Set Up Sales Tax Preferences


Tutorial Home >Software >Finance >QuickBooks 2002 >How do I turn on the Sales Tax feature in QuickBooks?
Tutorial Home >Software >Finance >QuickBooks 2002 >QuickBooks and Sales Tax >Set Up Sales Tax Preferences

  Step 1:  Open Preferences

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Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences. The Preferences window will open. This is the place where you give QuickBooks instructions about how you want your program to operate.
  Step 2:  Choose Sales Tax Preferences

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Click the Sales Tax icon on the left side of the Preferences window. At the top of the window, click on the Company Preferences tab. The Sales Tax preferences information will be displayed.
  Step 3:  Turn on Sales Tax

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Choose "Yes" as your answer to the "Do you charge sales tax?" question. Making that choice gives you access to the rest of the information on this screen. If you pick "No," all the other areas of the screen will be dim.
  Step 4:  Indicate Frequency

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Let QuickBooks know how often you make sales tax payments: Monthly, Quarterly, or Annually. Making one of these choices doesn't preclude you from paying sales tax whenever you darn well please - it just tells QuickBooks how you want your sales tax reports to be organized.
  Step 5:  Indicate When Tax Is Owed

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The question about when you owe sales tax relates to whether you are a cash or an accrual basis taxpayer. If you are a cash basis taxpayer, you owe sales tax when you actually receive payment from customers, regardless of when you send your customers their invoices. If you are an accrual basis taxpayer, you owe sales tax as soon as you make a sale and issue an invoice, no matter when your customers get around to paying you.
  Step 6:  Most Common Sales Tax

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If you pay sales tax to only one taxing authority (such as your state revenue department), the most common sales tax will be the only sales tax you pay. If you collect and pay sales tax to more than one taxing authority, choose the one you use most frequently here and this will be the sales tax that appears by default on your sales forms. You will always have the opportunity to override the tax that appears on the forms.
  Step 7:  Mark With a "T"

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Check the box if you want to have QuickBooks print a little "T" next to taxable items on your forms. The "T" already appears on the forms that you view onscreen, but that "T" won't print unless you check this box.
  Step 8:  Save Your Changes

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Click the OK button to close the Preferences window and save your changes. If you were just messing around and don't want to save anything you entered, click the Cancel button and none of your sales tax settings will change.