Form 2255 Turbotax error

[dschreiberca]

On Form 2555 , line 18-column (e):

Using the physical presence test--If you returned to the USA for vacation ONLY from your work overseas and did not work at all in the USA-you should enter "0" in column Line 18 (e) representing "0" days worked in the USA

HOWEVER Turbotax 2019 requires you to enter a number between 1 and 365 and does not permit a "0" entry. As a result the foreign income exclusion amount  is reduced. in my case it's reduced by a few hundred dollars. This incorrect amount is carried through onto other schedules and ultimately increases my taxes owed

There seems to be no solution to this problem nor any way to overwrite the error.

It seems that i'll have to do my returns manually and mail them in? Since the federal return is attached with my California return, the error just propagates on through. I am trying to claim partial non c alifornia resident status 

Is this a bug/error in Turbotax

Can anyone help?

[KarenJ2]

You need to leave the US business days "blank".  Do not enter anything in that box.

[dschreiberca]

Thanks!

the IRS publication 54 for US citizens abroad says  that the federal return should be filed through their center in Austin Texas.

Do you happen to know if the e-file option in Turbotax allows you to choose a particular IRS office and if so how do i do that?

[KarenJ2]

Many expat returns have been e-filed.  From the information I found, e-filed returns do not go to the same service centers as mailed returns.  I am sure the IRS has a process for e-filed returns.and how to handle them.

Income Tax Return, eFile Statistics. The IRS has reported that as of December 2019, about 138,217,000 tax returns were e-Filed for Tax Year 2018.