@ATHiker95 wrote:
a non-refundable credit would mean that I can take it off if I owe taxes but if I'm already getting a refund, it won't increase the refund
Not exactly. It is based on if your tax return 'has' income tax, not your owed/refund.
For example, let's say that line 22 of your Form 1040 shows $5000 of income tax. Then you had $6000 of tax withheld from your W-2, so you end up having a $1000 refund.
In that example, the "nonrefundable" credit reduces the $5000 of income tax, so it will increase your refund. If line 22 of your Form 1040 was zero, then the non-refundable credit could not be applied.
