What is Maximum Deferral of Self-Employment Tax Payments line 18? I have a 0 in that line, but keep getting an error that says it's too large.

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. 

 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 Tools> Tools.
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.

Thanks for the reply!  Before I deleted the form, I tried it entering the zero one more time, and it worked!  Not sure if an update was made or what, but I tried it at least 4 times previously.

Thanks again!

I just filed my taxes through the Intuit website and noticed this deferral on my return. Can you tell me when the deferral period ends and when I will be expected to pay this amount? 

The deferral period ended December 31, 2020.  You have until December 31, 2021 to repay 50% of any deferred amount with the remainder required to be repaid by  December 31 2022. 

CARES Act Deferral of Self-Employment Taxes

Well perhaps it would have been better to enter 0 for the deferral...

Is is possible to amend my return after I've submitted it so that the deferment can be removed? 

Or if amending a return is not a simple process, what is the process of submitting payment for a deferral?

At present, because of the recently enacted legislation that affects the tax return, the actual desired process may not be in print yet.

My advice would be to amend the return before the filing deadline to change the answer to this question and defer the tax payment. Currently, the amended return is scheduled or release on February 18th.

DO NOT amend the return before your original return e-filed is fully accepted and processed. And now we can actually file amendments through e-file for a smoother and faster.

• Amending a tax return using e-file starts here.

If you would like you can contact the IRS at 800-829-1040 (early or late is best):

• (January - April)  800-829-1040
  • Telephone service wait times can average 15 minutes. Some telephone service lines may have longer wait times.
  • Telephone service wait times are higher on Monday and Tuesday, during Presidents Day weekend and around the April tax filing deadline.
  • Customer service representatives are available Monday through Friday, 7 am. to 7 pm. local time, unless otherwise noted.

Continue to watch for IRS updated information on this topic.

If I delete the form as mentioned in this thread, it would imply deleting the Self Employment Tax form (of which the deferral portion is an element). 

Is there any way to correct this, as I don't think it's appropriate to delete the entire form (as I am self-employed?

Thanks.

I think I figured it out. 

In lieu of entering "0" as suggested, you have to enter "0." (include the decimal point).

Seemed to work then -- at least for me.

I have tried everything I can think of and it will not get rid of this error.  I do NOT want to defer Self-employment tax and it tells me "0.00" is too large.  Nothing will fix it and it won't let me file.

After multiple attempts I entered a blank and it seemed to work.  This is a nuisance! (And the whole deferral idea was a ridiculous one anyway from the prior administration.)

Glad this was able to work for you.

IRS form 7202 Credits for Sick Leave and Family Leave for Certain Self-Employed Individuals will allow some taxpayers to report these new tax credits:

• Credit for Sick Leave for Certain Self-Employed Individuals. If you are self-employed, you may be eligible for a refundable tax credit equivalent to a qualified sick leave amount. Qualified sick leave is based on your average daily self-employment income.
• Credit for Family Leave for Certain Self-Employed Individuals. If you are self-employed you may be eligible for a refundable tax credit equal to 100 percent of a qualified family leave equivalent amount for eligible self-employed individuals. 

See also here.

When do you think this will be fixed across all platforms?  I use the TurboTax Home and Business standalone product.  There were updates today, but I cannot get any of these fields to accept a zero.  I do not need tax deferment. Thank you!

Are you able to go to Forms mode and override the dollar amount?  If not, try these steps in the Step-by-Step mode. 

• Across the top of the screen, click on Personal.
• Across the top of the screen, click on Deductions  & credits.
• At the screen How do you want to enter your deductions and credits? click on I'll choose what I work on.
• Under Your 2020 Deductions & Credits, scroll down to Tax relief related to COVID-19.
• Click on Start / Update to the right of Self-employment tax deferral.
• At the screen Do you want more time to pay your self-employment tax?, click Yes.
• At the screen Let's start by getting your eligible income, I have left the dollar amount that was previously entered, others change this amount to $0.
• Click on Continue.
• At the screen Tell us how much you'd like to defer, change the dollar amount to $0.
• Click Continue.
• Scroll down and click Done with Deductions.
• Click through Federal Review to make sure than the Review issue has been removed.
• At the screen Some of your self-employment taxes may be eligible, click Skip.

