Can my 19 year old kid claim herself to get the education credits

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
February 2, 2021
2 replies
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I don't qualify for any of the educational credits on my return. My 19 year old daughter attended 1 semester of college in 2020. Tuition and board was around $10k. She received $5k in scholarships. She made $9k working. Her refund goes up $2k if i put all the education stuff on her return and mine drops only $500 if i don't claim here. Am I allowed to let her claim herself to get these credits?

Not A Product Question

MinhT1

If she did not pay more than half of her support in 2020 and you provided more than half of her support, then you can claim her as a dependent.

If you claim her as a dependent then only you can claim her education credits, even if you are disqualified by your income.

If you can claim her but do not actually claim her as a dependent, then on her own tax return, she can claim the non-refundable portion of the American Opportunity tax credit. and not the refundable portion. However, as her income is below the standard deduction of $12,400, she has no taxable income, and the non-refundable portion of the AOTC gives no tax benefit.

@btw_tax

[Edited 02/02/2021 01:24 PM PST]

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btw_taxAuthor

Is support just costs related to college? Half of her support was from scholarships and almost other half was from 529 distribution. Maybe $2k was paid out of pocket.

RayW7

A scholarship received by a child who is a student is not taken into account in determining whether the child provided more than half of his or her own support.

Hal_Al

Employee

Q. Can my 19 year old kid claim herself to get the education credits?

A. No, No., & No.

No, because she can be claimed as a dependent. You are not allowed to let her claim herself.

No, because she does not have enough income to benefit from the non refundable education credit. There is actually a special provision that allows the parent to forego the dependent (and the $500 other dependent credit), so that the student can claim the non refundable credit. But, it's rare for a student to get any benefit.

No, because a full time unmarried student, under age 24, whether a dependent or not, is only eligible for the refundable portion of the American Opportunity Credit if he supports himself by working. You cannot be supporting yourself on parental support, 529 plans or student loans & grants. You usually must have actually paid tuition, not had it paid by scholarships & grants.

The reason, you're seeing her refund going up $2K is you've entered her information wrong; most likely the earned income support question in the personal info section.