I keep getting error message "Schedule C. Other Expense Text is invalid for Electronic Filing. Please remove preceding spaces or invalid characters", I don;t have any entries in this file so I can't correct or remove anything,

[AmyC]

@joevinciguerra  Go back through your expenses and make sure there are no empty character fields before the words begin. You can put your cursor on the words and backspace to make sure you get rid of any blank spots.

[joevinciguerra]

Wish it was that easy.   There's nothing there to delete.  Will try to print Sch D and then delete it so I can reenter info directly onto the blank form.  Hope that doesn't mess up all the calculations.  

Anyone with specific instructions on how to do this, help appreciated,    

You would think Intuit would have a special Help # for this issue.  Getting to a live person is impossible.  Insult to injury, they try to make you pay for Expert 

[jonesler]

I have done every suggestion in this thread, I have gone as far as to remove ALL spaces so the words just run together, there are NO special characters, NO spaces at the beginning.  Do I have to mail this in?

[Steve]

I repeated this method several times and FINALLY it worked, but turbo tax needs to fix this problem NOW!!!

[glennahickman]

This solution is the pitts when you have to delete all the data already input to eliminate an error that is not there.   I have prepared two returns this season in which both have Other Expenses in Schedule C.  Have gotten this same error in doing both returns.  Pathetic solution, but is the only one I can find in order to be able to have no errors so I can file electronically.

[glennahickman]

Not being able to get a response from Intuit on how to fix a continual problem is getting to be pathetic!

[Dh40]

I ended up mailing my return.  Intuit is not interested in fixing this error.  I have used Turbo tax for about 15 years but I am done with it.  Anyone have a suggestion for a good reliable tax program?

[JamesG1]

I suspect that within a self-employment activity, an expenditure line was created under Other miscellaneous expenses.

• Click Edit to the right.
• At the screen Let's enter the miscellaneous expenses for your work, delete the offending line with the Delete trashcan icon.

Since the message includes the statement about 'spaces or invalid characters', there could be space bar entries or characters that are not visible but offending, none the less.

@Dh40

[jdrolyat]

Message still there and it's now 2024.  Since this has been going on now since 2022 or 2021, I will not waste my time on it anymore.  What a simple thing it would be for Intuit to FIX IT.

[Robb-Karin-2017]

And here we are with a huge Schedule C miscellaneous... and this error. I've been over and over this There are no blanks. Nope. And what counts as an invalid character in a descriptive field anyway? I think this is because the program offers up the prior year's entries and then, when you start messing with these and deleting them or editing them, something deep under the hood gets confused and will not be appeased. It sucks to have to mail this and then hassle that. I already PAID for efiling when this problem appeared. Sucks.

[Robb-Karin-2017]

Ok. Found it, and it was pretty much what I thought. When smart fix said "fix," and offered a box, I pushed a zero in. I did this AFTER creating a backup because I wasn't sure what would happen. Then, I looked an the work sheet, and a bunch of lines below my last entry was a blank description with a zero in in. And, yes, there was a blank line at the beginning of that one. But I'm telling you, I went through (I thought) and deleted that old stuff.

They really need to code this to take you right to the problem entry. Trying to efile now.

R

[Upgeya]

I can confirm this works.  I did it by going to the Schedule C form (not the Sch. C worksheet), and removed the "0." in the numbers column for the blank and offending "other expenses" line. Tab out of the field after deleting the "0.", and the offending blank entry will go away.