The instructions in this thread were intended for cases where there was a Check this Entry issue with the SE Tax Deferral section because there was actually no eligibility to defer self-employment tax once all the details had been entered in the return.
To verify the results for your situation, revisit the SE section and enter a value for 280/366ths of income, which would cover the days from March 27 through December 31, 2020. However, the IRS allows you to "use any reasonable method" to calculate the amount of income that could be deferred.
This deferral does not forgive the tax. It allows 50% to be paid later via Electronic Federal Tax Payments System at EFTPS. The entire self-employment tax calculated for 2020 is still charged. If the deferral is elected, then:
- 50% of the 2020 SE tax is due by December 31, 2021.
- 50% of the 2020 SE tax is due by December 31, 2022.
To run through a worksheet and confirm your results, see 2020 Form 1040 Instructions, Schedule 3 Line 12e instructions beginning on page 104. The worksheet is on page 105.
For more resources, see:
2020 Schedule SE Instructions for Part III begin on page 6.
2020 Schedule SE, see page 2, Part III for the deferral reporting.
[Edited 05/16/2021 | 9:01 PM PST]
@aljoyce459
