Thanks for your comment. Again, the IRS does not see the information entered into Turbo Tax in regards to the 1099-Q distributions or the qualified educational expenses unless the distribution exceeds the qualified expenses (tax is due). Ergo, I don’t understand from where the requirement to enter it into Turbo Tax is derived for this case where no tax is due. Whether or not these two items are entered or not entered, the IRS will receive identical tax returns in either case. That is, they will not see the information even if it is entered. I understand Turbo Tax will use this information to generate worksheets (not sent to the IRS) but of course if the taxpayer maintains good organized records and receipts, these worksheets are not needed. Ergo, if tax is not due on the distribution, the IRS will not see the information independent of whether or not it is entered into Turbo Tax.
You said you were not sure about the other Turbo Tax experts who opined on this. Here is a link to the answer provided by TurboTaxJaimeG, E.A. Tax Advice:
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3711701-shouldn-t-room-and-board-be-considered-a-qualified-educati...He states: “If you are sure that your Distribution was less than or equal to the amount of Qualified Education Expenses (such as Room and Board), you don't have to report any information from the 1099-Q or in regards to the 529 distribution to the IRS. It may sound strange, especially with the IRS, but you don't have to Substantiate the distributions from this account unless they were greater than you Qualified Education expenses. So basically if you didn't spend less than you received you do not enter anything into TurboTax….”
I also spoke with Katherine N. CPA, CPC, PMP of Turbo Tax who agreed that neither distribution information nor qualified expenses need be entered unless the distributions exceed the qualified expenses (adjusted qualified expenses to be sure).
These two answers appear to be conclusive, in particular because Turbo tax does not pass on the distribution or qualified expense information to the IRS for the case in my opening question where the distributions do not exceed the qualified educational expenses.
