I don't have a solution.  I have found payroll in QBO to be extremely difficult to work with.  Unlike payroll in QB desktop, QBO wants to be "one size fits all" and you are not able to tailor payroll items to fit your specific needs.  I have spent countless hours on the phone with the Intuit "experts" and get no resolution.  Or if they make some kind of change "in the background," it screws something else up.  Good luck!  

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