QuickBooks MA EWD Quarterly Report: What Employers Need to Know
Massachusetts employers using QuickBooks can generate the Employer's Quarterly Report of Employment and Wages Paid, but state-specific wage rules and e-filing requirements create pitfalls.
QuickBooks Desktop includes a built-in Massachusetts Employer’s Quarterly Report of Employment and Wages Paid — often abbreviated as the MA EWD, Page 2 — designed to help employers complete the state’s quarterly wage detail filing. The report pulls employee wage data directly from the company file, but Massachusetts applies its own definitions to what counts as reportable wages, and employers who assume the pre-filled numbers are always final may run into filing errors or rejected submissions.
How to Generate the Report
To produce the MA EWD in QuickBooks Desktop, open the Payroll Center or navigate to the Employees menu, then select Payroll Tax Forms & W-2s and choose Process Payroll Forms. From the list of available forms, select the Massachusetts Employer’s Quarterly Report of Employment and Wages Paid. QuickBooks will walk through a guided workflow, pulling company, employee, and wage data from the file to populate the fields automatically.
If all payroll has been processed inside QuickBooks for the full quarter — every paycheck, bonus, commission, and adjustment — the report should be largely complete without additional manual entry. However, the on-screen numbers still need to be reviewed against Massachusetts rules before filing.
Filing Requirements
Massachusetts does not accept paper submissions of this report. All employers — whether subject to unemployment insurance, exempt from it, or classified as reimbursable — must file electronically through the state’s QUEST portal. The filing deadline falls on or before the last day of the month following the close of each calendar quarter.
Employee Data the Report Includes
The MA EWD lists each employee who was paid wages during the quarter, along with their Social Security number, gross wages paid, Massachusetts taxable wages, state income tax withholding, headcount on the 12th of each month, and total hours worked. QuickBooks populates these fields from employee records and paycheck data.
One common stumbling block is Social Security numbers. The report requires each employee’s SSN to appear exactly as it reads on their Social Security card, and the field is edited in the employee setup screen. Submissions with blank or invalid SSNs are rejected by the state. Employers should verify that every active employee has a correctly formatted SSN on file before generating the report.
Where QuickBooks Numbers May Need Adjustment
The most important thing to understand about this report is that Massachusetts defines “wages paid” differently from federal tax forms or even from other Massachusetts payroll entries. The state’s definition is broad — it generally encompasses nearly every form of compensation, including salaries, commissions, bonuses, and non-cash remuneration — but it also carves out specific exclusions that may not be reflected identically in QuickBooks’ pre-filled totals.
What Is Included in Reportable Wages
Massachusetts counts most compensation as reportable, even amounts that are not subject to state income tax withholding. Employee Social Security contributions are included in wages. Most elective salary deferrals — such as 401(k) contributions — are also included, with the exception of certain 457(b) plans. Employer contributions to nonqualified deferred compensation plans are reportable as well.
What Is Excluded From Reportable Wages
Several categories of employer-paid amounts are excluded from the Massachusetts wage definition. These include non-elective employer contributions to qualified pension or retirement plans, employer and employee premiums for accident and health insurance or group-term life insurance, and employer-side Social Security tax payments. Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) contributions are also excluded if the employee can deduct them on their federal return.
Because these inclusions and exclusions don’t always map cleanly to how QuickBooks categorizes payroll items, employers should compare the report totals against the state’s wage definition and make manual adjustments where needed. Reviewing paycheck details for each employee — especially those with retirement contributions, health insurance premiums, or non-cash compensation — is the most reliable way to catch discrepancies.
Residency Rules for Wages
Another nuance involves employee residency. For employees who live in Massachusetts, all wages paid during the quarter are reportable regardless of where the work was performed. For employees who reside outside Massachusetts, only the wages earned for work performed inside the state are reportable. QuickBooks does not automatically filter by work location, so employers with out-of-state employees should verify that only Massachusetts-sourced wages appear on the report.
Practical Takeaway
The MA EWD is a useful starting point, but it is not a substitute for understanding the state’s filing rules. Employers who rely on the pre-filled data without reviewing it against Massachusetts regulations risk under-reporting or over-reporting wages, both of which can trigger corrections or delays. The most effective workflow is to generate the report in QuickBooks, then audit the wage totals and employee information before submitting through the QUEST portal. For broader guidance on QuickBooks payroll troubleshooting, additional resources are available.