That example assumes that the student (not the parents) actually paid the education expenses.
"Taxpayer C has one dependent, D...D pays qualified tuition and related expenses"
None of the credit is refundable if:
(1) the taxpayer claiming the credit is (a) under age 18 or (b) age 18 at the end of the year, and their earned income was less than one-half of their own support OR (c) a full time student over 18 and under 24 and their earned income was less than one-half of their own support; AND
(2) the taxpayer has at least one living parent, AND
(3) the taxpayer doesn’t file a joint return.
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https://apps.irs.gov/app/vita/content/globalmedia/education_credits_4012.pdf">https://apps.irs.gov/a...>
