Why was the education tax break not claimable ....There were no net qualified education expenses

[KrisD15]

That means you have no excess education expenses. 

No expenses that were not paid for with some sort of aid, like scholarships and grants. 

If you had expenses in Box 1 on your 1098-T, did you have more in scholarships posted in Box 5? 

Did you use a distribution from a 529 account and get a 1099-Q?

Did you add things not bought through the school like books and supplies? 

Did you enter Room and Board (only if you have 1099-Q) ?

[EF27]

I am having the same problem, only a different result with different kids (I have two in college). For the first student, I entered $3000 in tuition, $2000 in scholarships and $300 in books. TT calculates only a $380 credit instead of the full $1300. For the second student, with similar numbers, it says they don't qualify! In my case, the amounts on the 1098T are not correct in terms of what I actually paid (one scholarship had not yet paid, so was not included in Box 5, making it appear that I had paid that amount even though I had not), so I had to enter tuition in the "what if I paid a different amount than Box 1" box. (No 529 account involved in any way.)

How do I fix this so that we get the correct credit? Do I just override the 1098T by putting in my numbers instead of the school's?

[EF27]

I fixed it. I had to zero out both students, save the return, and close TurboTax. Then, when I reopened it and reentered the students, it calculated it properly. Note, however, that as I was entering the second student, the refund calculator completely deleted the amounts for the first student, which worried me! But, after finishing the second student, it recalculated properly for both.

While I was able to fix this problem, it never should have happened! And, I've read of other issues with these credits. TurboTax needs to look at it to see where they can improve the process to prevent these errors, especially where the 1098 does not report the actual expenses. The instructions are very confusing! (And I minored in accounting (economics major) and worked as a corporate accountant for many years.)