If you process payroll in QuickBooks, something is changing on July 1, 2026, and you may have questions.
I made a first video on what is changing, and so many of you came back asking the same thing: does this affect me if I am a Desktop user?
This is the follow-up, written so you have it in front of you while you check your own account.
Looking for Part 1? Click here: QuickBooks Payroll July 1, 2026 Update: Automated Taxes Required
What is changing?
As of July 1, 2026, QuickBooks starts automatically paying and filing the payroll taxes that are set up, for anyone processing payroll online. The option to choose when you pay is going away. Going forward, QuickBooks pulls the funds when you run payroll, not on the old due date. That is a real change to when money leaves your account, so it is worth a few minutes to get clear.
The FUTA question (the one we got asked most)
FUTA is federal unemployment tax. Normally you only pay it once it reaches a threshold or at year end with your 940. What is changing: because QuickBooks is taking over, on July 1 they make a one-time withdrawal for whatever FUTA is owed to date. Make sure the funds are in your account. You can preview the amount in your Payroll Tax Center and even process it ahead of time if you want.
What to do before the deadline
- Acknowledge the change so your payroll is not interrupted.
- Finish any tax setup to-do items. If setup is not done, automatic taxes cannot run and payroll may stop.
- If you already paid a tax outside QuickBooks, record it as paid so you are not charged twice.
- Pay anything you owe for Q2 yourself. Q1 is January to March, Q2 is April to June. My recommendation is simple: just go in and get it paid.
Does this affect Desktop users?
Here is the clean test, and it is not about which product you bought, it is about where you actually run payroll. If you click Pay Employees and do everything inside QuickBooks Desktop, you are golden, this does not affect you. If you are a Desktop user but you go into QuickBooks Online to process payroll, this does affect you. If you use Enterprise, Premier, or Pro with enhanced payroll inside Desktop, there is nothing to do. And if you process payroll entirely outside QuickBooks, like some churches do, you are not affected either.
A word on AI and trusted sources
A lot of people are asking ChatGPT about this. Just know that AI only knows what is already published online, so for a brand-new change like this, go to a trusted source. That is exactly why I made this video and this post.
The bottom line
If you run payroll inside Desktop, you are fine. If you run it online, get your taxes paid through Q2, make sure you have the funds for that FUTA withdrawal, and acknowledge the change. After that, QuickBooks takes it from here, but do not go blind, keep checking and reviewing. You are not in trouble, you just want to be ready.
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Share with us in the comments below. What do you think about these changes? ⤵️
#CandusKampfer
I switched years ago to online and enjoyed the control over paying the payroll tax at MY convenience. How hard will it be to switch back to Desktop? I really do not like QB auto withdrawal and the I can not find ALL the info broken down on 1 report. I have to go to 3 places to pull everything they took out and for what. If I am able, I would love to go back to Desktop if those changes are not going to be implemented there as well. I have a small business with 8 to 9 employees.
Hi Melinda,
Thank you for reaching out.
Switching back to Desktop is possible, but before making the move, it would be a good idea to confirm that the Desktop payroll option gives you the tax-payment control and all-in-one reporting you prefer for your 8–9 employees. 😊
Thank you for being part of our community!
Have a great day.
Robyn, Team Candus
My quick question is…. we use Quickbook Desktop and do everything through desktop, however, we process payroll using direct deposit. I am assuming that this will not affect us as we do not use Payroll online and print all of our liabilities and forms through desktop not online.
Hi Dian,
Thank you for reaching out.
As far as we understand, since you process direct deposit and tax liabilities strictly through the Desktop interface, these updates shouldn’t affect you. 🤗
Thank you for being part of our community!
Have a great day.
Robyn, Team Candus
Hi Candus – Thank you for all you do! I do not use Quickbooks Payroll…. I have QB Desktop and have ADP payroll for processing payroll and tax filing, but it imports into my Quickbooks. Will I be affected by the change?
Hi Kathleen,
You’re welcome. ☺️
Since you use ADP, this change should not affect you.
Thank you for being part of our community!
Have a great day.
Robyn, Team Candus
On one of my clients, we got her authorized for this change on 06.25.2026, and on 06.26.26 Intuit pulled her Futa payment and SD Unemployment for end of tax period 06/30/2026. I thought they wouldn’t pull until July 1? And with them doing this, I am trying to figure out will they do the quarterly report for the 941 for 2nd qtr and the SD Dept of Labor quarterly report, or do we still need to do that manually for the 2nd Qtr?
Hi Ruby,
Thank you for reaching out. 😊
Because the authorization was completed before quarter-end, Intuit may have started collecting the Q2 liabilities early, but I would still verify inside the Payroll Tax Center/filing status to confirm whether Intuit is filing the Q2 941 and South Dakota report or whether those still need to be filed manually.
