Why can't I change the reporting period under Taxes? It only shows the current year. I need to pay the 2020 GST but I can't change it to last year's reporting period.

Hello userangelabbc1,

It's good to see that you're making sure your sales tax filings are up to date in QuickBooks Online. This not only helps you keep your books in balance, but can also keep you on track with your real-life remittances to the government. I hear what you're saying about needing to file for the 2020 year, and I'm here to help.

When you start tracking sales tax in a QuickBooks Online account, the program will default to show you this year's information when you go to the Taxes tab. Don't worry, if you haven't already completed any filings, there's still a way to record the ones for the 2020 periods. Here's how.

1. Go to Taxes in the left menu.
2. On the Sales Tax tab, click Prepare return for the available return, even though it's not the date you're looking for.
3. Change the Start and End date fields to match the period you need.
4. Change the Filing date as needed.
5. Review the numbers.
6. Click Mark as filed.

Now, this'll show up in your Filed section and you can enter the refund or payment as needed through this module once you've received or paid the funds outside of the program. Keep in mind that doing it through this module ensures it'll be properly recorded, and also that the module doesn't make the real-life payments or receive the refunds on your behalf.

In the event you've already started filing your taxes for this year, the first step to taking care of older periods will be to undo the completed filings. This is because the sales tax module works in chronological order, so as soon as you've marked a period as filed, the program prevents you from being able to change the Start date field.

If you have an accountant user working with you in QuickBooks Online, they can undo the sales tax filing for you. Feel free to share this article with them: How do I un-file a sales tax return? If you don't have an accountant and would like one or do but they're not a user in your books, navigate to the My Accountant tab. There, you'll find an email invite field to add someone as an accountant user, or there's also the Find a pro to help button to connect with accountants near you.

The other way to go about having the sales tax filings undone is to contact QuickBooks Online support outside of this forum. Our team will be able to collect the details of your account and filing and then use their tools to undo it in our system. Here's how to reach support.

Schedule a Callback or start a Chat: click (?)Help in the upper right in QuickBooks Online > type and enter "Contact support" into the QB Assistant > click Contact Us > explain your situation > click Let's Talk > choose Get a callback or Start a Chat.

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I hope you have a great week!