Part of the problem is that there is nowhere on the IRS tax forms to indicate that you had qualified educational expenses. It's only shown on the TurboTax (TT) work sheets that are not sent to the IRS. So, you may just be a victim of a random IRS inquiry, because they get a copy of the 1099-Q. We have seen this problem before, here in the answerXchange.
First verify that you qualify for a total exclusion of the 529 plan earnings, shown in box 2 of the 1099-Q. Be
aware, you cannot double dip. You cannot count the same tuition money, for the
tuition credit, that gets you an
exclusion from the taxability of the earnings (interest) on the 529 plan distribution. Since the
credit is more generous; use as much of the tuition as is needed for the credit
and the rest for the interest exclusion.
Total qualified expenses (including room & board) less amounts paid by scholarship less amounts used to claim the Tuition credit equals the amount you can use to claim the earnings exclusion on the 1099-Q.
Example:
$10,000 in educational expenses (including room & board)
-$3000 paid by tax free scholarship
-$4000
used to claim the American Opportunity credit
=$3000 Can be used against the 1099-Q
Box 1 of the 1099-Q is $5000
Box 2 is $600
3000/5000=60% of the earnings are tax free
60%x600= $360
You have $240 of taxable income (600-360)
If you totally qualify, you need to write back to the IRS with your numbers. Include copies of the schools billing statements, showing your payments. You may want to include the TT work sheets ("1099Q Summary" & "Student Info Wk").
If you discover that you do not fully qualify because you did not adjust for scholarships and/or claiming the tuition credit, you will need to prepare an amended return to verify that the IRS calculations are correct (they usually aren't in this situation).
See https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2662573-where-do-i-enter-1099-q?jump_to=answer_4402991 for a fuller discussion on 529 plans