Thank you for being part of our community!
Have a great day.
Robyn, Team Candus
Candace, I appreciate you a lot. For me this is your confusing me more. Here’s the issue. I already have automatic processing turned on. I’ve had it turned on for all three of my clients for over a year so they’ve already been doing this for those clients. I am having problems with Colorado on my Colorado Client. I wish I could afford to subscribe to you, but I can’t unfortunately because I’m getting really frustrated with Intuit and their answers about this Colorado situation so if you could just clarify if you were already signed up for automatic taxes, etc., and already doing that prior to January 1 of this year everything should be fine. If you could please just confirm that because I’m taking all the training classes and all this stuff and I’m getting so confused because they’re changing stuff yesterday. They changed stuff while I was on the phone with the helpdesk. We changed screens and went back to the first screen and things had changed. I love the AI, but they’re making me crazy!!!
Hi Sheila,
Thank you for reaching out.
From what we understand, if Automatic Taxes and Forms were already enabled and the Colorado agencies were properly set up, re-enrollment should not be required; any issue is likely related to the Colorado agency setup, account, PIN, or authorization. 🙂
Thank you for being part of our community!
Have a great day.
Robyn, Team Candus
Thank you. The information is appreciated!
Hi Tori,
You’re welcome. 🥰
We’re glad we can help.
Thank you for being part of our community!
Have a great day.
Robyn, Team Candus
Hello, Thank you but I am a little unsure if this effects me or not. Very small company here – three people. I have Quickbooks desktop. I do the payroll, two are salary and one is hourly. Does this effect me moving forward July 1st?
Thanks, Chris
Hi Chris,
You’re welcome.
As far as we understand, if you’re processing payroll directly through Desktop, then this should not affect you. 🤗
Thank you for being part of our community!
Have a great day.
Robyn, Team Candus
Thanks Candus. I called our State for the SUI tax and they said to wait to pay. But I think I am going to pay today and not have that monkey hanging on my back or forget about it and not have the money in when QB decides to pay it.
Hi Shirley,
You’re welcome.
If the state advised waiting but you feel better paying it now so you don’t have to worry, I understand. 😊
However, at this time, we’re unsure what will happen if the money isn’t there when QuickBooks tries to pay it.
Thank you for being part of our community!
Have a great day.
Robyn, Team Candus
Quickbooks has not addressed payroll taxes for the LST Tax that is a Local Service Tax that is deducted from the employees pay check and needs to be paid to the Local Tax Collection Agency. QB does not track it under payroll taxes and does not have this set up. I called QB multiple times but each time they said they would look into it but did nothing to resolve the problem. But now I’m expected to trust them to process this. So how is this going to be handled. Also why didn’t QB give comprehensive instructions on how this is going to take place without mistakes. Last week I called into QB and the representative I talked to did not have answers and had to go ask someone. Ultimately unable to solve my problems. I did not even get instructions on exactly what I need to do.
Hi Bonnie,
Thank you for reaching out.
We know there are a lot of questions about this update, and we’re still learning about it too. Please know that we’ll do our best to keep everyone updated and support our community as we move through this together. 😊
Thank you for being part of our community!
Have a great day.
Robyn, Team Candus
Good info and very timely as always. Thank you. It takes a lot of time and energy to keep up with making and putting these videos and articles together. I am a CPA on Desktop Enterprise for my CFO clients. Your content helps may stay in tune with QBO since I don’t use that.
Hi Judy,
You’re welcome. 🥰
We’re so happy to hear that our videos have been helpful to you.
Thank you for being part of our community!
Have a great day.
Robyn, Team Candus
Does this affect QuickBooks Online users?
Hi Judy,
Thank you for reaching out.
Yes, this is going into effect for QuickBooks Online users. Here is a link to our blog post for more information: https://canduskampfer.com/quickbooks-payroll-2026-update-automated-taxes-required/ 🤗
Thank you for being part of our community!
Have a great day.
Robyn, Team Candus
We have enterprise desktop and do all payroll inside desktop with the exception of payment of payroll taxes. We are now being charged 59.00 per payroll by intuit under the new payroll. We don’t get anything new or different for that fee. Do you have any information about that part. I have been a Pro Advisor for many years but I still learn from your information. Thank you.
Hi Judy,
Thank you for reaching out. 😊
Since Intuit’s payroll pricing and service terms can vary by subscription type and account, they would be the best source to confirm why that charge is appearing on your account.
Thank you for being part of our community!
Have a great day.
Robyn, Team Candus