The person who claims the student as a dependent is the one who can get the education credits. A dependent cannot claim an education credit. Since he is younger than 24 he can be claimed as your dependent no matter how much he earned if he was a full-time student. You are the ones who can get the AOC. He cannot claim education credits himself.
You cannot get more than one education credit----you do not get to take both the AOC and the LLC --- the AOC is likely the best one for you to take since there is a refundable portion. But TT will show you which one is better for you.
But he can/should file a tax return and say on his return that he can be claimed as dependent in order to seek a refund of tax withheld from his pay.
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3262983-who-is-eligible-to-take-the-american-opportunity-tax-credi...
You can see your AOC credit on line 29 of your 2020 Form 1040
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901526-what-s-the-income-limit-for-the-american-opportunity-and-l...
https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/credits-and-deductions/help/what-expenses-qualify-for-the-lifetime...
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3262984-who-is-eligible-for-the-lifetime-learning-credit
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901172-what-education-tax-credits-are-available
https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/am-i-eligible-to-claim-an-education-credit
**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**
