Skip to main content
S
Sid9
June 20, 2020
Question

How do I bypass the "tax penalties may apply," screen and enter a check that was written last month?

  • June 20, 2020
  • 5 replies
  • 0 views
I'm a one person company; owner is the only employee. Was forced to upgrade from Desktop 2017 to online in May because Intuit stopped supporting payroll in 2017. The last monthly paycheck entered into desktop was 4/15/20. With Covid disrupting my business it unfortunately took a month to figure out the migration, so now I'm trying to catch up on payroll. The 5/15/20 paycheck is dated and been sitting on my desk for a month but I needed QB payroll to tell me the dollar amount which desktop stopped doing. Now I'm finally online but QB won't let me enter a payroll check dated 5/15/20 because it was 35 days ago. Keep getting an error, "You’ve picked a pay date that may cause you to make a late tax payment and incur a penalty. Try choosing a date closer to today’s date," and it forces me to go back a screen. 5/15/20 *IS* the date I need entered into QB for this check, PERIOD. If there's a tax penalty, that's my problem and I'll deal with it. How do I get past this screen and record this payroll check so I can then take care of the 6/15/20 check?

    5 replies

    T
    Teri11_2
    June 20, 2020

    No surprised system won't allow you to input a post-dated check since you should not be able to do that.

     

    Not clear, did you write the check already and pay it or why must it be dated a month ago if you are just now writing it?  If the pay is for a prior period, that is fine to type that in on the description "Pay for May 1-15th."

     

    Actual checks should be written with the date you write them to send them to someone or a future date is ok but you should not ever write a check with a date in the past, for several different reasons.

    S
    Sid9Author
    June 24, 2020

    Yes, it's a payroll check (to me, from me) that is already physically dated that date.  I started filling it out on that date but desktop payroll stopped working thus I didn't know the dollar amount to make it out for.  So, I sit it aside until I got transferred to QB Online, but then life got in the way and that took a month.

     

    And yes, I totally get that post-dating payroll checks to OTHER PEOPLE is a very bad thing to do.  Completely on board with that.

     

    But realize, that's not the case here.  I'm just a 100% commissioned independent contractor who incorporated and does payroll because lawyers, insurance vendors, accountants and the IRS wanted it that way.  Bookkeeping happens when I have free time, not because it's the 15th.  I also routinely throw my monthly payroll checks in a drawer until the business' cash flow allows me to deposit them.

     

    But back to topic, it's my understanding from Googling this over and over again that the workaround is to enter it as "historical data" in Online but I just can't find where/how to do it because Online doesn't quite look like the pictures on the Intuit help screen.

     

    Looks like the other solution is to just migrate back to Desktop which doesn't tell me when I did stuff.

      N
      Nick_M
      June 24, 2020

      Hi there, Sid9. 

       

      I can absolutely help you set up your historical payroll in QBO. Please note though, that in QBO, you can only enter payroll from the current year, this is because QuickBooks Online is a could based storage system and we only keep records of payroll for the current year we're in. So with that in mind, please follow along below. 

      1. In QuickBooks Online (QBO), go to the Workers menu at the left pane to get to the Employees page.
      2. Select the employee to open the information, then Enter prior pay details. 


         
      3. Enter the necessary information.

      For more information about the process, consider checking out this article: Set up a prior payroll.

       

      If you need any further guidance, or just have an additional question or two, feel free to post down below. Thanks for stopping by the QuickBooks Community and have a nice evening. 

      V
      vlc95023
      December 14, 2020

      I would love to have a bypass for this also.  I just discovered an error in the clients books where the check was issued (handwritten) on 11/28 but somehow defaulted to the future date of 12/11 when created in QBO.  So when it was time to write the actual 12/11 check, it appeared to already be done.  I thought the solution would be to delete the misdated check and reenter with the proper date (taxes had not been paid yet), but I kept receiving the tax penalty message.  I didn't care...the taxes hadn't been paid and if I can't get the check to go in on the original issue date, then the tax accruals will appear in the next month which would be incorrect.

        MarsStephanieL
        MarsStephanieL
        December 14, 2020

        Hi there, @vlc95023.

         

        You can follow the steps mentioned by my colleague to enter the correct paycheck date. The check date should be within the tax period.

