I was charged too much by the council for my permit, they refunded me part of the payment. How do i account for it as an actual credit to my account not a supply credit

Good day, @starboardcafebow.

I've got some steps to share on how you record the refund that you've received from your council in QuickBooks Online.

To account for the refund as an actual credit, you'll need to create a bank deposit, and the category must be the expense account that you've used for your permit.

To do that:

1. Click on the Gear icon at the top.
2. Select Bank Deposit.
3. From the Account drop-down▼menu, choose the account you want to deposit the money into.
4. Select the box for each payment you want to combine. Make sure the deposit total and selected payments match your deposit slip. Use your deposit slip as a reference. 
5. Select Save and close.

For complete details about this process, please see this article: Record and make Bank Deposits in QuickBooks Online.

In addition, you may see these references below about handling GST refund in QuickBooks Online for your future reference:

• Recording a GST refund
• Recording a GST payment (BAS Payment)
• Record a customer refund

If you need further assistance in performing the steps, you may reach out to our Customer Care Team. They have proper tools that can guide you through these steps.

Should you have any questions about this concern, feel free to leave a reply below. I want to ensure you're all set. Have a good one!