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

[Ihatethisthing]

While workarounds are "great", they are not the correct thing TT should be telling us to do. TT needs to fix this so that people paying for their software do not have to A) do a workaround solution, and B) stress whether or not adding extra income, then deleting it, then praying nothing got messed up when sending it to the IRS, then stressing whether or not some IRS agent sees something off and says: "I GOT YOU. AUDIT."

Please no more: do this to defer your tax. Just FIX IT so that when we go through the questions and enter our data, your system correctly inputs it. 

[Nhimebaugh]

Exactly I went to a tax person for two reasons one they actually put somthinf there they told me you can't delete the form of you get audited that form has to be there. Another reason is turbo tax cant efile self employment form 7202. Disappointing 

[Ihatethisthing]

Why did it cost $500 with your tax professional you saw @Nhimebaugh?  

Are they really that expensive? This is the first time I am self employed and filing. All my other years of using TT (at least 15 years) I have never had an issue. I sure don't want to pay $500.  I do not have a lot of expenses or claims and I did not make a lot since I started the business in October. 

This is a nightmare. But if they do not fix it this week, and by fix - I mean go ahead and enter your info as is and that's it...  I am going to H&R Block and never returning. 

[Terrijo2021]

My suggestion is if you want to pay what you owe . When you get your info from the IRS pay it right away . If the extra is added to your refund save it and pay it when you get your notice you don’t have to wait until next year . This is what I’m going to do pay what I owe but for now I don’t see a way around it . If you want to file your taxes . Deleting the schedules and putting zero is going to flag your return and delay it . Just my thoughts . 

[KZHunt]

This was the tip I needed to get the portion of IRS.gov that refers to this.  For everyone else see:

Deferral of employment tax deposits and payments through December 31, 2020 

See # 24

How can a self-employed individual determine 50 percent of the Social Security portion of self-employment tax attributable to net earnings from self-employment earned during March 27, 2020 through December 31, 2020? (added July 30, 2020)

Self-employed individuals may use any reasonable method to allocate 50 percent of the Social Security portion of self-employment tax attributable to net earnings from self-employment earned during March 27, 2020, through December 31, 2020. For example, an individual may allocate 22.5% of the individual's annual earnings from self-employment to the period from January 1, 2020, through March 26, 2020, and 77.5% of the individual's annual earnings to the period from March 27, 2020, through December 31, 2020. Similarly, an individual may use any reasonable method in applying the Social Security wage base or taking into account partnership income in determining the portion of 50 percent of the Social Security portion of self-employment tax attributable to net earnings from self-employment for the period from March 27, 2020, through December 31, 2020.

[mhflyby]

Hello, I have this issue too

I have put in the nummber on line 18

But I cant seem to find the form section you mentioned to change the bottom line on 1040

[Terrijo2021]

Can someone tell me how to look at forms so I can read exactly what the schedule SE says before I efile ? Does it allow you to actually look at forms before you file ? 

[JohnW152]

Viewing forms in TurboTax Online is a fairly straightforward procedure.  Please see the TurboTax Help article How do I view and delete forms in TurboTax Online? for more guidance. 

As far as the Line 18 entry, you're asked to make a calculation of the portion of the net profit or loss that you reported on Line 3 of Schedule SE that was made between March 27, 2020 and December 31, 2020.

The instructions for Line 18 in the IRS's 2020 Instructions for Schedule SE are vague, but they allow you to use any reasonable method to determine this figure:

Use any reasonable method to divide the net profit or (loss) you reported on line 3 between (a) January 1, 2020, through March 26, 2020, and (b) March 27, 2020, through December 31, 2020. A reasonable method will accurately reflect the time when income was earned or accrued and deductible expenses were paid or incurred, depending on your method of accounting. In most cases, a proportional division of the amount reported on line 3 based upon the number of days in each period will be considered reasonable.

EXAMPLE:  Say your Schedule SE Line 3 amount was $12,000.  March 27 to December 31 is 280 days.  280 days divided by 366 days (2020 was a leap year) is 0.765.  $12,000 multiplied by 0.765 equals $9,180. 

[gm9928]

This worked for me!  I deleted Sch SE-T and then was able to sail through the review and E-File!  Deleting the Sch SE-T did not change my refund amount. 

[TLC10]

thank you!

[nightmares55]

Want to know how i fixed it! I used a different Tax Service. No issues what so ever. I've been a loyal TT customer for 7years and this year was a nightmare. 

[JustJoshin]

So, To Whom It May Concern...

I went back and entered the amount I KNOW I made in income between March and December 2020, sans deductions (so NET income).. and suddenly it cleared up!   It was an amount I found in my Wages & Income section, under Business Items ---> Business Income and Expenses (Sch C).

I was kinda guessing, because it made sense in context (though I am -not- a CPA), and it SEEMS to have "fixed" things to be able to file.

But...now I'm concerned.  I thought I'd be able to re-enter that number.  I just wanted to see what the program's response would be... 

....did I muck it up? x.x 

It seemed more honest than entering a random $100k just to "make it work", so I dunno... 


@JohnW152 

I'd love to "Ask an Expert", but I really don't have $50 to blow on a question the majority of responses here in the forums seem unable to answer clearly, with all due respect, so I'm just wondering if this was a legitimate "solution".

Thanks in advance!

[bwarne]

mine is doing the same exact thing, but I'm on the desktop version ergo no cache to clear unless you're an engineer.

[zzani99]

I just filed mine on Feb 12 abd I did have that issue with line 18. I talked to turbo tax live person and shared my screen with her. She had no idea what I was talking about at first but after the reading if I want to defer my income tax??,she said to just put 0. This is a new form this year and I don't think Turbo tax knows very well either:( Anyways, i didnt want and wasnt eligible for tax deferral so I went ahead and put 0. Everything went through and my return got accepted this morning(Feb 13). 

[Ihatethisthing]

THANK YOU for posting this! Thank you for specifying that you put a 0 in there and that your return was ACCEPTED.  

THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU!