Easy Tech TutsHow to Turn Off Sales Tax in QuickBooks Online, Disable it Easily 2026
By Impran M N
If your business has stopped collecting sales tax — maybe you moved to tax-exempt services or an external platform now handles it — leaving QuickBooks Online's tax engine running just adds clutter to your invoices. This guide covers how to deactivate individual tax agencies or switch off the sales tax feature entirely.
01Open the Sales Tax settings
From the left navigation, go to Taxes, then the Sales Tax tab to see your active tax agencies and their current status.
02Deactivate individual agencies
In Sales Tax Settings, find the Turn Off or Deactivate toggle next to a specific agency to stop it from auto-populating new transactions.
03Confirm the deactivation
A warning prompt appears when you turn off an agency — confirm it to stop QuickBooks from tracking that jurisdiction going forward.
04Switch off sales tax globally
For a full shutdown, use the master Turn Off Sales Tax button in settings, then save to apply the change across your invoice layouts.
05Check customer records
Review individual customer profiles to make sure they're marked tax-exempt where needed, then create a test invoice to confirm the tax line no longer appears.
Frequently asked questions
Will turning off sales tax delete my past tax records?
No, historical transactions and tax filings remain in your reports — deactivating the feature only stops it from applying to new transactions.
Can I turn sales tax back on later?
Yes, you can reactivate the sales tax center and reconfigure your agencies if your business needs change again.
Do I need to update each customer individually?
It's worth double-checking key customer profiles, since some may have tax-exempt flags that no longer apply once you disable the feature globally.
Why does the tax column still show on an old invoice?
Existing invoices keep the tax data they were created with; only new invoices created after the change will reflect the updated settings.
Watch the full walkthrough
The same steps, demonstrated on screen from start to finish.
