Why do I get "Sch SE-T: Max deferral line 18 is too large"? I have "0". My line 4c is a loss (negative). I cannot get past this error!

[daveh20]

Lines 2, 3, 4a and 4c are all negative.  I don't want to defer anything (I don't have any to defer), I just want to put "0" and move on.

[CatinaT1]

To get past this screen so you can file your taxes, you need to update Schedule SE-T. 

  

The process: delete Sch SE-T, take a quick run through of the self-employment to recalculate Sch SE-T, and then turn off the Max Deferral. 

  

To do this in TurboTax, follow these steps: 

  

First, delete Sch SE-T that applies by following these steps: 

1. From the left menu, select Tax Tools. 

2. Select Tools. 

3. Scroll to Delete a Form. 

4. Scroll to Sch SE-T, select Delete, confirm the deletion. 

Next, to replace Sch SE-T, return to the self-employment income & expenses interview in the Income & Expenses section and select Edit/Add. 

1. Select Edit for your business. 

2. Scroll down to Done so that the Sch SE is recalculated.  

3. Finish any other questions in the self-employment interview and click Continue.  

Lastly, revisit the section for the Self-employment tax deferral entry: 

1. Return to the Deductions & Credits section. 

2. Scroll to Tax relief related to COVID-19 and Show More. 

3. Select Self-employment tax deferral and select Revisit. 

4. Answer Yes at the next screen to get back to Let's start by getting your eligible income. 

   1. If you do not want to defer any self-employment income, "Enter your eligible self-employment income" should be blank. 

      1. Select Continue. 

   2. At Tell us how much you'd like to defer, "Enter amount" should be blank. 

      1. Select Continue. 

5. Scroll down and select Wrap up Tax Breaks and Continue. 

6. Run through the Federal Review again. 

[daveh20]

Thank you for the info.  I did the  Deductions & Credits portion and I got this error.

It looks like you're not eligible for this deferral.

Since you're getting a refund this year, you're not eligible to defer the Social Security portion of your self-employment tax.  If you haven't finished entering all your info, keep going and we'll double-check this again before you file and let you know if your eligibility has changed.

The Federal Review step still gets hung up on the negative amount on Sch SE-T. 

At this point, its a few hundred dollars in losses and not a huge deal and I may just throw out the loss since I am still getting refund.  But it seems like a bug if it won't let you have 0 in this Line 18 even if the loss is negative.

[KathrynG3 · Accepted solution]

Try entering nothing at all if the system will not allow you to enter 0.

Run the review again.

This issue is happening because you were initially eligible to defer self-employment tax due to a tax balance due, but are no longer eligible due to being eligible for a refund.

If this does not clear the error, try:

1. Delete the Sch SE that applies--(Sch SE-T is for Taxpayer, Sch SE-S for Spouse)--by following these steps:
   1. From the left menu, select Tax Tools.
   2. Select Tools.
   3. Scroll to Delete a Form.
   4. Scroll to Sch SE-T and/or Sch SE-S and select Delete.
2. Return to the self-employment income & expenses interview in the Income & Expenses section and select Edit/Add.
   1. Select Edit for your business.
   2. Scroll down to Done so that the Sch SE is recalculated. 
   3. Finish any other questions in the self-employment interview and click Continue.
3. Review the return again.

If this does not clear the error, then click this link for more information: 

Workaround for Sch SE-T error for deferring Self-Employment Taxes.

[daveh20]

During the Review step, setting the value to "blank" (in the form's box) appeared to get me passed the issue. Thank you.

[DKStockman]

Thank you so much for this. I was going crazy trying to get past this step. Deleting the form and going back to say I don't want to defer fixed it! Federal forms filed. 😁