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Invalid Social Security Number

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
April 28, 2023
7 replies
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Before the latest update I have always been able to enter a SSN as [removed] for an employee waiting for a SSN or an H2A worker and "Applied For" would print on the W2. Now when I enter this was I get the message "Enter a Valid Social Security Number" How do I set up an employee with QB won't accept the information?

Best answer by rvrfrf

Thanks for reaching out to the Community. I'd like to thank each user for joining this thread and provide an update on the situation.

As of January 18, 2024, Intuit released an update which now enables you to enter all zeros for Social Security Numbers (SSN). The update will enable you to be in compliance with the Social Security Administration guidelines for situations where an employee's number is unknown, or it's been applied for.

You can manually check for updates to confirm you're using your product's latest release.

Here's how:

In the top menu bar, go to Help, then Update QuickBooks Desktop.
Select Update Now, then Get Updates.
Close and reopen QuickBooks to install your update.

Once you've confirmed you're using the latest release, you'll be able to enter all zeros for employee SSNs.

I've also included a detailed resource about keeping QuickBooks updated which may come in handy moving forward: Update QuickBooks to its latest release

Please feel welcome to send a reply here if there's any questions. The Community's always here to help. Have an awesome Friday!

R

Rasa-LilaM

Let me help and guide you in the right direction on how to set up your employee, kerryrynn.

I can see that you've already updated your QuickBooks, but let's download the latest maintenance release. one more time, then update your tax table, too. This troubleshooting will apply critical fixes and resolve common errors or issues you may be experiencing while working in the program.

To update:

In your company file, head to the Help menu at the top bar and choose Update QuickBooks Desktop.
Go to the Update Now tab and tick the Reset Update box to remove previously downloaded releases.
Click the Get Updates button and then press OK to continue.
Once done, close and reopen your QuickBooks to kick off the installation.

See the following article to learn more about the different methods for downloading the maintenance release: Update QuickBooks Desktop to the latest release.

Next, update the tax table version to get accurate rates and calculations for federal and supported state taxes, payroll tax forms, and e-file and e-pay options. After performing these steps, enter the SSN into your worker's profile.

Here's how:

Go to the Employees menu then Employee Center.
Double-click the employee's name.
Proceed to the Personal Info tab to enter the Social Security Number of the employee.
Click on OK.

You can obtain more information on how to set up new hires and change their information by visiting the links below:

If you continue to get the same result, I recommend contacting our Payroll Support Team for further assistance. They can assist you on how to input the information for you.

Here's how:

In your company file, go to the Help menu at the top bar and choose Contact Us.
Type a brief description of the issue, like, encountering an issue customizing a statement, and select Continue.
Sign in to your Intuit account and click Continue and then Continue with my account.
If you don't already have an account, make sure to Create a new account.
We'll email you a single-use code.
Enter it and select Continue.
If you have more than one account, select the account you want to use and then Continue.
Select to Chat with us or Have us call you.

To learn more about the difference between SSN and ITIN, you can browse through this link: Correct your employee's Social Security number. It covers topics such as SSN verification, and amending W-2s to name a few.

For tools and resources to guide you on how to handle any payroll-related activities, you can visit the Payroll Hub. There, you'll find topics about managing your workers' data, processing payroll forms, and handling tax notices to name a few.

Fill me in if you have other payroll concerns or questions about adding employees. I'm always ready to answer them for you.

BigRedConsulting

@Rasa-LilaM

You didn't answer the question.

The OP is asking why they can't enter 9 zeros as the SSN as QuickBooks has always been allowed, specifically to handle the valid case where the employee has applied for an SSN but hasn't received one.

While the law does in fact require an employer to request an SSN, if the employer finds at some later date that an invalid SSN was supplied or that somehow one was not captured, the employer is ALSO required to file tax forms for the employee - even though they don't have a valid SSN. Also, the law allows for the case where an employee has applied for an SSN but does not have it yet. And, if the employee who applied for an SSN does not yet have it and it is time to file tax forms, they need to be filed anyway. And for the SSN field, the requirement is to print "Applied for" on the W-2. And, the documented way QuickBooks has always done that - for decades at least - is to have the employer enter nine zeros in the SSN field.

The IRS instructions for W-2's read: "If the employee has applied for a card but the number is not received in time for filing, enter “Applied For” in box a on paper Forms W-2 filed with the SSA. If e-filing, enter zeros (000 - 00 - 0000 if creating forms online or [nine zeros unformatted] if uploading a file)."

I think the answer is that Intuit screwed up and made a change to QuickBooks that they shouldn't have made, which has broken this functionality, because you don't even know how the product you're messing with is supposed to work. I may be wrong.

