It depends. Students whose qualified tuition and related expenses are entirely waived or paid entirely with scholarships are not required to receive form 1098-T, hence you will not be able to claim AOC. Also, if you are a dependent your parents will claim the AOC.
A tax credit is a payment towards taxes owed - you can't use a credit if you've reported no income. Since you directed some of the funds from your scholarship to an expense, you're able to consider this amount income. There are potential tax benefits to doing so - like claiming the AOTC.
In other words: as long as you've entered your information correctly and TurboTax tells us you qualify - you do!
Qualifications for claiming the American Opportunity Tax Credit are:
- You paid qualified education expenses for higher education (see Related Information below)
- You paid education expenses for eligible students
- The eligible student is you, your spouse, or a dependent for whom you claim an exemption
- Your modified adjusted gross income is $90,000 ($180,000 if married filing jointly) or less (The credit is reduced between $80,000 and $90,000 ($160,000 and $180,000)
- You must be taking courses at an eligible education institution, which is any college, university, or vocational school with a student aid program administered by the US Department of Education.
You must be considered an eligible student:
- You are enrolled at least half-time in a program leading to a degree, certificate, or other recognized credential
- You had at least one academic period beginning during the year
- You did not use the American Opportunity Tax Credit in any four previous years
- You did not complete the first four years of post-secondary education before the beginning of the year
You are not eligible to claim the American Opportunity Tax Credit if:
- Your filing status is Married Filing Separately.
- The taxpayer is listed as a dependent on another person’s return.
- You and your spouse were non-resident aliens.
- You have a felony drug conviction.
