Reverse GST Filing

by Laverne Dee, Deetailed Bookkeeping Services
(Innisfil, ON)

Oops, I didn't file the prior sales tax return in QuickBooks.

Good Morning Laura,

Just a quick question: Do you know if you can reverse GST filing in QuickBooks desktop??

I have a situation where I filed the June 30/10 GST report but didn't do the March 31/10 one, now I can't go back and do both reports for filing in QuickBooks. I have taken care of CRA; not a problem!!!

Thanks.

image of fancy scroll lines

Hi Dee,

Check in the Intuit community forum. Search for the term "reverse sales tax filing". Intuit deletes posts but the last one I found was at:

https://community.intuit.com/questions/692301-how-to-reverse-sales-tax-filing .

Basically it explains that you should take a backup copy of your company file. Then go in and delete the June journal entry made by the software when you filed the sales tax return. The journal entry you want is look for number GST/HSTCA000#. Now you are good to go.

If you've been making entries to "closed" periods after you filed your GST report it may not be an exact match when you "refile" in QuickBooks. I would scan your GST register (or your exception reports) to find the transactions posted after your March return was filed and change the date to April 1 (the start of the June quarter.) Then file your March return. Check to make sure it matches your return filed with CRA. If yes, then file your June return.

On the chance that you took a backup copy BEFORE you did your filing, you could always restore your copy before you did the filing.

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GST Filing in QuickBooks®

by Mary Jones
(Canada)

Tracking transactions posted to a period already filed with CRA

I am new to QB (QuickBooks®).

I would like to know how to clear the last report from filing GST on line.

The last person did not clear the report and now it is reporting the previous quarter when I run the report as well as the current reporting period.

Hello Mary,

I think what you are asking is ..

... how to show the prior quarter GST report (filed with CRA) as filed in QuickBooks® ... because the prior bookkeeper filed the report online with CRA ... but did not "file" the report in QuickBooks®.

This is what I would do if there are not a lot of transactions involved.

Run the GST/HST Return Report for the last quarter that it was filed.

Compare it to the report filed (form GST 34-2). Hopefully they are the same.

If they are the same, I would print the Summary (GST/HST Return Report) and Detail (Tax Agency Detail Report) reports to attach to the GST return filed. I do this step to audit proof the return.

Now, I would go to Manage Sales Tax and file the report in QuickBooks®. This should mark each item as filed so that when you run the current quarterly GST report, previously filed items should no longer show up.

Set your closing date to the last date of the return you just "filed" ... so no other transactions can be posted to it.

If they are not the same, I would try and identify which transactions were posted after the GST filing date using the Audit Trail report. Customize the reporting dates for the period to be ... the next day after the GST report was filed to today's date.

Edit any transactions posted after the GST report had been officially file with CRA.

I would change the transaction dates to the first day of the next unfiled period ... AND make a memo note too showing the date of the original transaction ... so you can trace it back to the source documentation should the need arise.

In the example shown in the picture above (sorry about the picture size), let's assume that the current date is January 25 and that you filed the GST report to CRA on October 21.

(For this example, I would customize the audit report dates to be from October 22 to January 25.)

You can see a transaction was posted on December 31 ... but back dated to September 30. July 1 to September 30 GST reporting has already been filed ... so I would change the date of this transaction to October 1 with the memo as explained above.

Now rerun your GST/HST Return Report. If you have caught every transaction, the QuickBooks® report for the last filed period (July 1 to September 30 in this example) should match the one filed with CRA.

Once you have them matched, follow steps 3 to 5 above.

When you have filed both reports, I would take a back-up and ensure the file name had an identifier on it like 4th q 2008 GST. I do this to audit proof my GST return. If I'm ever audited, I can pull the file up if need be.

An Alternative Approach

If you can't reconcile the prior period ... or your volume of transaction is large, your next step would be to process the two reporting periods in QuicKBooks as one period.

Now, take the amounts shown in the Summary report ... and subtract out the amounts already reported to CRA.

The amounts you are left with would be reported in the current filing.

Finally, be sure to set the closing date and take your back-up.

This is how I would approach it Mary. Let me know how you make out.

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Comments for GST Filing in QuickBooks®

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Jan 14, 2014
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Payroll Refunds
by: Christina

I received two cheques back from the Government and I am wondering how I can properly log them in QuickBooks.

1. Cheque # 1: I filled out the tax payer relief form to get back funds I paid in interest and penalties for not paying payroll tax. The CRA gave me back over $1200. I logged that amount transaction under Account 2150- Payroll remittance payable (Other current liability)

2. Cheque # 2: I over paid CPP and the government gave me back $600 plus. I pay my payroll tax out of 5600- Salaries account (Expense) however I logged this deposit under account 2150- Payroll remittance payable (Other current Liability) . Is this correct?

I am wondering if I have logged both these cheques from the government correctly.