L

lionscampbadger

I have just spent several hours on the QB chat with support trying to figure this out. I followed all the steps that were mentioned above. I even screen shared with the online support so they could see with their own eyes exactly what is happening when entering [removed] or even NNN-NN-NNNN. Tried every suggestion they offered. Even ended the conversation with the first rep and initiated a second chat with a new rep with the same result. The second rep finally admitted that QB was not going to allow me to enter the 12 international staff members who have applied for SS#s but don't have them yet. She did suggest that I could calculate their NET paychecks, write them their paychecks and then deal with figuring out how to pay the federal government later. 😞 I'm so frustrated I could scream. I kept telling them that this never used to be a problem in the past and that they need to have a conversation with their "back-end" to re-write the software code.

S

SHELVINGCO1

I can't even update my current employees wages because it won't let me continue w/out a SSN instead of an ITIN number. So yes, I have been processing my payroll for years this way and now QB has decided to make their own rules to disrupt my flow of business. I don't think that it is up to QB to dictate how we set up payroll and what numbers we use. We send our taxes to the government and it is up to the employee to file. So now my employee can't get a raise.

P

plantgirl

is there an update to this? irs says to enter all 0's as we wait. looks like last comment was 3 weeks ago- anything new?

Angelyn_T

I recognize the importance of complying with the IRS guidance to track an employee's SSN using all zeros while waiting for the desired number, plantgirl. Allow me to provide you with some updates on this option.

I want you to know that there's no update yet about entering zero numbers on the SSN field for employees in QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT). While we await further information, I recommend reporting this issue as a bug directly to our product developers. By doing so, they can conduct a thorough investigation and address this matter more effectively.

To start:

Open your QBDT file.
Go to the Help menu.
Click on Send Feedback Online, then Bug Report.
Enter the details, then Send Feedback.

You may run through the details from these links for more tips while managing your employees in our system:

Once everything is in place, you're ready to prepare your payroll and tax forms.

If you have other questions while adding SSN information to your employee's profile, let me know by leaving a comment below. I'm just a few clicks away to help. Have a good one!

BigRedConsulting

@Angelyn_T RE: While we await further information, I recommend reporting this issue as a bug directly to our product developers.

Seems like nonsense to me. Intuit is on notice that they've broken QuickBooks and as a result customers paying for and using your payroll services can no longer be compliant with the law.

You should be internally motivated, without any more customer input, to fix this ASAP. Time is running out. Last I checked, you have about 4 million payroll customers, many of whom will have issues with these recent inappropriate restrictions. You've heard from many of them already that you messed up by disallowing 1) all zeros for the SSN, and 2) two employee records with the same SSN.

You know how to change it back to the correct way it used to work. You don't need any more input from us.

S

Small Business CA

Our temporal work around is this: We have an older version (maybe half year older) of the Quickbooks Pro with Enhanced Payroll installed in one of our backup Windows 10 Pro desktop. That un-updated Enhanced Payroll version accepts whatever you put on the SSN field, either starting with 9 or just [removed]. We are using backup and restore, switching back and forth between these two Quickbooks DTs (we are using 2021 Pro version) to input new employees when a new SSN is being applied but not yet available. After reimporting back to latest version of Enhanced Payroll, it accepts the "status quo". We will keep that older version un-updated in that desktop just for this conversion. We don't know how long we can keep doing this until the two versions become incompatible or the bug is fixed.

We also tried another method mentioned here in the earlier post. We changed the first number to be "0". It looks working and the employee info. can be saved. However, if you immediately change back to "9", it will be rejected. Not sure if you change back to "9" in a week, it will be rejected or not.

K

kerryrynnAuthor

Thanks for the info. Unfortunately we don't have an unupdated QB. This could all be resolved if Intuit would just get rid of this feature.

P

plantgirl

It's November- still no solution???? Seems such an easy fix. I don't understand why they can't update it. Are they trying to?

J

JamesAndrewM

We know this situation has to be so hard on you. Currently, this is a limitation. We greatly value your feedback and understand that customer input is crucial for us to improve our products and services. We appreciate your understanding that limitations can sometimes be a part of any product, and we strive to address them to the best of our ability.

We recommend sending your feedback to our Product Development Team. We would be more than happy to hear from you. Your insights will help us enhance the user experience and ensure that we continue to meet your needs effectively. Here is how:

In your QuickBooks account, click the Help option.
Select the Send Feedback Online option.
Choose Product Suggestion.
Enter your feedback.
Click the Send Feedback button.

