No. Your statement
"The figure it wants would be the refund, if any you received from state and local. If you did not receive a refund then the amount is 0." This is incorrect.
The number it wants is what was reported on the person's 2020 tax return, Schedule A.
The line in question refers to property and other taxes.
Hopefully they have a paper or electronic copy of their 2020 Schedule A. If not, then they need to check their records for what they would have entered on that line.
