When filing hst returns, should it not show up as a payable? When we make a payment there is nothing to post it to. Thanks

Hi mary53,

Are you tracking sales tax in QuickBooks Desktop? If so, the program makes it easy to keep track of what you owe for remittances. When you mark a return as filed in the program, the actual filing can still take place outside of the program if you prefer. QuickBooks will give you the option to file online or file manually.

If you're already tracking the sales tax in the program, the easiest way to handle this situation is to file the sales tax in QuickBooks Desktop and then record the payment. The program will automatically create a bill to be paid for the amount owed and then when you pay it, the QuickBooks will create a transaction for that as well. It means less worrying for you about where to enter these kinds of transactions. Here's the process.

File Sales Tax in QuickBooks Desktop.

1. Click Sales Tax in the top menu.
2. Choose File Sales Tax.
3. Choose the Tax Agency from the drop-down.
4. Ensure you're filing for the correct period.
5. Click File Return.

The program will give you the option of how you want to file the return. If you choose the file online option, QuickBooks will take you to the CRA website to continue with the process. One of our community users, MikeinBC, explains the online filing process in his response to this community question: How to file HST return in QuickBooks desktop

Clicking Pay Now or Pay Later after filing the return in Desktop will create a bill for the sales tax amount owed. If you click Pay Later, the program will create a bill that you can access later through the Pay Bills feature. If you click Pay Now, it'll create the bill and launch the Pay Bills feature for you to take care of it right away. This only marks it as paid in QuickBooks Desktop and doesn't create the payment outside of the program, so be sure to make the required payments to the CRA outside of QuickBooks.

Learn more about how sales tax works in QuickBooks Desktop through this seris of sales tax articles. I'll start you off on Collect Sales Tax and you can click the other articles when you're ready.

Let me know if you have questions!