Also, feel free to visit our Feedback forum page to see a list of other QuickBooks users who have already suggested this feature and for the recent updates in QuickBooks.

QuickBooks allows you to see each vendor's data, change them, and view the progress of their transactions. If you want to understand more about them, read the following guides:

For additional QuickBooks-related concerns, don't hesitate to post them here in the Community. We're always available and willing to lend a hand to your queries. Have a great day ahead.

BigRedConsulting

@JamesAndrewM RE: As we value your suggestions, I recommend sending your feedback to our Product Development Team. Here is how

You're actually treating this as a suggestion? A suggestion that QuickBooks should return to functionality that allowed customers to be compliant with payroll laws & regulations? Suggesting that we ask nicely to be able to be compliant when it's time to print and file W-2's?

If so, that's not appropriate. Instead, you should recognize this error Intuit has made and raise alarm bells internally before it's too late - to escalate this issue to product development to get them to remove the new restrictions that prevent customers from being compliant with the law. It will be too late in about two months.

D

DonnaS3

I need to process multi state payroll with Quickbooks Pro Desktop. In order to do that last year I created two employees with the same social security number for each state. Last year I was able to print W-2's with the correct social security numbers. Now during the middle of the year quickbooks decided to change the software so that two employees cannot have the same social security number. How am I supposed to print W-2's correctly when quickbooks will not accept an override for the social security number when reviewing the W-2;'s

R

RoseJillB

Allow me to chime in on this thread to assist you with SSN concerns in QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT), @DonnaS3. I also appreciate you, @Debbie-tlc, for sharing the workaround you have done to submit W-2.

I acknowledge the importance of reverting the options by allowing the application to enter a dummy SSN upon setting up your employees. The emotions that you’re experiencing right now regarding the application’s ability to file W-2 are valid, and we’re working on it to make QuickBooks better for your filing journey.

You’re right that the option mentioned above is a product limitation and is being worked on by our product engineers. Since they are working on this internally, we can't provide a specific turnaround time for their efforts.

In the meantime, I suggest customers wait for their employee’s SSN to be available before filing online. Or, file their W2 through mail. Also, there are other user suggestions in this thread that you might want to consider trying to stay compliant with the IRS.

Moreover, we can’t guarantee that customers will receive an email once it’s available. Rest assured, that this will be added on future updates.

Furthermore, QuickBooks provides different payroll reports that display your employee's gross pay, deductions, and tax information during a specific period. These payroll reports can help you get a better understanding of your payroll. To access a complete list of available payroll reports and instructions on how to obtain them, please refer to this article.: Run payroll reports.

If you need further assistance with managing your paycheck or any QuickBooks-related matters, feel free to reach out and post your concerns. I'm available to help you out anytime. Take care!

K

kerryrynnAuthor

Once again, Intuit does not seem to understand the reality of processing payroll. In my case, I have H2B workers who do not receive SSNs for months after applying, yet they are legal to work. In this case, the IRS allows Applied for to be entered on a W2 in the SSN box - Intuit has decided that they will not follow IRS guidelines. Also, if you have 10 or more W2s you have to e-file, we don't have the luxury of mailing them in.

R

rvrfrfAnswer

Thanks for reaching out to the Community. I'd like to thank each user for joining this thread and provide an update on the situation.

As of January 18, 2024, Intuit released an update which now enables you to enter all zeros for Social Security Numbers (SSN). The update will enable you to be in compliance with the Social Security Administration guidelines for situations where an employee's number is unknown, or it's been applied for.

You can manually check for updates to confirm you're using your product's latest release.

Here's how:

In the top menu bar, go to Help, then Update QuickBooks Desktop.
Select Update Now, then Get Updates.
Close and reopen QuickBooks to install your update.

Once you've confirmed you're using the latest release, you'll be able to enter all zeros for employee SSNs.

I've also included a detailed resource about keeping QuickBooks updated which may come in handy moving forward: Update QuickBooks to its latest release

Please feel welcome to send a reply here if there's any questions. The Community's always here to help. Have an awesome Friday!

D

Debbie-tlc

I've actually been afraid to do any updates as to what else might go wrong! So if I went directly to the BSO site and have already filed, is there any other way to get the info to our employees on their app? I've had to scan copies and email them, I doubt I should go in and file through QB because there would then be a duplicate with the SSA since I have already filed. Also will this "fix" remain from here on or will another update remove it at some point in the future? Why wasn't this addressed until nearly the final file date when this thread started in April 2023 and has had numerous correction requests time and time again!!! AND we were never told the update removed this OR that this update would now corrected this fiasco! The QB customer/users need appropriate communication from you as we pay for this service and seem to have been completely disregarded.

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