Why won't the software accept that I have zero royalties to report?

[mlbengtson]

I have rental income which I reported on Schedule E, line 3.  I do not have royalties so I reported 0 on Schedule E, line 4.  However, turbotax continues to insist I review this item ($0 royalties) and won't let me e-file.

[Carl]

Why are you bothering to enter "anything" for royalty income, if you have none? Just delete that from the SCH E and press on.

[LenaH]

If you are getting this error, it might be because a Schedule E was transferred over your prior year return. If you do not have any royalties for 2020, then you have to delete the form.

Please follow the instructions below to fix your error:

1. In TurboTax, search for rentals and select the Jump to link at the top of the search results.
2. Answer No to the question Did you have any rental or royalty income and expenses in 2020 for property you own?
3. Click on Tools.
4. Click on Delete a Form. 
5. Scroll down to your forms and look for Schedule E and click Delete. 

[Carl]

Scroll down to your forms and look for Schedule E and click Delete. 

DO NOT DO THIS! Otherwise, you will delete your rental property and all that depreciation history too. 

Work through the "Rental & Royalty Income (SCH E)" section of the program. When you get to the list of your rental and royalties, click the delete button (or trashcan icon) next to the royalty to delete it. That will leave your rental property information and history intact.

[mlbengtson]

I have never reported royalties, just rental income.  I did go in and delete the "0" from royalties in Schedule E.  However, when running the review it continues to prompt me to check that number, even though it is zero.  And it refuses to let me e-file although I continue to delete the "0".

[mlbengtson]

Thank you, but I do have rental income to report.  I have never reported royalties in the past and never had this problem crop up before. 

[mlbengtson]

Thank you for the suggestion, but I have already tried doing as you suggest to delete the royalty by clicking the trashcan.  It disappears, but then when I go into review mode before filing my return, the software continues to ask me to review that number which is shown as "0".  It won't allow me to e-file until I "fix" it.

[Carl]

After you delete it, you *MUST* continue working through the program until you get to a screen with a DONE button on it, and actually click that DONE button. Any changes *will* *not* be saved until you do that.

[xjyuan_s]

Hi, I have exactly the same problem, have only rental income, no royalty to report, so there is no royalty section/line to delete in my Rental & Royalty Income.  What can I do to fix this problem?

[PatriciaV]

You may need to review the Property Profile for your Rental Property. Make sure the first box is checked "Rental property" and not "Royalty." Also, confirm that you don't have an extra Schedule E created from Form 1099-MISC by mistake.

[Ninfem]

Mine does this SAME THING. I have a rental but it's all reported on a 1099.  It won't let me input 0 royalties no matter what and wants me to mail in my taxes now.   I can't delete schedule E As I do have a rental.  

[JulieS]

To check to see if you have an incomplete entry that is causing this problem:

1. Select Federal from the left side menu.
2. Select Wages and Income toward the top left
3. Scroll down/ expand the list and look for Rentals and Royalties.
4. Expand that section and find Rental Properties and Royalties (Sch E).
5. Click Edit on the right.
6. You should see a screen with, Your 2021 rentals and royalties summary. 
7. Look carefully at this screen. Make sure your rental is listed as a rental. If you have a royalty listed, you can delete it by clicking the little trash can to the right. 

[Zak S]

Real Solution!! 

This problem caused me lots of stress and frustration. I have the answer for everyone that's having this problem. You cannot electronically file unless you resolve this. This is the solution. Click so the cursor is to the right of the 0. Now use backspace to empty the Box. You don't want to see anything in the box. The box needs to be blank. There's two places that you can type in the amount on the page. Make sure they're both blank. Then continued and the issue is resolved.

[Croujaso]

Thank you so much! That was so frustrating 

[Wildflower65]

There is no way for me to delete the Royalties entry in Box 2 of my 1099-misc.  I receive a 1099-Misc from my property management company with rent (Box 1).  Turbo Tax is prompting to put an amount in Box 2 but there isn't any.  I've tried all different way and don't see how to delete this box so it will not keep coming up as an error