Teacher Expenses not carrying through to Sched 1

[SteveW62]

I have unreimbursed teacher expenses as a K-12 teacher assistant. Looking at the forms, I see that the $234 is entered into the educator expense worksheet. Then sched A sees it but the section shown appears to be only for state returns and subject to the 2% limitation. Since I don't itemize the sched A isn't really relevant. I just want to show that TT is still using the number. But when I look at the Schedule 1 line 11, Educator Expenses is $0.

I see a lot of questions with people saying their teacher expenses are not being allowed. I really did read a lot of them and they didn't help me. 

Below are screenshots of what I am seeing. The message is unhelpful. The "It turns out you don't qualify for this deduction" screen with the "Why don't I qualify for this deduction" link should provide a link to where the $0 entry is coming from. This would help save all these questions to tech support.

I appreciate any help to get this resolved.

Why don’t I qualify for this deduction?

Earlier you told us you have $0 in teacher (educator) expenses, so there’s nothing to deduct. You can go back and enter a different amount or keep going.

 Line 10 Educator Expense WorksheetSched Line 16 Misc Itemized DedSched 1

[KrisD15 · Accepted solution]

The Educator Expense deduction is not allowed if you took a 1099-Q distribution. 

According to the IRS:

"Qualified expenses are deductible only to the extent the amount of such expenses exceed the following amounts for the tax year:

The interest on series EE and I U.S. savings bonds that you exclude from income because you paid qualified higher education expenses,

Any distribution from a qualified state tuition program that you exclude from income,

Any tax-free withdrawals from your Coverdell education savings accounts,

Any reimbursements you receive for expenses that aren't reported to you in box 1 of your Form W-2."

[SteveW62]

KrisD15,

Thank you for clarifying the why of this. I don't agree with the IRS logic but now I can stop hitting my head against the wall.

I do wish the software was able to tell me, and others, why instead of the incorrect reason it gave. If you have any ability to give feedback to the development staff I would suggest that they expose to the customer the magic in the black box as to why/where it came up with the answer. As a developer myself, it shouldn't be that hard to track a calculation up to the interface even if it just cites what you shared. Allowing the customer to see behind the curtain would save Intuit a lot of money in tech support and provide a better customer experience and avoid their frustration.

Again, thanks for the help.

-Steve

[KrisD15]

I'll pass it along.

Thank you for using TurboTax.