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P
pkotsopoulos
January 8, 2026
Question

Can I change a GST/HST payment recorded as an expense to a Sales tax payment similar to the sales tax payments that are generated in the sales tax module?

  • January 8, 2026
  • 1 reply
  • 2 views

When I record the payment as an expense it does not show up in my GST/HST summary report

1 reply

Bryan_M
Bryan_MQuickBooks Team
QuickBooks Team
January 8, 2026

Hi there, @pkotsopoulos.

 

The GST/HST payment is automatically set up under the liability account, and it is not possible to categorize it as an expense.

 

Additionally, the GST/HST summary report is designed to show all your sales tax collectible amounts; it does not track tax payments. This is why your payments will not appear in this report.

 

Furthermore, when you pay GST/HST, it is not considered a direct business expense because it is already accounted for in your invoices. This payment represents a tax obligation mandated by the government, which is classified under a liability account rather than an expense category.

 

If you have any further questions, feel free to reach out. We're here to assist you promptly

P
pkotsopoulosAuthor
January 9, 2026

Thanks Bryan. 
My issue is, I paid the GST/HST to CRA but I did not record this in the Sales Tax Module. 
when this payment showed up on my bank account I categorized this as an expense.

Even though I categorized this expense in the GST/HST suspense account it is not recognized in the Sales Tax reports.

 

i think I have to delete the transaction then try and record it in the suspense account. 
I was looking for confirmation of the correct way to fix my error's and if I do any changes how would this affect my completed reconciliation's?

N
Nathania_PQuickBooks Team
QuickBooks Team
January 9, 2026

Hello there, @pkotsopoulos.

 

I'll assist you in confirming and resolving your concern regarding GST/HST.

 

When categorizing a transaction in the GST/HST suspense account, the associated tax amounts from that transaction will appear in the GST/HST Summary report, provided it was categorized correctly.

 

However, tax payments made to the CRA will not appear in this report, as the report is designed to track sales tax collected and owed, not payments against your tax liability.


 

You can generate the Taxable Sales Summary report to view the breakdown of the payments, including the Net Amount and Taxable Amount.

 

 

If the transaction is still missing from the report, review the categorized entry on the Banking page to ensure it was classified correctly. Be sure to check the Expense account (GST/HST Suspense) and confirm that the appropriate tax rate is selected under the Tax dropdown menu for the entry to be reported accurately.


 

On the other hand, if the entry is still missing from the report after taking these steps, you may need to delete/exclude the transaction and re-enter it.

 

Please note that deleting a transaction can affect the reconciliation balance if the transaction was already reconciled. To avoid any issues, manually reconcile the re-entered transaction once recorded.

 

If you have any other concerns about QuickBooks, don’t hesitate to reach out to us again. We're always here and happy to help.

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