American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC)--why did TT not pick this up?

[TTfailedme]

Just got a letter from IRS.  Says I claimed AOTC for more than 4 years.  Went back and checked and yes, 2024 would make 5.  I have used TTax for the last 20 years.  Why would TTax not know that this was year 5?  Now I need to amend the return and not sure how to remove that credit.  Any advice is appreciated.

[Hal_Al]

The interview asks you how many times you have claimed the AOTC, in the past, for the student.  If you  used TT  the previous year, TT should prepopulate the answer to the question. But, you still need to verify the number of times and correct it, if needed.  

[TTfailedme]

I am using TT Premier.  I went back and checked each previous years electronic .pdf copy and we had already used AOTC in 2020-2024.  I agree Turbo Tax should have picked up that I had already used AOTC in the 4 previous years, but it did not.  Nor did/does TT give me a place to verify the number of years AOTC was used when I used Step by step.  TT did not give me a place to check when I did step by step the first-time creating the original filed return, nor does it now when I try to amend the return.  I note that in forms view on the filed return the 8863 line 23 has an X in it.  I cannot figure out how to change that.      In trying to do an amended return, when I go through the credit section using step by step I don't get asked has AOTC been used 4 times previously.  In fact, when I hit continue the Turbo Tax's screen still shows my daughter qualifies for AOTC.  Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.  I have spent hours on this.

[Hal_Al]

Go through the entire education interview until you reach a screen titled "Your Education Expenses Summary".  Click edit next to the student's name. That should take you to a screen “Here’s your Education Summary”. Click edit next to “Education Information”.  It's usually at the beginning and re-appears at the end. 

The 5th screen in will be "Did (student's name) ever receive the American Opportunity or Hope Credit". If you click yes, you get a pop up, enter the number of prior years you got the credits. There are  separate boxes for AOC and Hope (the Hope credit expired many years ago, so most people leave that blank or enter 0). 

[TTfailedme]

IMO, Turbo tax does not make entering the education data easy.  Each year it's a struggle and TT should have known I had claimed the credit for 4 years.  Heck, I have been using TT since it was a MS-DOS program.  Following your instructions I found the screen.  It says "Had (Child) earned four years of college Credit before 2024?" but then underneath said "This usually means (child) had a bachelor's degree before 2024".   My child did not have a degree, so I selected No.  Today I even verified with my wife that no, my child got her degree in 2024.  Then as I sat back down at the computer, I realized TT was asking about earned four years of "credit."  Once I correctly selected yes, TT then asked the questions related to AOTC.  But even then, TT did not know the number of years I had claimed the credit.  I had to enter manually.  This could have been so much easier.     Better yet, TT should have known we had claimed the credit.  Don't even get me started on the "Choose a lager education credit screen" Why would TT not select the best result?  If I make changes trial changes as suggested, are my returns correct?  Why use the program year after year if it is not going to help me keep track of credits like and make doing taxes easier?   Better yet, why the heck does the federal government make our taxes so difficult?  The young Americans I work with these days are totally disgusted by our tax system, the complication, and the waste.  As a senior, I too am finding each year it gets harder and harder. 

Thanks for all your help!