How do I set up qb to charge only 8% PST, not 13% HST on car insurance premiums?

Hi there seandreacap,

Having these kinds of details in mind now is a great way to avoid having to make corrections to later both in your QuickBooks Online account and with the government and insurance company. It sounds to me like you're working in Ontario, where the HST is made up of a 5% federal rate and an 8% provincial rate. I can go over this with you.

When you choose to set up Ontario sales tax codes in the program, QuickBooks generates the single HST code for you. There isn't a way to break apart that code specifically or tell it to only apply one part to certain charges, but there is something else you can consider.

QuickBooks Online not only gives you the opportunity to set up sales tax codes that exist for provinces, but it also gives you the option to add custom codes as needed. That's what you can do here to have a PST-only code to apply to your car insurance premiums. This article can walk you through it: How to set up a new sales tax code. Use the steps in the How to add a custom sales tax rate for an existing sales tax agency section of that article to ensure that you are attributing the code to the proper sales tax agency.

If you need an extra hand with this from the QuickBooks perspective in terms of how to get where you need to go, let me know and I'll walk you through it. To make sure you're accounting for your insurance claims properly, I encourage you to speak to an accountant. They'll be able to offer you informed advice based off your situation and their accounting knowledge to make sure you're on the right path.

Use the My Accountant tab to either invite an accountant you're already working with to your books or use the Find a pro to help button there to research QuickBooks-certified professionals near you.

I hope this helps!