diff --git a/loopx/control_plane/quota/settlement_readback.ts b/loopx/control_plane/quota/settlement_readback.ts
index 373b76ba1..22b7b2e5b 100644
--- a/loopx/control_plane/quota/settlement_readback.ts
+++ b/loopx/control_plane/quota/settlement_readback.ts
@@ -622,16 +622,35 @@ function resolveIdentity(
     // act on. The state also gets its own failure kind, so a consumer can branch
     // on the missing binding without reading details.binding_kind: the receipt
     // exists and is well-formed here, which is not what identity_mismatch means.
+    //
+    // A Turn whose explicit choice the guard already deferred is a different
+    // state with a different repair: rebinding through `--todo-id` re-enters the
+    // same preemption and defers again, while the guard's argument-less reentry
+    // binds the preemption it is actually holding. Naming the wrong command
+    // costs the caller a turn, so the repair is chosen from the retained
+    // selection the guard recorded.
+    const deferredSelectionTodoId = normalizeTodoId(
+      receiptDetails.pending_action_selection_todo_id,
+    );
+    const repair = deferredSelectionTodoId === null
+      ? "rebind it through the guard's same-turn reconciliation, then settle: " +
+        "quota should-run --turn-instance-id " +
+        `${turnInstanceId} --todo-id ${identity.todo_id ?? "<todo_id>"}`
+      : "the guard deferred this turn's explicit selection instead of binding " +
+        "it, so rerun the guard for the same turn without --todo-id (which " +
+        "binds the preemption it is holding), then settle with the identity it " +
+        `returns: quota should-run --turn-instance-id ${turnInstanceId}`;
     return failedIdentity(
       "the quota should-run receipt for this turn carries no settlement binding " +
-        `yet (turn_instance_id ${turnInstanceId}); rebind it through the guard's ` +
-        "same-turn reconciliation, then settle: quota should-run --turn-instance-id " +
-        `${turnInstanceId} --todo-id ${identity.todo_id ?? "<todo_id>"}`,
+        `yet (turn_instance_id ${turnInstanceId}); ${repair}`,
       "receipt_unbound",
       {
         binding_kind: "unbound",
         requested_binding_kind: identity.binding_kind,
         turn_instance_id: turnInstanceId,
+        ...(deferredSelectionTodoId === null
+          ? {}
+          : { deferred_selection_todo_id: deferredSelectionTodoId }),
       },
     );
   }
diff --git a/tests/control_plane_ts/quota_settlement_readback.test.ts b/tests/control_plane_ts/quota_settlement_readback.test.ts
index f639b155f..1a2bf1b2e 100644
--- a/tests/control_plane_ts/quota_settlement_readback.test.ts
+++ b/tests/control_plane_ts/quota_settlement_readback.test.ts
@@ -63,6 +63,12 @@ async function fixture(options: {
    * turn but carries no settlement binding.
    */
   guardUnbound?: boolean;
+  /**
+   * Commit the guard's own deferred explicit selection for this Turn: the
+   * receipt retains the chosen Todo but still carries no settlement binding,
+   * because the guard bound the preemption only on argument-less reentry.
+   */
+  guardDeferred?: boolean;
   writeback?: boolean;
   spend?: boolean;
   completion?: boolean;
@@ -106,6 +112,25 @@ async function fixture(options: {
       },
     }];
   const runs: Record<string, unknown>[] = [];
+  if (options.guardDeferred) {
+    events.push({
+      schema_version: "loopx_rollout_event_v0",
+      event_id: "event-guard-deferred",
+      event_kind: "quota_should_run",
+      goal_id: goalId,
+      agent_id: agentId,
+      run_id: turnId,
+      status: "action_selection_deferred",
+      details: {
+        pending_action_selection_todo_id: todoId,
+        pending_action_selection_state: "deferred",
+        pending_action_selection_reason: "autonomous_replan",
+        settlement_effect_id: "",
+        todo_id: "",
+        replan_obligation_id: "",
+      },
+    });
+  }
   if (options.writeback) {
     events.push({
       schema_version: "loopx_rollout_event_v0",
@@ -388,6 +413,40 @@ test("names the unbound same-turn receipt and the repair instead of a mismatch",
   });
 });
 
+test("names the argument-less guard reentry for a deferred explicit selection", async () => {
+  // A deferred explicit selection is also identity-less, but its repair is not
+  // "rebind with --todo-id": that re-enters the same preemption and defers
+  // again, which is how a caller ends up looping instead of settling. The
+  // retained selection tells the two unbound states apart, so the refusal can
+  // name the reentry that actually binds the preemption.
+  const runtimeRoot = await fixture({ guardUnbound: true, guardDeferred: true });
+
+  const result = await readQuotaSettlement(request(runtimeRoot));
+
+  const failure = (result.settlement as any).result.failure;
+  // Both unbound states share the receipt's own failure kind; the deferred
+  // selection is told apart by the repair text and the retained selection.
+  assert.equal(failure.kind, "receipt_unbound");
+  assert.match(failure.reason, /carries no settlement binding yet/);
+  assert.match(
+    failure.reason,
+    new RegExp(
+      `quota should-run --turn-instance-id ${turnId}(?! --todo-id)`,
+    ),
+  );
+  assert.match(failure.reason, /without --todo-id/);
+  assert.doesNotMatch(
+    failure.reason,
+    new RegExp(`--todo-id ${todoId}`),
+  );
+  assert.deepEqual(failure.details, {
+    binding_kind: "unbound",
+    requested_binding_kind: "todo",
+    turn_instance_id: turnId,
+    deferred_selection_todo_id: todoId,
+  });
+});
+
 test("still reports a receipt bound to another work item as a mismatch", async () => {
   // The unbound state must not swallow the case where the receipt was bound and
   // the caller asked for something else: that is a real conflict, and its repair