         

        You can also get help from our live support team to guide you with the process and with your tax notifications. Here's how:

         

        1. Go to the ? Help, in the text box input I need to speak to a human.
        2. Enter your concern such as "Record previous paycheck with the correct date and ensure the correct figure in the taxes owed."
        3. Click Speak to a human.
        4. Select Contact us.
        5. Choose either to Send a message or get a Callback.
        6. Follow the on-screen instructions.
        7. Confirm the request.

        I've added this article for your future reference if you want to assess a specific payroll report: Learn about reports to use to enter prior payroll.

         

        I'll be here if you have other questions or concerns. Don't hesitate to tag my name in the comment section. Take care.

        A
        alphawave
        December 14, 2020

        This new change is absolutely infuriating...whose business is it that I 'may incur a penaltly'...yes, MINE! LET ME CREATE MY PAYCHECK! I will gladly incur a late fee (almost never happens both federal and state), so long as the register is correct. I was too busy to pay myself late last month, so am catching up now (pay period 11/15-11/30) and it wont let me date the check 11/30, so that the proper 941 and  CA state taxes present properly. Yes, taxes are a day or two late (so what?) but making it so I cannot complete a paycheck with the proper dates is maddening. 'Tell Us Whay You Think!' is a loaded request...considering dropping QBO after so many setbacks disguised as improvements.

          A
          alphawave
          December 14, 2020

          "and it forces me to go back a screen. 5/15/20 *IS* the date I need entered into QB for this check, PERIOD. If there's a tax penalty, that's my problem and I'll deal with it. How do I get past this screen and record this payroll check so I can then take care of the 6/15/20 check?"

           

          EXACTLY! Already a day or two late for the E-Pay, but who cares! Now QBO is forcing me to apply a chack date to the IMPROPER period, meaning accrual dates are now wrong, and will need to pay more next month to account for an 'extra paycheck' in that period, all due to this impenetrable web page! Major step backwards, QBO.

            S
            Shd18
            April 15, 2021

            Did you ever find a fix? I'm in a similar situation and I'm really starting to hate QBO. And honestly, their live help is seldom actually helpful. It should be up to the account holder/business owner whether or not we backdate a paycheck. 

              A
              AbsyntheMinded
              January 17, 2022

              I am having the same problem! I am doing W-2's for a client and it turns out they wrote end of the year bonus checks without telling me. Discovered this while reconciling Dec 2021.... So now I'm nailed to the wall trying to figure out how to make payroll correct for W-2's and 4th qtr payroll taxes. This is beyond unacceptable!! What a PITA. 

                Adrian_A
                Adrian_A
                January 17, 2022

                .It isn't the kind of experience that we want you to come across, AbsyntheMinded

                 

                Currently, QBO doesn’t support filing an amended form. However, you can view or print the corrected payroll information and manually enter them on the W-2c form.


                To view the data, open the updated W-2 or run the Payroll Details, and Payroll Tax Wage and Summary Reports. Let me walk you through the steps on how to access them:

                 

                1. Go to Taxes on the left panel, then choose Payroll Tax.
                2. In the Forms section, select Annual Forms.
                3. Choose W-2, then click on the View button.


                To open the report:

                 

                1. Go to Reports on the left panel.
                2. Enter Payroll Details/Payroll Tax Wage and Summary Report in the search field.
                3. Select the correct date range.
                4. Click on the Run Report button.


                For filing instructions and downloading of the form, please visit the IRS website: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-w-2-c.

                 

                Stay in touch with me if you need further assistance. I'll be around to help.

                J
                jkoella
                May 12, 2023

                I have used Quickbooks since 1994. They have no clue how a business is run. Almost every single update they make is for the worse. I used to sit down at he end of the month and manually enter my checks for the previous month, whether expenses or payroll. All of a sudden the ignorant-never-run-a-business-stupid-milenials decide that "I might incur a penalty" if i try to enter the date a check was actually written, when in reality.. the only reason I will incur a penalty is beacuase the stupid never run a business qb idiots won't let me enter my checks for the date they were actually written. "CHOOSE ANOTHER DATE" are you kidding me. IU acn enter the checks on the 10th, 11th, 12th , 13th , and 14th day of the following month, determine my taxes due, and pay them without incurring a penalty. And God forbid if I was to, what business is it of QB's? They are so stupid. Have I mentioned how stupid they are? They make updates and TAKE AWAY PREVIOUS SERVICES!!!!!! They are worse than apple!!!!

                Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement