Asking again: Can a parent with $0. income claim the American Opportunity (refundable) Credit for dependent if otherwise qualifies?

[cmarchet45]

This was asked before but answered incorrectly regarding a different credit.

[DoninGA]

Yes, if the child is your dependent, a full time student under the age of 24 and they did not provide over one-half of their own support you can enter the education expenses on your tax return.

However, since you have no income to report on the tax return, the AOC is limited to $1,000.

[MarilynG1]

If you claim a Dependent who has a 1098-T reflecting Education Expenses (Box 1) that are greater than Grant/Scholarships (Box 5) you may qualify for the American Opportunity Credit.  It doesn't matter if the expenses were paid by the student, or from loans/grants/scholarships. 

The Box 5 amount is subtracted from the Box 1 amount to see the amount of Education Expenses you are claiming. 

The credit amount is equal to:

• 100% of the first $2,000 of qualified expenses, plus
• 25% of the expenses in excess of $2,000.
• The maximum annual credit per student is $2,500.

Here's more info on the American Opportunity Credit.

@cmarchet45