Line 20 says to enter the smaller of lines 18 and 19. Line 19 is blank and line 20 is picking up line 18. I don't know what line 19 should be and consequently I don't know if line 20 is correct. Regardless I am unable to change what is on Line 20.
I forgot. This is for the 2024 edition of TT Premier. I am running the latest update.
You will notice there is an asterisk next to line 20, that says that amount may be calculated on another worksheet. If so, you can click on the explanation and find a spyglass icon that will take you to the worksheet where the amount is calculated:
BTW, I printed out the Lump-Sum Social Security Worksheet referenced in Line 19 and filled it out manually. If I did it correctly that number was $11,000 and Line 20 should have reflected that. One problem is I had no lump-sum payments so I used 0 for Line B. Consequently, I don't know if Line 19 should be 11,000 or 0. In either case it is less than what is printed in Line 20.
I found IRS Publication 915. Page 16 has Worksheet 1, Figuring Your Social Security Benefits. It does not contain the confusing Line 18, Line 19 problem. Apparently Line 19 doesn't enter into it unless, possibly, there actually is an entry. In this case there isn't one so instead of Line 19 being 0, Line 19 is ignored. This was really confusing!
Line 19 on the Social Security Benefits Worksheet is "Taxable benefits with lump-sum election."
Did you have a lump-sum distribution on your SS benefits?
You said "One problem is I had no lump-sum payments so I used 0 for Line B. " Is this correct? In this case, since you did not have a lump-sum election, I would expect line 19 to be blank.
Am I missing something here?