How do I post a federal tax payment in a journal entry? Social security and medicare are not an account on the chart of accounts?

Thanks for posting in the Community forum, kraep. Let me help you record your tax payment in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

Beforehand, did you pay the Federal taxes outside of QBO? If so, there's no need to enter them in Journal Entry (JE). The JE is a tool that helps you balance your accounts and move money as needed.

Going back, let's record the tax payment by utilizing the Payroll tax tab.

If the paid amount is on the Action Needed section of your Payroll Tax Center page, we can mark it as paid to record the payment. Here's how:

1. Log in to your QBO account.
2. Go to the Taxes menu, then select the Payroll tax tab.
3. Review the list of taxes under the Action Needed section.
4. If you can see the paid tax on the list, click the dropdown arrow beside ▼ Pay.
5. Record the data as paid by choosing Mark as paid.
6. Hit Yes, Mark paid.

However, if you can't see the specific tax on the list, please follow the steps below to enter the payment to QBO.

1. Go to the Taxes menu, then select the Payroll tax tab.
2. Choose the Record tax payments (prior tax history) at the bottom of your Payroll Tax Center page.
3. Click Add payment. Then, select a Tax type (Federal Taxes (941/943/944).
4. Alter the Period start and Period end date accurately (the period where the taxes accumulated).
5. Modify the Payment date, then fill out the other necessary information.
6. Enter the tax payment amount in the Payment Amount section.
7. Once done, hit Submit payment.

Meanwhile, we can check the system-generated data of Medicare and Social Security on the Chart of accounts.

1. Go to the Gear icon, then select Chart of accounts.
2. Type Payroll Liabilities on the search bar. It would show the balances per payroll liability item.
3. Scroll down and look for SS (Social Security) and Medicare. Both have separate data that you can review.
4. (Optional) click the View register under the Action column to see the item's full details.

In addition, I'm adding this article to help you fix overpaid taxes in QuickBooks: Resolve a payroll tax overpayment.

Please let us know if you need additional assistance entering tax payments in QBO. Our team is available 24/7 to help you.