I had a 1099NEC for 2020 for the amount of $2,100 working as a tester. I am low income and make about 20,000 a year. I am not sure what to add to line 18 "Enter the portion of line 3" Which line 3? and if I look on previous page line 3 is empty.
Also above the boxes to fill it says "SCH SE-T Max deferral line should be blank"
This is on my Schedule SE.
So confusing.
This question is associated with the option to defer paying some of your self-employment tax due to Covid.
If you do not want to defer any of the self-employment tax, then enter '0' for line 18 when you see the review question in the error check.
If you do wish to defer paying the self-employment tax, then line 18 is asking for the portion of your Schedule C and/or Schedule F profit that is attributed to March 27, 2020 through December 31, 2020.
To go back to the input screens related to deferring Self-Employment tax if you qualify, look in the Deductions and Credits section of your return. Then find the Tax Relief related to Covid-19 section, then Self-employment tax deferral.
When you click Start or Update beside this section you may see a message that you do not qualify to defer the self-employment tax. If this is the case and you did enter a number during the error check process, then be aware that nothing is being calculated as part of your return as a deferral.
Hello Everyone,
If you enter 0 in line 18 , because you do not want to defer your tax payment. Would this also be suggesting you did not make any income through those months. It seems like this could cause some other issues. Is this the correct way, or is there another way?
Thank you all
If you are getting a refund, you do not qualify to defer, so your answer would not matter. If you do owe money and do not want to defer it, entering a zero is fine. The worksheets are just to help you get the correct information for what you want on your tax return. If you do not want to defer the debt, no problem.
1040SR "Deferral for Certain Schedule H or SE Filers Smart worksheet" calculates the amount of self employment (SE) taxes you might want to defer. If you don't want to defer taxes and enter 0 on line 11 you will get an error message from TurboTax say the number must be greater than 0. The answer is to leave the cell blank and TurboTax will no longer generate an error code.
An error code will still pop up if you enter zero or leave it blank. I am getting a refund and do not want to defer any taxes. How to move forward from this problem. For the first time in 8 years I am about ready to try a different Tax software.
I am having this same issue as well and cannot move past it. Have you had any luck yet getting past this?
This question is related to the option to defer paying some of your self-employment tax due to Covid. To see TurboTax discussion, click here: SE employment deferral
The Coronavirus, Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) gives self-employed taxpayers the option to delay paying a portion of their Social Security taxes when they meet certain requirements.
The option to defer only applies to Social Security taxes for self-employment income you earned from March 27, 2020 through December 31, 2020. This income is typically reported on Schedule C (profit or loss from business) or Schedule H (for household employees) of your tax return.
I am confused by the Self-Employment Tax Deferral. When going through the guided questions, it asked if I would like to defer these tax payments. I selected No, but was still asked to enter an amount during the final checks in line 18. Based on the answers on this topic, you would think TurboTax would automatically enter $0 on Line 18. Regardless of selecting Yes or No for deferred payments, I received a message saying I was not qualified for deferred payments (since I am receiving a refund). Since, I did not understand what amount should be put on line 18, I entered a dollar amount. It now looks like it is setting up a deferred payment. How do I go back into the form to change line 18 to $0? Changing the answer in the guided questions does not change the value on line 18. I am using the Online version of TurboTax.
This error has been happening to some TurboTax users.
Sign in to TurboTax on a browser
Go to Tax Tools, Tools, Delete a Form
Delete Form 1040 and 1040 Worksheet
Delete Schedule 2
Then review your federal return again and a new 1040 and Schedule 2 will be created that should not have the error.
If the error does continue, just ignore it.
It does not apply to you because you are receiving a refund.
I tried this by deleting sch 2 but the error persist. I have to send my return by mail will this affect my taxes if does not get an ok?
If anyone is still having this issue of not being able to continue, delete the zero's in line 18 - 22 and leave them blank. I just did this and was able to move forward. Hope this help!
Double click on Line 18 schedule SE, it will pop up small window, check the box " to NOT print this support details", and then close it. It will help
I had the same error when I tried to file I put in an amount that I thought I would have made because everything I did was not allowing me to move forward until I did that. Will this cause a delay in my refund or cause my refund not to be approved? I already received state and got an email stating federal was accepted but it still says processing.
Confirm, it works! Go to Deductions and Credits and re-do it. Say No to deferral option.
Glad it worked for you, but I've checked "no" for deferrals and have re-checked the box several times. Nonetheless, TT keeps deferring payments. Frustrated.
"When you click Start or Update beside this section you may see a message that you do not qualify to defer the self-employment tax. If this is the case and you did enter a number during the error check process, then be aware that nothing is being calculated as part of your return as a deferral. "
This is not correct. I was already receiving a refund when the review decided I needed to enter a number on line 18. I entered the number, not realizing it was okay to enter 0, and it changed my refund to a larger amount. I go to this section and it tells me I do not qualify for the deferral since I am getting a refund, but my refund still includes this deferred amount. Now I cannot go back and change it to 0, as I do not want to defer any payments. What can I do?
Just FYI I deleted the zeros and left them blank as suggested by another user and it worked. Was able to move past this error code.
Try returning your tax return to a balance owed status by temporarily adding income to your self-employment activity. This should allow you to once again access the self-employment tax deferral questions.
In TurboTax Online Self-Employed, I was able to remove self-employment tax deferral and pass Review. Follow these steps.
The self-employment tax deferral is an optional benefit. It is also a deferral rather than forgiveness, so those amounts will eventually need to be repaid. Half of the deferred amount is due on December 31, 2021, and the other half is due on December 31, 2022.
@Bridgetown Thank you so much for your post. I was stuck in an infinite hell loop for probably an hour, trying to figure out what to do, since I had a negative income. There should definitely be an instruction note to leave it blank or it should just do it automatically if someone has no tax to defer. I will report it today. Once again, thank you for saving my sanity!
I followed your instructions. But nothing I do will make that number go away. I click no, there is still an amount next to the self-employment tax deferral.
Omg, thank you so much I was about to give up on this. I left line 18 - 22 blank and it works. OMG thank you so much I can relax now.
When I click "yes" that I want to defer payment it just tells me again that I'm not eligible.
You won't be able to update it through the interview if you are not eligible. In this case, assuming you do not want to (or can't) defer anything, you can enter a 0 on Line 18. Then if you get another error for the 0 the shows up elsewhere, you can delete the zero and leave it blank. That should allow you to e-file. @mngl