Non-refundable credit means the credit can lower your tax liability possibly to zero, but at that point it stops. This means AT THE MOST it might zero out your tax, however it might not get your tax down that low, it depends. BUT if it does get your tax to zero, the remainder of the credit is lost.
Refundable credits can take your tax liability down, but if the tax goes down to zero, the rest of the credit will be "refunded" to you as a tax refund.
Without knowing your tax liability, and not knowing the amount of the credit (it depends on several factors, such as how much you paid in tuition and fees and how much you earned in wages) it is impossible to answer if the credit will be worth more than the upgrade charge.
You can use the link below to get to the IRS FreeFile, it might help you file the 1098-T for free.
There is a disadvantage of using the IRS FreeFile, if you are a repeat user of TurboTax. Your information won't be forwarded year after year, and your availability to retrieve your prior year documents from your TurboTax account will be sacrificed.
You could try the IRS FreeFile to see the affect the credit can make, then decide to file through the IRS FreeFile, or upgrade in TurboTax.
IRS FreeFile
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