Per IRS Instructions for Form 8863Education Credits (American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning Credits), on page 6:
Line 7
If you were under age 24 at the end of 2020 and the conditions listed below apply to you, you cannot claim any part of the American opportunity credit as a refundable credit on your tax return. Instead, you can claim your allowed credit, figured in Part II, only as a nonrefundable credit to reduce your tax.
You don't qualify for a refundable American opportunity credit if 1 (a, b, or c), 2, and 3 below apply to you.
- You were:
a. Under age 18 at the end of 2020, or
b. Age 18 at the end of 2020 and your earned income (defined later) was less than one-half of your support (defined later), or
c. Over age 18 and under age 24 at the end of 2020 and a full-time student (defined later) and your earned income (defined later) was less than one-half of your support (defined later).
- At least one of your parents was alive at the end of 2020.
- You're not filing a joint return for 2020.
