My son is in college. He does not want me to claim him as a dependent so he can get stimulus checks from 2020. I pay his tuition and school expenses, can I claim those.

[xmasbaby0]

Your son does not have a choice.  It is not up to him.  The rule is that if he CAN be claimed as a dependent then he has to say on his own return that he can be claimed.  If he was a full-time student n 2020 then he CAN be claimed as a dependent.  The person who can claim him gets the stimulus of $1400 for claiming him and the education credits, and the $500 credit for other dependents.   If you are his parent and are paying for his support and education he is a qualifying child dependent for you.

If you do not claim your son as a dependent you lose out on everything including the education credits

WHO CAN I CLAIM AS A DEPENDENT?

You can claim a child, relative, friend, fiance (etc.) as a dependent on your 2020 taxes as long as they meet the following requirements:

Qualifying child

•They are related to you.

•They cannot be claimed as a dependent by someone else.

•They are a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or   Mexican resident.

•They are not filing a joint return with their spouse.

•They are under the age of 19 (or 24 for full-time students).

• No age limit for permanently and totally disabled children

  •      They live with you for more than half the year (exceptions apply).

Qualifying relative

•They don't have to be related to you (despite the name).

•They cannot be claimed as a dependent by someone else.

•They are a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.

•They are not filing a joint return with their spouse.

•They lived with you the entire year.

•They made less than $4300  (not counting Social Security)

•You provided more than half of their financial support. More info

When you add someone as a dependent, we'll ask a series of questions to make sure you can claim them.

Related Information:

•Does a dependent have to live with me?

•What does "financially support another person" mean?

•Can I claim a newborn baby?

For your son:

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/dependents/help/when-do-i-have-to-answer-yes-to-being-claimed-as-a...

[Hal_Al]

Q. I pay his tuition and school expenses, can I claim those.

A. No.  He must be your dependent for you to claim that. The ability to claim a tuition credit or deduction goes with the student's exemption (dependency).

That would normally mean he can claim the tuition credit, if he is not a dependent, even though he didn't pay for the tuition. But there is a special rule for full time students, under 24.  

A full time unmarried student, under age 24, even if you don't qualify as a dependent, 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.  It is usually best if the parent claims that credit. 

You cannot claim a credit if you are, or can be, claimed as a dependent by someone else.

As others have said, it's highly unlikely that he does not qualify as your dependent.

[Opus 17]

If a person, such as your son, qualifies to be claimed as a dependent by someone else, they must answer the question “yes, I can be claimed as a dependent“ even if they don’t want to be claimed and even if the person who could claim them agrees not to claim them.  Answering yes will disqualify them from recovery rebate in their own name.

If the person answers “no, I can’t be claimed as a dependent“ in order to claim the rebate, when this is untrue and they could have been claimed as a dependent, this may constitute tax fraud. We don’t know how aggressive the IRS will be in pursuing this, but they have three years to audit normal tax returns and six years in the case of fraud.

Regardless of the odds of getting caught, I’m not sure that your son should be starting their young life filing a fraudulent tax return.  It seems like that would send the wrong message to the child.

To your other question, there is a second question on your son's return, “will the person who could claim you actually claim you this year?“  This question only affects eligibility for the American opportunity credit.  Sometimes, a child will qualify for a larger American opportunity credit in their own name than their parent, this usually occurs when the parents are high income, but the child must also have their own substantial income earned from working.   If you don't claim the child as a dependent, any tax breaks would be claimed by the child on their return, and will almost always be less than you would get.  But legally, your child must still answer "yes, I can be claimed" if that is true. 

[Hal_Al]

If the student actually has a tax liability, there is a provision to allow him to claim a non-refundable tuition credit. But then the parent must forgo claiming the student as a dependent, and forgo the $500 other dependent credit.  The student must still indicate that he can be claimed as a dependent, on his return.

As previously explained, most students cannot claim the (up to) $1000 refundable portion of the American Opportunity credit, unless more than half their support comes from their own earned income (wages or self employment), whether they are a dependent or not.