DAUGHTER, AGE 21, EARNED $7,000 PER FORM W-2. PARENT PAID $8,400 UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION FEES. CAN PARENT CLAIM HER AS DEPENDENT AND DEDUCT EDUCATION FEES PAID

[Phillip1 · Accepted solution]

If the daughter is a full-time student for at least 5 months out of the year, you can claim her as a dependent and deduct all of her qualified education expenses (whether paid by you or not).

See the following from IRS Publication 501: 

• To be a student, they must be, during some part of each of any 5 calendar months of the year:
• A full-time student at a school that has a regular teaching staff, course of study, and a regularly enrolled student body at the school, or
• A student taking a full-time, on-farm training course given by a school described in (1), or by a state, county, or local government agency.
• The 5 calendar months don't have to be consecutive

See the following from IRS Publication 970:

Who Can Claim the Credit?

Generally, you can claim the American opportunity credit if all three of the following requirements are met.

• You pay qualified education expenses of higher education.
• You pay the education expenses for an eligible student.
• The eligible student is either yourself, your spouse, or a dependent for whom you claim an exemption on your tax return.

Note.

Qualified education expenses paid by a dependent for whom you claim an exemption, or by a third party for that dependent, are considered paid by you.