Thanks soo much
Christina

Jan 16, 2014
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CRA Penalties and Interest Refund
by: Lake

Hi Christina,

1. Penalties and interest charges are normally booked to an expense account or sub account called "CRA Penalties and Interest". The reason you do this is because they are not tax deductible.

I tend to book any monies refunded or rebated by the government received to other income. However, interest received can be netted again CRA interest received … so I prefer to book this type of entry to the "CRA Penalties and Interest" account.

2. Hmmm, if you received a cheque from CRA then booking to a payable account wouldn't be correct. If they gave you a credit, then booking it to the payable account is perfect. Just remember to short your next payment by the amount of the credit when you file your next PD7A.

Feb 18, 2014
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CPP refund by CRA
by: Christina

Hi Lake,

Thanks sooo much for the helpful info. It turns out that the Government sent me a cheque in the mail for the $626.13. They didnt give me a credit. How would I book this cheque in quickbooks. The info on the transaction is below.

Cheque # 2: I over paid CPP and the government gave me back $626.13. I pay my paroll tax out of 5600- Salaries account (Expense) however I logged this deposit under account 2150- Payroll remittance payable (Other current Liability) . Is this correct?

Thanks

Christina, for payroll, its reports and tax slips to work correctly, all patrol entries have to be done through the payroll module. Check out Intuit's post on CPP overpayment. It should help you book the entry correctly.

http://support.intuit.ca/quickbooks/en-ca/iq/Payroll-Tax/Correct-overpayments-of-payroll-liabilities/HOW15259.html

Feb 19, 2014
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Payroll refunds
by: Christina

Hi Lake,

I have created an expense account called CRA Penalties and Interest. However I am unsure how to classify the tax line mapping.

Thanks

Christina there is no tax mapping as it is not tax deductible.

Jul 16, 2014
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Paying GST in Quick Books
by: Anonymous

It appears that the previous bookkeeper was not paying the GST from within the GST, and, as QB was new to me, I also did not pay GST within the module (until 3 periods ago, and have been paying the GST from within the module since then). However, I had also set up a new GL account for the GST payments.

I have tried going back in the prior periods to "pay the GST" there, and tried voiding the cheque that actually cleared the bank; this didn't work and I went back and reversed that action.

By selecting the period dates correctly I can pull off a correct GST return. However, what has been happening is that the liability is growing and I do not know how to get the balance sheet liability account to reflect an accurate balance. There is a year end coming up and I want the liability account to reflect accurately. What do I need to do?

Jul 23, 2014
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Fixing Up Sales Tax Mess
by: Lake

It seems to that you should undo your last 3 sales tax filings ... after you have taken a backup of course. Then follow my instructions to Mary.

Just thinking really quickly here as I'm pressed for time.

Instead of deleting your filed and reconciled payments. I would consider recode them to a cash clearing account. Then when you "refile" your prior period GST reports, I'd run them through the cash clearing as well. This way you don't affect your reconciled bank account but can still recreate the GST reporting. The cash clearing should clear to zero at the end of the exercise. If not, you may require some adjusting entries.

You didn't provide your chart of accounts so I can't see what is happening in your liability section of the balance sheet to see if it has one GST account or three. If your liability is growing, you need to check up your sales tax setup.

I suggest you go through your sales tax items (under Lists> Item Lists) and see which account each tax code is posting to. Does it match your "growing liability account"?

Jun 15, 2017
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GST FIASCO
by: Anonymous

I installed 2017 QuickBooks and have to input all information. I have an external POS software for customer sales and need to input all transactions from Jan. 1st 2017 until now.

Problem is I had to file GST for 1st quarter because it was way past due (JUNE) and did not have info in yet.

I took the sales from POS docs and used to account for my purchases to remit the GST. Now I need to start at the beginning and record the daily sales from day one.

Will this effect my sales total I used for GST filing for 1st quarter? Also any idea the best way to record the daily sales and payments to show on REC. at end of month?

Jul 02, 2017
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GST FIASCO
by: Lake

First thing to remember if you are behind in your books ... CRA is really interested in ensuring they have received amounts collected in Trust. Therefore, anytime you are behind, you can always send in a GST installment without filing your report.

In fact, if you are one of the many business owners who are tempted to spend the money you collected in Trust, I recommend you send in regular installments - whether they are weekly, monthly or quarterly ... just to keep you honest and out of hot water.

You should research the many apps out there that may be able to import your POS transactions to integrate with your accounting software so that you do not have to manually enter the data.

Once your books are caught up, if you arrive at a different answer that what you filed with CRA, file an amended return.

Here are a couple of videos on handling QBO and retail transactions:

Daily Sales Summary in QBO by Michelle Long

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxYliKN0fxE&feature=youtu.be

If you are in the restaurant business, this may be useful to you:

Serving up QBO Restaurant Accounting

https://www.cpaacademy.org/self_study_show/a0D1A000010EVtqUAG

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