Q. Do unpaid college loans count as support?
A. Yes, but not exactly. The receipt of loan money is not support. It's the spending of the loan money that constitutes support. Furthermore, if the parents co-signed the loan, then the support from loans is considered as support coming from the parents; not the student supporting himself.
Reference:
https://www.hrblock.com/tax-center/filing/dependents/student-loans-and-your-dependents/
A separate issue is qualifying for the refundable portion of the American Opportunity credit. That requires not just that the student supports himself. The student must support himself with earned income. Loans and scholarships are not earned income (loans are not any kind of income)
