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Fix "You Cannot Use the Same Tax Item" Error in Webgility Desktop

Point the taxable and non-taxable sales tax dropdowns at two different QuickBooks items so Webgility Desktop can post the sale without conflict.

Overview

Webgility Desktop returns the message You cannot use the same tax item when the item selected for taxable orders and the item selected for non-taxable orders — both chosen under Sync Settings > Sales Tax — point to the same QuickBooks sales tax item. Changing the non-taxable dropdown to a dedicated, zero-rate item resolves the conflict. Full context on the recommended sales tax configuration is in Recommended Settings for Sales Tax for Webgility Desktop & QuickBooks Online.

When This Applies

Use these steps when Webgility Desktop is set to Record sales tax calculated from Sales Channel in QuickBooks and a sale posting fails with the same tax item error, or when the error appears after a sales tax item in QuickBooks was recently renamed or merged with another.

Why This Happens

When Webgility sends the sales tax as a line item on the transaction, QuickBooks still shows a tax field at the bottom-right of the sales form. To prevent QuickBooks from recalculating tax on top of what Webgility already sent, Webgility places the item from Select a sales tax item for non taxable orders into that bottom-right field as a zero-rate sentinel. If that same item is also the one chosen in Select a sales tax item for taxable orders, QuickBooks rejects the transaction because a single tax item cannot both carry the tax amount on a line and sit in the sentinel slot. The fix is to make sure the two dropdowns point at different QuickBooks items.

Important Note

If a dedicated non-taxable item does not yet exist in QuickBooks, create one as a Sales Tax Item at a 0% rate (common names: Out of State or NON) tied to the same tax agency vendor you already use. Click Refresh on the Sales Tax panel in Webgility to pull the new item into the dropdown.

Steps to Fix the Same Tax Item Error

  1. Open Webgility Desktop and go to Connections > Accounting/POS/ERP > Sync Settings > Sales Tax.
  2. Confirm the posting mode. Keep Record sales tax calculated from Sales Channel in QuickBooks selected if that is how you want tax to post — the full tradeoff is laid out in Recommended Settings for Sales Tax.
  3. Review the two tax item dropdowns. Select a sales tax item for taxable orders should point to the item you want sales tax to post against (for example TAX, AVATAX, or your state tax item). Select a sales tax item for non taxable orders must point to a different, zero-rate item — see Post tax under the correct QuickBooks sales tax field for how the bottom-right QuickBooks field is set from this dropdown.
      
  4. If the non-taxable item is missing, switch to QuickBooks Desktop, open Lists > Item List, and create a Sales Tax Item at 0% for non-taxable sales. Return to Webgility and click Refresh on the Sales Tax panel.
  5. Select the new non-taxable item in the Select a sales tax item for non taxable orders dropdown, then click Save & Continue.
  6. Open the affected order on the Errors tab and click Validate. Repost the order once the preview looks clean.
Key Recommendation

Repost one order first and open it in QuickBooks to confirm the sales tax line is present on the transaction and the bottom-right tax field shows the non-taxable item at $0.00. Once that single order is clean, run the batch for the full date range of affected orders.

Additional Support

If the error persists after both dropdowns point at different items, open a Webgility support ticket with the sample order number, a screenshot of the Webgility Sales Tax panel showing both dropdowns, and a screenshot of your QuickBooks Item List showing both tax items.