My 1099-INT has nothing entered in box 15 and box 16, but has "$.00" entered in box 17. Why does your software require me to manually delete the "$.00" which is printed?

Yes, you can leave boxes 15, 16 and 17 blank if no state tax was withheld, but if you fill one of them, the program will ask you to fill in the rest.

To delete the entries in all three boxes:

1. Select Federal on the left side menu, then Wages & Income.
2. Click Edit/ Add to the right of Investments and Savings (1099-B, 1099-INT, 1099-DIV, 1099-K, Crypto).
3. To the right of the interest entry, click the down arrow to expand it.
4. Click Edit at the bottom of your interest entry. 
5. Scroll down to the state tax information. If box 17 is blank on your 1099-INT, delete the entries for boxes 15, 16 and 17. 
6. Click Continue to save the change. 
7. Click Review and let the program check your return again.