How to resolve diagnostic 54276 in Lacerte

If you're receiving this diagnostic:

Form 1040-X: The Original Amount and Correct Amount for the following items cannot be negative for e-file purposes: Qualified Business Income Deduction and Earned Income Credit.

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This diagnostic appears when either the Qualified Business Income Deduction (QBID) or the Earned Income Credit (EIC) is entered as a negative number in either the Original Amount or Correct Amount fields on Form 1040-X.

IRS e-file rules do not allow negative amounts in these fields. Even if the taxpayer is not eligible for a deduction or credit, the correct value should be entered as zero, not a negative.

Follow these steps to resolve:

1. Open Form 1040-X in the return.
2. Review the entries under both the Original Amount and Correct Amount columns for:
   • Qualified Business Income Deduction
   • Earned Income Credit
3. Make sure that both amounts are zero or positive.
   If a value is showing as negative:
   • Replace it with 0 if the taxpayer was not eligible.
   • Enter the correct positive amount if the taxpayer qualified for the deduction or credit.
4. If needed, navigate to the Amended Return input screen to adjust the values directly.
5. Recalculate the return and confirm that Diagnostic 54276 is cleared.

This diagnostic will prevent electronic filing until it is corrected. Once resolved, you should be able to e-file the amended return without issue.