The Community is a well-intentioned idea, but more often than not it takes way too much time and effort to get through the chaff and find a useful response. My solution now is to follow the questionnaire exactly and then -- if the numbers don't work the way I know they should to produce the correct result -- find a workaround by changing some numbers on forms or worksheets. My usual problem on this topic is that even though my total qualified education expenses always match the total distributions on the 1099-Q forms, TurboTax keeps counting some of it as taxable for no reason that any so-called TaxPro (or even many TT agents) can explain. This year, I had trouble finding relevant forms-view numbers TurboTax would allow me to edit, but I got the solution from a knowledgeable agent who knew where to look (at the Student Information Worksheet, where I could change the qualified distribution numbers that flow through to the forms). I guess not all agents are the same, but I've had two very good experiences with agents who recognized the program's flaws and were confident enough that I was producing a correct result to endorse my solution in a follow-up e-mail. Before you resort to the expense of consulting a tax preparer, I'd recommend calling the support line (they have a call-back mechanism to avoid long holds).
