Can I enter Self-Employed SEP IRA contributions in TurboTax Deluxe?

No, TurboTax Online Deluxe does not support SEP IRA's. 

Before you enter your SEP IRA contributions, first make sure you've entered self-employed income. This allows us to calculate the maximum amount you're allowed to contribute to your SEP IRA.

You may use the following TurboTax products to report your business income and related SEP IRA:

• If you're using the TurboTax Online version, you may use TurboTax Self-Employed, and TurboTax Live Self-Employed.
• If you're using the TurboTax CD\Download version, you may use Deluxe, Premier, or Home & Business. 
• See What are the advantages of the TurboTax CD/Download software over the Online version?

Note: A Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) or (SEP-IRA) provides business owners with a simplified method to contribute toward their employees' retirement as well as their own.

Contributions are made to an IRA set up for each plan participant and cannot exceed the lesser of:

• 25% of compensation paid during the year
• $57,000 for 2020 ($56,000 for 2019)

Investment, distribution, and rollover rules are the same as traditional IRAs.

Thanks for the reply. I'm not sure which box I checked... But I'm using the downloaded desktop version of deluxe, not the online version. Does anybody know for sure whether desktop download deluxe will allow for SEP IRA? 

Thanks. 

Yes.  All the Desktop programs have the same forms.  You can use Deluxe for everything.  Not sure where you enter it.  You should be able to search for it and get a JUMP TO link.  I'll check my program.

Found it!  I neglected to search for "SEP IRA Contributions" (left out the last word).  Incidentally, searching for "Self-Employed Retirement Plans" works, too.  

And it shows up under "Business Items" > "Business Deductions and Credits" on the Wages and Income tab.  

Thanks, all, for the help.

Thanks for letting me know how and where you found it.

I'm using TurboTax CD\Download Deluxe version, and when I click on "Update" for  "Retirement Savings Contribution Credit, it just returns me to the Deductions and Credits tab. When I do "Visit All" under "Retirement and Investments", it doesn't allow me the option to enter in my SEP-IRA contribution.

Also, in years past, the Deluxe version would maximize the SEP-IRA contribution amount. If you are reducing the functionality of the versions, you should tell what you are reducing each year. I'm a long time user of Turbotax and I certainly don't appreciate being treated like this.

The easiest way is to:

1. Log into your Turbo Tax 
2. Pick up where you left off, if using the online version.
3. Click the search bar with the magnifying glass at the top and type sep accounts in the search box.
4. Press continue
5. Click the link that says jump to sep accounts.

Important NOTE: Enter SEP IRA Contibutions --- that last "s" is critical. Without it, you don't get the jump to. Do these guys even know who to write code with regular expression tests on input??

Turbo Tax limits SEP IRA contributions, so no they dont really do it .  They treat it like a traditional IRA and limit you to $6500 contribution (or contributionS).  Its annoying and Im not sure what to do.  As a self employed person I need my total contribution (Im allowed 25% of my income) to be counted!  On the horribly clunky chat function then on the phone with TT "expert" for hours and still no resolution.   Cummon Turbo tax Im paying you as much as I would a CPA at this point!  DEAL WITH THIS SEP IRA ISSUE!!!

Did you enter the SEP IRA through the self-employment option?  When I run a test I am not receiving a limit to $6,500.  Follow these steps to check the entry of your self-employed SEP IRA:

1. Click Wage and Income
2. Scroll down to Other Business Situations, Click Show More
3. Click Start/Revisit next to Self-Employment Retirement Plans
4. Answer no for "Did you contribute to an Individual or Roth 401(k) plan?
5. Click Yes for the next screen.  
6. Enter the amount you contributed or will contribute for your SEP Plan and click Maximize.

If you are still seeing a limitation please respond back to this thread.

@GapMapper 

No that does not work .  In the window you suggest...self employment retirement plans there is no place for SEP IRA which is not a 401k.  I tried to put it under the "employer contribution" area, and then again in the SEP (because Im self employed I am both the employer and employee)  both with adjusting my income and not (which is an option in the SEP IRA area).  Ive done it with "maximize" and without. I was just trying everything to trick the system into making it work.  It does not.  I have talked to four Turbo Tax "experts" over the last 3 days and nobody can figure it out.   TT is calculating strange numbers.  So there is some trick or else there isnt, and its impossible with TT.  Not sure what to do!

It looks like you're answering yes to the wrong screen.  When you get to the Did you contribute to an Individual or Roth 401(k) plan? screen and click No, the next screen asks if you made SEP contributions (or Keogh or SIMPLE).  When you click YES you get the following screen:

@GapMapper 

yes and it calculates the wrong amount.  It SHOULD just take off the 25% (which is the amount I put into the SEP) off my taxable income, but it does some very strange calculations that make no sense at all.  Ive been on the phone now for 5 hours with 4 different people and its infuriating.  Thanks for your time but it isnt working.

I have two businesses. The same SEP IRA contribution amount always go to both companies. How to associate it with one specific business in TurboTax desktop. Thank you!

You need to not enter it into the SEP contribution section and enter it directly into the associated business' section.  Pay attention to the amounts - if you're associating it with one business you are limited to 20% of that business' income instead of your overall self-employment income.  Enter it as an expense directly into the associated business labeling it as what it is.

@dc20222023 

@RobertB4444 Oh that's smart. so schedule C Part II (line 19? I know SEP IRA is not exactly profit-sharing plan but similar) will be the only place in my tax return that mentions SEP IRA.

That is correct.

Schedule C line 19 is for your employees pension plans not yours.  

Per the IRS:

Plan compensation for a self-employed individual

To calculate your plan compensation, you reduce your net earnings from self-employment by:

• the deductible portion of your SE tax from your Form 1040 return, Schedule 1, on the line for deductible part of self-employment tax, and
• the amount of your own (not your employees’) retirement plan contribution from your Form 1040 return, Schedule 1, on the line for self-employed SEP, SIMPLE, and qualified plans.

You use your plan compensation to calculate the amount of your own contribution/deduction. Note that your plan compensation and the amount of your own plan contribution/deduction depend on each other - to compute one, you need the other (this is a circular calculation). One way to do this is to use a reduced plan contribution rate. You can use the Table and Worksheets for the Self-Employed (Publication 560) to find the reduced plan contribution rate to calculate the plan contribution and deduction for yourself.

Go to Federal or Business

Income

Scroll down to Other Business Situations

Self Employed Retirement Plans