No.
But you've got the cart before the horse. If your parents can claim you as a dependent, you are not allowed to claim the education credit**.
Furthermore, there
is a rule that says IF somebody else CAN claim YOU as a dependent, You are not
allowed to claim your own exemption. If you can't claim yourself, you also cannot claim the tuition credit**. If you have sufficient income (usually more than
$6300), you can & should
still file taxes, you just don’t get your own $4000 exemption (deduction). In
TurboTax, you indicate that somebody else can claim you as a dependent.
A child of a taxpayer can still be a “Qualifying Child” (QC) dependent, regardless of his/her income, if:
1. He is under age 19, or under 24
if a full time student for at least 5 months of the year, or is totally &
permanently disabled
2. He did not provide more than 1/2 his own support
3. He lived with the parent
(including temporary absences such as away at school) for more than half
the year
There's a new urban myth among college
students that says they can get a $1000 from the government just for filing a
tax form. For most of them, they simply aren't eligible. A student, under age
24, is only eligible for the refundable portion of the American Opportunity Credit if he supports himself by working (earned income). You cannot be supporting yourself on parental support, 529 plans or student
loans & grants. You must have actually paid tuition, not had it paid by
scholarships & grants. It is usually
best if the parent claims that credit.
**While technically there is a provision that
allows you to claim a tuition credit, from a practical matter it seldom
works out. A student, under age 24, can only claim the non-refundable portion of the credit. For this to work, the student would have to
have a tax liability to take the credit against. If the student actually has a tax liability she
can claim a non-refundable credit but then the parent must forgo claiming the
student's exemption and the student still can’t claim his exemption.
