I think, that if you enter the 1099-NEC and check the box for "I have expenses for this income", that will create the schedule C. Online Deluxe can't prepare a schedule C with expenses so you will need to upgrade to the self-employment program.
You can also get this to be earned income on a schudule C if you upgrade to the self-employed version and create your business first, then enter the 1099-NEC as your business income.
This seems to be a design problem. We've notified the moderators of our suggestions and I think it is being looked at by the program quality team, but I don't know when it might change.
