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

[pbennet]

Can we just put "0" in that box and defer nothing?

[Valmore]

After you follow the steps to delete the form, click continue at the bottom.  Then click file on the left panel.  That should take you from around it. 

[kdog6282]

Even after you delete SCH SE Form and hit File, still asks you same question before finalizing everything. Frustrating. Hopefully this 'fix' to be done this weekend works. 

[nightmares55]

So, if we're not eligible for deferral do we put zero? This is where i'm at a loss. 

[Terrijo2021]

Okay after working on this for a couple of days no reading it over and over I got it . Line 3 has your income for the year. Line 18 is asking you how much of line 3 is income made by you between March 27, 2020 and Dec 2020 . I made my calculation by dividing it by 9 and remembering that 2 months of that I was closed due to COVID. I came up with dollar amount entered it and it didn’t change my refund at all. Hope this helps someone. I don’t think the answer is putting nothing nor deleting the schedule form because it will pop back up. 

[adamclerman]

Line 18 on Schedule SE-T says to enter the portion of your income stated in Line 3 that was earned between March 27, 2020 and December 31, 2020.  For me, that was almost everything.  By putting that number in the field, though, it then populates Line 12e on Schedule 3 ("Deferral for certain Schedule H or SE filers") and forces me to take that deferral, lowering the 'Federal Tax Due' amount.  However, I don't want to defer, I want to pay everything I owe now.  But putting "0" in Line 18 is misleading, as that would be stating that I made all of my income before March 27 which was not the case.  Is deleting the form a legitimate way around it, though, as it's a "Self-Employment Tax" form and I don't want to file incorrectly?  Any luck from TurboTax anyone?  I guess I'll just have to wait to file my taxes until there's a definitive answer on how to handle this?  I'm not an accountant and would think it's TurboTax's responsibility to take care of this "behind the scenes" kind of stuff.

[adamclerman]

Looking a little further and thinking about it a little more, it seems reasonable that I would be required to enter the amount on Line 18 of Schedule SE-T and that it would then get populated to Schedule 3 Line 12e...however, when I click the magnifying glass on Schedule 3 Line 12e, it opens the1040/1040SR Worksheet and in Schedule 3 Part II of this worksheet, Line 11 in the "Deferral for Certain Schedule H or SE Filers Smart Worksheet" box states how much I CHOOSE to defer.  It is this field that I think should be editable and I should be able to make it 0 (the number in the this field populates into Form 1040 Line 31 which is the actual form that gets sent to the IRS (I think the worksheet is just for making calculations)).

SO I think the bug lies in that I can't remove the deferral amount...TurboTax is forcing me to take the full deferral amount whereas I'd rather make it 0 and pay now.  I need to be able to edit Line 31 of the 1040 and/or Line 11 of Schedule 3 Part II of the1040/1040SR Worksheet.  I assume TurboTax needs to fix/update the software so hopefully they get word of this and do so!

[adamclerman]

One more post, sorry to be annoying.  I somehow was now able to remove the auto-populated number from Line 11 of Schedule 3 Part II of the1040/1040SR Worksheet.  That then blanked out the number in Line 31 of my 1040 but kept the number I entered on Line 18 of the Schedule SE-T form and it added the money back to my 'Federal Tax Due'.  So I should be good to go now.

SO I think that's the solution...determine how much of your income was earned after March 27 (using "any reasonable method") and enter it into Line 18 .  Open the 1040/1040 SR Worksheet (by clicking View > Forms) and put a '0' in Line 11 Schedule 3 Part II.  It looks like the tax forms should then be correct and you'll pay the full amount now rather than deferring.

Good luck!

[boose9808]

Does this mean I should just enter 0 in?  This is so confusing to me, I want to pay everything I owe now and not later

[SouthShore67]

I appreciate this idea that you could change the amount you CHOOSE to defer using the forms  (Line 11 of Schedule 3 Part II of the1040/1040SR Worksheet) but to do that I'd have to switch from the online version to the desktop version, and then I have to pay extra for state e-filing... sigh.

[SouthShore67]

Is it worth it to try to talk to a specialist about this or just wait til they fix it? :( Please fix this bug quick Turbo Tax!

[LJH0914]

So my business was also affected by Covid however I didn't work from 3/27-12/31...I only collected unemployment. So should I put the total amount of unemployment received during that time? 

[caseyrubin97]

no, you only put a portion of whatever was on line 3, which is from self-employment. this doesn't include unemployment. this form is for the self employment tax deferral. if you didnt make anything from march 27 to december, put 0.

[nightmares55]

Ok, but what is a portion? How are we suppose to calculate this? Divide my income from March to December by 9? I am considered "essential" so i never stopped working. 

[caseyrubin97]

theres a number on line 3, and whatever portion of that you made from March 27 to the end of December, in any reasonable way, you calculate  write that on line 18, and this form essentially calculates for you how much can be deferred to later tax seasons. you can probably take like 75% of what you made, thats reasonable because march - december is 3/4 of the year. personally, i think its better to just pay it now if you have the money so its not added to your tax bill in subsequent years, but thats up to you. thats what we are all talking about... theres some bug with the system because you're not supposed to HAVE to defer, only if you want to.