@4theluvofgod , this independent consulting service is not part of your OPT or is the OPT employer is paying you using a 1099-NEC ? Is your total earnings including this 1099-NEC more than US$5000 ?
Generally whereas the 20(c) does not stipulate what kind of earning , just the first US$5000 can be excluded, the FICA exclusion is really for the "required training" such as residency for doctors and by extension to all students whom are getting paid during the training period i.e. earnings due to training/employment. Thus I would opine ( absent answers from you to my questions ) that you should be able to take advantage of the 20(c) via schedule-1 with note explaining why and also attaching the proper form ( I don't think TurboTax supports that ) but you probably cannot exclude paying the FICA ( absent showing that this employment is part of the OPT training etc. )
Does that make sense and/or do you need more help/explanation
Stay safe Nee how ( I don't know how to spell this ) but I do know what it means
