Tax - How to determine whether what ED deduction (or credit) to use?

<p>OK, thanks again. To reiterate: if a zero tax liability, and you can have the full $4k in qualified expenses, then the max credit is $1k.</p>

<p>I just noticed there is a line 31, ‘educational credits’. My tax form is showing blank or zero there. Are lines 31 and line 43 mutually exclusive?</p>