Error: Line 18a on Form 1120-S

[flyinhigh]

When I run the error check, in TT Business, for my S-Corp, it says Line 18a (Employee Benefit Programs, Gross) on Form 1120S must have a value (it's blank).  I *think* the value that goes on Line 18a is supposed to be Health Insurance Premiums paid by the employer.  When I check the Federal Taxes > Deductions page, I see $0 for Insurance, health and other benefit.   When I click Update under Compensation and Benefits > Insurance, health and other benefits, I see that I have entered the amount (about $5,000) paid for medical insurance for Officers (>2% owners), but it still shows $0 on the Deductions page after I press Continue. 

How do I get the correct value to appear on Line 18a?

[slowreader]

I use Schedule C for my business income/expenses. Part II is Expenses, and Line 15 is Insurance, with a separate entry below it for Self-employed Health Insurance, where I have entered $4,256, which is the total of what was deducted for Medicare through my Social Security income plus the cash cost of Medicare Advantage prescription coverage. I assume that an S-corp would be much the same.

Good luck!

[PatriciaV]

Form 1120S Line 18 reports Employee Benefits paid for employees other than Officer/Shareholders. On the page "Enter Insurance and Other Benefits," the column for "All Other Employees" would be included on Line 18.

Read more about this by right-clicking the box for Line A in the Employee Benefit Programs Smart Worksheet above Line 18 on Form 1120S p1-2. Choose "About line 18A" for additional guidance.

[flyinhigh]

Thank you for the helpful reply, Patricia.  I did not know there was an 'about' feature for each field.  

The 'About Line 18a' reads "... if Form 8941, Credit for Small Employer Health Insurance Premiums, is used. This amount, net of any credit on lines B and C of the worksheet will flow to line 18 of the return."

I did fill out the information for the credit in Form 8941, but the amount was 0.  So, to resolve the error, I guess I should just enter 0 in Line 18a (even though Line 18 in the worksheet already shows 0).  

Does that sound right?  I'm not sure why this ended up as an error.  My best guess is I tried to qualify for the credit, but didn't, so it caused a problem.

[PatriciaV]

Yes, if the value should be zero and an empty field is causing a form error, go ahead and enter a zero for that field.