Ah, I see. This seems to result from the line 29 deduction not being permitted to exceed wages as wages are defined in section 3121 of the tax code. The section 3121 definition of wages explicitly excludes amounts paid for insurance (even though the amount must be included as "wages" in box 1 of the W-2 of the S corp). So the box 5 amount is the amount that must be entered. I stand corrected.
It appears, then, that all of these people who believe that they are entitled to the line 29 deduction when the amount in box 5 does not support it are incorrect.
