@NCperson
I guess I was imprecise in my language. A student with more than $33,000 of income would qualify for the full nonrefundable credit because their tax would exceed the credit. With less than $33,000, they would qualify for a nonrefundable credit up to the amount of their tax owed. The refundable portion of the credit is restrictive as you indicate.
And yes, regarding your second point, there are some circumstances where a parent’s income is so high that they don’t qualify for the AOTC, and having the student claim the credit will give something, even if not the full amount. That’s why there are two dependent questions on the student‘s tax return:
1. Can you be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s tax return?
2. Will the person who could claim you actually claim you this year?
The reason for the second question is that if the parent can’t claim the AOTC, the student may be able to claim the credit if they answer no to the second question, even if they are required to answer yes to the first question. However, because the original tax payer here was claiming the affordable care subsidy, I don’t think they are in the situation where the parent‘s income bars them from the AOTC, so I didn’t mention it originally.
