I am in the middle of my son's 2019 return. He didn't make but much more than $15K gross which barely covered his rent, tuition and expenses while away at school. Before I enter the $1700 in tuition, his refund amount is just over $2100, when I enter the amount, instead of increasing his refund, it drops to just over $1300. The lead in to the Education section, says "let's get you some tax breaks", however it does not seem the case. Why is this happening? If we leave his tuition amount out of the return, he gets a bigger refund. Someone please explain why someone should get taxed higher for going to college and have a refund reduced for going to school? His brother, who didn't go to school this year and made roughly the same amount, has a bigger refund.
What likely happened is that when you put in your son's income, TurboTax claimed the Canada Workers Benefit (CWB) (aka the Working Income Tax Benefit) for him. This is a refundable tax credit for people who work, but don’t make very much. However, students are usually not eligible for this credit, so when you added your son's tuition, then the CWB was removed, lowering his refund.