@xmasbaby0 wrote:
"If someone else could claim you as a dependent in 2021, then you were not eligible then for the stimulus money and are not eligible now for the recovery rebate credit."
This is not entirely correct. There is a situation where a child can claim the AOTC even if they are a dependent. (This is an exception to the usual rules.). There are two questions, "Can you be claimed as a dependent by someone else" and "Will the person who could claim you, actually claim you?"
If a student-child can be claimed as a dependent, but is not claimed, then the student-child can claim the AOTC on their own tax return. This is usually only helpful when the parent's income is so high that they are phased out of the AOTC. The child can sometimes get a partial credit which is better than no credit.
Of course, in this case, whether or not @vishalg64 is eligible, depends on their income, their dependent status, and whether their parents did or could have claimed them as a dependent. And if they had no income and did not file, the AOTC won't give them free money except in very limited circumstances.