Unfortunately, these instructions do not work for me.  I am getting a refund so wouldn't have to defer anything.  It doesn't allow me to get through the Smart Check because of this issue.  Any other suggestions?

I am also stuck at this point, I do not want the deferral but even if I put in a 0, a0. or nothing at all on line 11, I keep getting the message that it is an error, the amount is too big.  this is clearly a bug with turbotax.  How to erase the deferral form without erasing all of the 1040/1040SR worksheet (which is where the error is flagged?)

this did not work.  it was still flagged as an error.  Why click Yes, when I do not want the deferral anyway?

You can elect not to defer self-employment taxes by:

1. Login to Turbo Tax.
2. Jump to Business tab, then click Business taxes..
3. Click Self-employment taxes, then continue.
4. The screen "Some of your self-employment taxes may be eligible for deferral" click continue.
5. Answer Yes on "Did you want more time to pay your self-employment taxes? 
6. On the next screen, enter the net self-employment income you earned from March 27, 2020 through December 31, 2020, or if you received steady self-employment income throughout the year, enter 76.5% of self-employment income.
7. The next screen will show how much self-employment taxes you may defer, enter zero.

You may also elect to defer the full amount by 12/31/2021 or pay half and pay the rest by 21/31/2022.:

1. Login to Turbo Tax.
2. Jump to Business tab, then click Business taxes..
3. Click Self-employment taxes, then continue.
4. The screen "Some of your self-employment taxes may be eligible for deferral" click continue.
5. Answer Yes on "Did you want more time to pay your self-employment taxes?".
6. Next screen, enter the net self-employment income you earned from March 27, 2020 through December 31, 2020, or if you received steady self-employment income throughout the year, enter 76.5% of self-employment income.
7. The next screen will show how much self-employment taxes you may defer, click continue.
8. The next screen will say "okay, you're all set up", an itemized payment schedule will appear.You're deferring and $ amount of your self-employment social security tax.

• $ is due on or before 12/31/2021.
• $ is due on or before 12/31/2022.
• ​​​​​​​

Finally got this issue resolved by following the instructions in this thread.  

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/taxes/discussion/re-what-does-it-mean-to-say-sch-se-t-max-deferral-line-18-must-be-entered/01/1897105#M679403

When I click YES, I get the prompt I'm not eligible for the deferral because I'm getting a refund. It still does not work. I've tried adding 0 or 0. or blank - still have the same issue. Help please. Thanks!

If you are getting a refund on your taxes, you are not eligible to defer your self-employment tax. You can't defer tax amounts that you have already been paid. 

Per the IRS, a taxpayer who has deferred his or her payment of the employer's share of Social Security tax or 50% of the Social Security tax on net earnings from self-employment under section 2302 of the CARES Act is not eligible for a refund due to the deferral because the deferral amount is a deferral of payment, not a deferral of liability. 

For more information, please see Deferral of employment tax deposits and payments through December 31, 2020.

@pa55

Follow the directions from this link and it should clear out the offending information that keeps giving you errors.  If you go through the program like I do, and skip around, it fills in some fields that need to be cleared.  I tried several solutions to clear them and this was the only one that worked.  

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/taxes/discussion/re-what-does-it-mean-to-say-sch-se-t-max-deferral-line-18-must-be-entered/01/1897105#M679403

Hope it helps!

If you are getting a refund on your taxes or had a loss on your Schedule C, you are not eligible to defer your self-employment tax. You can't defer tax amounts that you have already been paid or are not due.

Per the IRS, a taxpayer who has deferred his or her payment of the employer's share of Social Security tax or 50% of the Social Security tax on net earnings from self-employment under section 2302 of the CARES Act is not eligible for a refund due to the deferral because the deferral amount is a deferral of payment, not a deferral of liability. 

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

@mamwam

my client is getting a refund so should not be able to defer any social security taxes.  I cannot delete the deferral though.  I do not want the deferral