How do you journalize a sales tax payable?

Since you are using a "payable" account we do "not" touch cash until the actual payment is made. We however still know we need a debit and a credit for this transcation. To put this in our journal we will

Debit Sales Tax Expense (check your company for exact account name)
Credit Sales Tax Payable (again check your company for account name)

Once you pay your taxes then you have to adjust these entries to reflect payment. In order to do that, we again use two accounts, this time however we do not touch Sales Tax Expense, it must stay there until we close our out books, we do however have to show that the payable has now become paid and that we no longer have that amount of cash on hand. This transaction will be adjusted in the journal as

Debit Sales Tax Payable (to zero out this account or adjust it accordingly)
Credit Cash (to show we no longer have that amount of cash on hand)