Thanks so much for these quick replies! This community is why I continue to use TT.
Getting to specifics on my daughter's return. Assume I've entered all the info for the AOTC including the 1098-T. I go back to the interview topic on her return for 'You and Your Family' and edit it. The cases are:
1.) I don't check "Another taxpayer can claim ... on their tax return". Then the federal refund goes way up and the state refund as well. The AOTC is applied.
2.) I check "Another taxpayer can claim ... on their tax return". Now I am presented with two more questions. I check "Another taxpayer will not claim". The larger federal refund stays the same but the state refund goes down and the AOTC is not a factor as far as the state.
So in this case checking "Another taxpayer can claim" (along with the other taxpayer not claiming) doesn't affect the federal amount but does affect the state (MD).
It seems I should check "Another taxpayer can claim" if that's true. It's nice it doesn't affect the federal if the parents don't claim. But not nice it does affect the state.
