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What does it mean to say "Sch SE-T Max deferral line 18 must be entered"?

I don't understand what line 18 means or why I need to fill it out, since I did not defer any tax payments.
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220 Replies

What does it mean to say "Sch SE-T Max deferral line 18 must be entered"?

I'm getting the same error as are a few others on the forums it appears. Really wish they had a "Report Bug" area.

HMVS
Level 1

What does it mean to say "Sch SE-T Max deferral line 18 must be entered"?

I have the same thing and it's holding up my filing. I paid for easy. They usually ask a question and I answer it. Plain English. I don't expect to have to understand every line on the return. And I don't want to spend hours on the internet trying to figure the answer out. Ugh. Frustrating! The email I sent them bounced back of course. 

What does it mean to say "Sch SE-T Max deferral line 18 must be entered"?

I'm getting the same error. I've always done taxes with TurboTax, never had the Schedule SE-T issue pop up before...and it wants me to put in what portion of pay was from March to Dec. 2020?? Crazy!

DawnC
Employee Tax Expert

What does it mean to say "Sch SE-T Max deferral line 18 must be entered"?

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.

 

If you do not qualify for this credit and want to remove the form so you can e-file, use the instructions below to delete the form.   @bengoiano    @HMVS  @TWDesigns

 

 It's OK to delete forms that you know don't apply to your return, or are duplicated or blank.  Here are the general procedures for deleting unwanted forms, schedules, and worksheets in TurboTax:

 

TurboTax Online

  1. Open your return in TurboTax. (To do this, sign in to TurboTax, and select the Take me to my return button.)
  2. In the left sidebar, select Tax ToolsTools.
  3. In the pop-up window Tool Center, choose to Delete a form.
  4. Select Delete next to the form/schedule/worksheet and follow the onscreen instructions.

 

Windows Instructions 

Switch to Forms mode.

  1. In the left pane, select the form you want to remove. (if you don't see it, click Open Form at the top).
  2. After the form is generated in the right pane, click the Delete Form button at the bottom of the window.
  3. Follow any on-screen instructions to remove the form or forms.

 

Mac Instructions

Switch to Forms mode.

  1. In the left pane, select the form you want to remove (if you don't see it, click Open Form at the top).
  2. From the Forms menu, select Remove [form name].
  3. Follow any on-screen instructions to remove the form or forms.
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What does it mean to say "Sch SE-T Max deferral line 18 must be entered"?

I looked it up on the IRS and they said you need to put in the proportion of your income from March27-December31 to estimate eligibility for deferral (but does not require you to defer). It's on the same form as the one required for self employment taxes, so you can't get rid of it entirely. After I deleted the forms, I went back, filled in the number in that line based on the approximate proportion suggested by the IRS, and it went through.

What does it mean to say "Sch SE-T Max deferral line 18 must be entered"?

Problem with this Dawn, is that when you re-check with a Smart Scan, it pops up automatically again.

What does it mean to say "Sch SE-T Max deferral line 18 must be entered"?

After I delete the form, it asks me for the information again and again it adds the deferral into my refund. I do not want the deferral. Even after I answer “no” the prompts asking if I’d like to defer, it is still giving it to me. How do I take it off and keep it off? Thank you 

What does it mean to say "Sch SE-T Max deferral line 18 must be entered"?

I got this too - I asked the TurboTax live and shared my screen. They said it was related to 1099-NEC forms and they were making updates to the program, they should be done on Friday or Saturday. They suggested I go back in then to review and update. Super annoying. 

What does it mean to say "Sch SE-T Max deferral line 18 must be entered"?

this has been happening to me too. I have been close to ripping my hair out trying to figure it out. I do not want to defer, and the only solution I've found is to put 0 on line 18, however I really don't want to put that because it makes me feel really uneasy to put something that isn't true to the government. I guess if they say it's a bug I will wait until they fix it... 

What does it mean to say "Sch SE-T Max deferral line 18 must be entered"?

@dialfaceI'm glad you had luck with the support team. The individual I spoke to asked me the same question like 90 times. I tried to explain to them that all i wanted to do was report a possible bug since the review button sends you to the actual IRS form which defeats the purpose of people using TurboTax.

 

I ended up tagging TurboTax on twitter and asking them to make a "Report Bug" section so these things can be found faster and fixed.

 

Thanks for letting us know!

What does it mean to say "Sch SE-T Max deferral line 18 must be entered"?

Just spent over an hour with TurboTax on the phone, and it took them that long to tell me to delete the Sch SE-S form, and when the form was just regenerated upon review (as a previous poster indicated would happen), I was told I likely had a problem with my account and was transferred to a “live tax advisor” which charged a fee (which I didn’t do). Anyone know if this issue will be addressed?

 

of note, my error was SE-S, not SE-T

 

”Sch SE-S: Max deferral line 18 must be entered.”

 

What does it mean to say "Sch SE-T Max deferral line 18 must be entered"?

@TWDesigns  Yeah it took a bit to explain what was actually happening. Good idea to tag them on twitter! I hope they fix it ASAP, so annoying to be taken to the actual form like that! I hope they respond. 

What does it mean to say "Sch SE-T Max deferral line 18 must be entered"?

This was helpful for me:

To illustrate, let's assume that Etan's net earnings from self-employment are $50,000 and he reasonably allocates 77%, or $38,500 to the deferral period. His maximum deferral amount is therefore $2,204 ($38,500 × 0.9235 × 0.062). Here, the 6.2% represents one-half of the social security portion (12.4%) of SE tax.

 

Found here https://www.thetaxinstitute.com/insights/tax-in-the-news/setax-deferral-cares-qotw/#:~:text=To%20ill....

What does it mean to say "Sch SE-T Max deferral line 18 must be entered"?

yea, but the point is that none of us want to defer, we want to opt out. We'd rather pay now than have to come back to pay this next year

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