Q. Should I just delete the 1099Q entirely and leave it at that?
A. Yes*(see below).
Q. But...if I do that, I am still uneasy that the IRS may see my return lacking in not accounting for the large withdrawal, and may take it as an unqualified education withdrawal.
A. If you enter it correctly, TurboTax will calculate $0 taxable income and nothing about the 1099-Q will be sent to the IRS. Your risk is the same either way. But, so far you haven't been able to get TT to do it correctly.
Q. So, what am I doing wrong?
A. You did not enter any information that's on the 1098T or other expenses
Q. From your previous comment, I should be able to enter the 1099Q in my tax return and that TT won't do anything with it.
A. No. TT will treat it all as taxable until you enter the offsetting expenses.
*That assumes you son has enough expenses left over to claim the tuition credit. That appears to be the case if the 1099-Q and 1098-T are the same, because you can use room and board (even if living off campus) as qualifying expenses for the 1099-Q. Books and computers are also qualifying expenses,
