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Jonathan C
October 6, 2022
Question

The amounts entered may be incorrect. Social Security and Medicare taxes (FICA) are expected to be percentages.

  • October 6, 2022
  • 3 replies
  • 0 views

I am in the process of switching over to Quickbooks Payroll Online, however, when inputting the YTD payroll history for our employees, I get this error message:

 

The amounts you entered may be incorrect. Social Security and Medicare taxes (FICA) are expected to be percentages of an employee's taxable earnings. Check that the amounts you entered are correct.

 

It looks like the issue is due to rounding from previous pay runs added up over the year since January from our prior payroll company. I calculated the Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%) manually for each employee and entered those figures into their respective YTD boxes and the error message is now gone. Since the amounts I entered differ from the actual YTD Social Security and Medicare as reported from the prior payroll company, is this something I need to worry about in terms of messing up totals somewhere down the line on tax forms or w2's? The amounts differed by only a couple cents.

 

I had someone from Quickbooks payroll support call me back but they said they don't answer tax questions, only technical issues that arise.

    3 replies

    A
    AileneA
    October 6, 2022

    I'm here to provide some insights on how QuickBooks calculate taxes, Jonathan C. 

     

     

    The system won't allow entering incorrect tax deductions. It reminds us to enter the correct SS and Medicare deduction amount in the employee's prior payroll. The correct number is 6.2% for Social Security and then 1.45% for Medicare. Take those numbers and place them in the SS and Med. boxes respectively.

     

    I'll share with you this article about entering historical paychecks in QuickBooks Online: Set Up a Prior Payroll. 

     

    If you're still prompted with the error message, I'd suggest reaching out to our Payroll Support Team so they can look into your setup. They also have resources that can easily walk you through the recording prior payroll.

     

    Here's how to contact us:

     

    1. Go to the Help ( ? ) menu and click Contact Us.
    2. Enter a brief description something about the error message and you're unable to proceed when entering prior payroll. 
    3. Click Let's talk and select the best way you'll want to reach out to us. 

     

    You can check out our support hours and types for more information about our availability.  

     

    Once everything is set up, you can get started with payroll by paying and filing taxes within QuickBooks. 

     

    I'm just around the corner if there's anything else that you need help with. Take care!

    J
    Jonathan CAuthor
    October 6, 2022

    I appreciate the response, but it seems as if you skipped over the details in my original post. I already did what you suggested in your response and the error message has gone away. That's no longer the issue. 

    A
    Alison0605
    April 27, 2023

    Hi.  I am having the same issue.  Were you able to get an answer on your question" Since the amounts I entered differ from the actual YTD Social Security and Medicare as reported from the prior payroll company, is this something I need to worry about in terms of messing up totals somewhere down the line on tax forms or w2's? The amounts differed by only a couple cents."

     

    JenoP
    JenoP
    April 27, 2023

    Thanks for posting your payroll question in the Community, Alison0605.

     

    The message is usually caused by percentage-based taxes that are more than two decimal places. The payroll system is either rounding it up or down so that the amount equals a number that is two decimal places.


    The amount difference, even for just a couple of pennies, can trigger an error when filing the W2 and other tax forms. Our system generally requires any tax discrepancies to be resolved before you can file a form. 

     

    Having said that, I would recommend reaching out to our Payroll Support Team. They can access your account and help you create an adjustment to make sure the numbers are correct.

     

    Here's how to reach out to them:

     

    1. Go to the Help menu in the upper-right hand corner to open the QB Assistant window.
    2. Type in "talk to a human", then press Enter.
    3. Click Contact Support Team, then let them know that you need to make adjustments to your prior payroll amounts.
    4. Press Enter once again.
    5. Select No, I still need help, then choose Contact Support Team.
    6. Look for the Chat option and click on it.
       

     

    I also have these articles to share for additional guidance and information when running payroll in QBO:

     

     

    Don't hesitate to always ask questions in the Community if you need more assistance when running payroll. The entire QuickBooks Team is always here to when ever you need it.

    A
    alpha1232
    August 4, 2023

    I am having the same problem when migrating to QBO Payroll from QBD Payroll. I plug the numbers into QBO for employees past payroll history from the QBD Payroll Summary Report. I get the same error message. When contacting QB Support, they said they don't understand this problem abd don't have a resolution to it. I am just about to run our first payroll and need this resolved ASAP. Any help is appreciated.

    K
    kleahicks
    March 20, 2024

    Having the same problem in 2024. Obviously they don’t have an answer still. Very frustrating. 

    K
    Kurt_M
    March 20, 2024

    Hello there, @kleahicks.

     

    It isn't the experience we want you to have when using the program. In this situation, we recommend getting in touch with our Customer Care Team so they can gather more details and come up with a solution to help you address this situation to enter the needed amount to complete your tasks. We'll write down the steps to get you going:

     

    1. Sign in to your QuickBooks Online company.
    2. Go to Help (?).
    3. Select Contact Us.
    4. Enter your concern, then select Let's talk.
    5. Choose a way to connect with us:
    • Start a chat with a support expert.
    • Get a callback from the next available expert.

     

    See this article for more details: Contact Payroll Support.

     

    On the other hand, here are some articles to help you manage tax payments and their schedules inside the program:

     

     

    Feel free to comment below if you need assistance managing tax payments or have additional QuickBooks-related questions. As always, we'll be around to help you out. Stay safe.

    K
    kleahicks
    March 20, 2024

    Thanks for reaching out. We (client and I) have spoken to 3 different QBO payroll specialists and none have been helpful in this instance.  I can understand if you weren’t already on QB but we were.  Been working on this for two weeks and I’m ready to switch payroll

    providers. That’s not good for a ProAdvisor to admit.  The software team should be able to handle a simple rounding issue!!  I’m losing my religion over this issue!! 🤬

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