I have seen many articles and posts on social media on how to most effectively handle changes in sales tax rates in QuickBooks. I am not a sales tax expert but based on this article on AccountingWeb site by Jody Linick it looks like you are safer replacing the sales tax rates in QuickBooks and not editing them. Since it appears that quite a few states are changing their sales tax rates effecting January 1, I just wanted to let user of QuickBooks Desktop (Pro, Premier or Enteprise) know that they can use our Transaction Pro Importer to import the new sales tax items along with their rates.
If you are new to the sales tax setup in QuickBooks I would first suggest taking a look at this article written by Charlie Russell on setting up sales tax. You can also download the current sales tax rates to a csv file from this website.
Below is how to import your sales tax rates into QuickBooks using Transaction Pro Importer.
On the first screen of Transaction Pro Importer browse for your import file and from the Import Type drop down select Item Sales Tax. Please note that all the transactions supported are listed first and then towards the bottom of the list you will see all the list items. Then select the next button to continue.
This next screen the file contents screen is where you will see the data in your import file. One import thing to note is to express the rate as a number and not a percentage format. For instance if the rate is eight percent just provide the value of 8 in your import file. After reviewing this data select next to advance to the Transaction Pro Importer mapping screen.
Create your map by putting your cursor in the Import File Columns and select the column that you wish to have matched up to each of the QuickBooks Fields in the first column and then select the next button at the bottom of the screen. Please note any field in red is a required field on the Sales Tax Item.
The next screen, Import file fields mapped to QuickBooks fields, will show how your data will be matched up to each of the QuickBooks fields. Review and select the next button at the bottom of this screen.
This last screen is only used if you are importing transactions that have new items on them. For purposes of this import just select the finish button to start the import.
All the new sales tax items will be created in QuickBooks and after import you will have a option to save a transaction log for your records. If you do not have Transaction Pro Importer you can request a free trial of the software here.
Also another thing to note is that if you have memorized transactions in QuickBooks that use the prior tax rate you will need to open up every memorized transaction individually in QuickBooks and edit each transaction. I was reminded of this limitation in memorized transactions on the Between Wall and Main Strategy Forum Facebook Group. Since there is no bulk edit on memorized transactions I would suggest instead using Transaction Pro Importer to create your transactions every period.
If you have any questions or comments please post them below.