Lacerte Tax Line Assignment: Mapping Accounts to Screens
Tax line assignment is done on the Tax Line Assignment tab of the Trial Balance Utility. For each account, choose the Lacerte Screen Schedule number and then the Lacerte Input Field from the dropdowns, or use the SmartMap icon on that row. Assignments are saved with the client and carry forward to next year.
- Open the Tax Line Assignment tab
- Pick the screen
- Pick the field
- Use SmartMap for one offs
- Sweep for unassigned accounts
- Lacerte Trial Balance Utility
- Tax Line Assignment tab
- Lacerte Screen Schedule #
- Lacerte Input Field
| Trial balance account | Lacerte screen and field | Lands on |
|---|---|---|
| Gross receipts | Screen 13 (1120S) Income, Gross receipts or sales | Page 1 line 1a |
| Cost of goods sold accounts | Screen 14, Cost of Goods Sold | Form 1125-A, then page 1 line 2 |
| Salaries and wages | Screen 15, Ordinary Deductions | Page 1 line 8 |
| Officer compensation | Screen 2, Officer Information | Page 1 line 7 |
| Interest income | Screen 20, Schedule K Income and Deductions | Schedule K line 4, not page 1 |
| Charitable contributions | Screen 20, Schedule K | Schedule K line 12a |
| Balance sheet accounts | Screen 29 (1120S), 24 (1065) or 37 (1120) | Schedule L |
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| Acct # | Account | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1000 | Cash | 42,800.00 | |
| 1200 | Accounts receivable | 68,500.00 | |
| 1300 | Inventory | 55,000.00 | |
| 1500 | Equipment | 145,000.00 | |
| 1510 | Accumulated depreciation | 47,500.00 | |
| 2000 | Accounts payable | 28,400.00 | |
| 2100 | Accrued expenses | 9,200.00 | |
| 2400 | Notes payable | 92,000.00 | |
| 2450 | Due to shareholder | 15,000.00 | |
| 3000 | Common stock | 10,000.00 | |
| 3900 | Retained earnings | 86,300.00 | |
| 3950 | Shareholder distributions | 52,000.00 | |
| 4000 | Gross receipts (the account this page is about) | 612,000.00 | |
| 5000 | Cost of goods sold | 318,000.00 | |
| 6000 | Salaries and wages | 88,000.00 | |
| 6050 | Officer compensation | 72,000.00 | |
| 6300 | Depreciation expense | 21,500.00 | |
| 6900 | Other operating expenses | 37,600.00 | |
| Total | 900,400.00 | 900,400.00 |
The two dropdowns are the whole feature
An assignment is a pair: the screen, then the field within it. Lacerte Screen Schedule # chooses the screen, Lacerte Input Field chooses the line. SmartMap is a shortcut for doing one row rather than working both dropdowns.
Nothing in the tool knows what a client's account names mean. "Auto" could be vehicle expense, could be an asset, could be a loan. The decision is yours on every row, and it is the same decision every firm makes separately for the same account names.
The assignments that are not obvious
Most accounts go where their name suggests. These do not, and they are where returns go wrong:
- Interest income on an 1120S or 1065 leaves page 1 entirely and belongs on the Schedule K screen. Assigned to page 1 income, it overstates ordinary business income and understates separately stated interest, which misstates every K-1
- Charitable contributions are the same story: Schedule K, not a page 1 deduction
- Officer compensation goes to screen 2, Officer Information, not into the wages field on the deductions screen
- Depreciation should come from screen 16, so assigning the book figure to a deduction field double counts it
- Distributions belong on the Schedule M-2 screen, not in expenses, where they would reduce taxable income that they cannot reduce
- Production labor on a manufacturer belongs in the cost of goods sold detail, not in wages
Unassigned accounts are the silent failure
An account with no assignment does not post. There is no error, no diagnostic, and no line in the return that looks wrong, because the amount is simply absent.
That is why the sweep for unassigned accounts matters more than any individual mapping decision. On a returning client, the accounts at risk are the new ones: a loan taken out this year, a new expense category, a renamed account that no longer matches last year's mapping.
What carrying forward is worth
Year two of a client is fast. Year one is not, and no amount of tooling changes that, because the mapping has to be created before it can be reused.
For a firm taking on new business clients every season, that first year cost repeats every time. It is the same work, done from scratch, for account names that are nearly the same as the last client's.
Tax return treatment
| Form | Line |
|---|---|
| Form 1120S | Depends entirely on the assignment: page 1, Schedule K or Schedule L |
| Form 1065 | Depends entirely on the assignment |
| Form 1120 | Depends entirely on the assignment |
Common questions
Where is tax line assignment in Lacerte?
On the Tax Line Assignment tab inside the Lacerte Trial Balance Utility. Each account takes a Lacerte Screen Schedule number and a Lacerte Input Field, and the SmartMap icon assigns a single row without using both dropdowns.
What happens to an account I never assign?
It does not post to the return, and nothing tells you. There is no diagnostic for an unassigned account, so the amount is simply missing. Sweeping for unassigned rows before posting is the check that catches it.
Where should interest income be assigned on an 1120S?
To the Schedule K screen, not page 1 income. Interest is a separately stated item that comes off page 1 and flows to box 4 of each K-1. Assigning it to gross receipts overstates ordinary business income and misstates every K-1.
Do I have to remap a client every year?
No. Assignments are retained from year to year. What does need attention each year is new accounts, renamed accounts and any chart of accounts restructure, since those no longer match the stored mapping and are excluded without warning.
Related answers
Go deeper
This page is the short answer. These articles work through the same ground in detail.
Last reviewed October 18, 2026.