Q. Is there a way I can directly receive the AOC even if my parent will claim me?
A. No. The tuition credit "goes with" the student's exemption (dependency). Only your parent can claim it.
Q. If I don't claim AOC, do I just report the excess scholarship that went through my bank?
A. No. You claim all scholarships that exceed your qualified expenses, regardless of the vehicle for the money.
You say " I think I have about 7,000 in excess scholarship for 2021".
I see $21,723 -2584 - 7447 - 71 = 11,621. If you want to declare another $4000 taxable, to allow the parent to claim the A0TC, there are several ways to do it.
The "proper way" is Go through the entire education interview until you reach a screen titled "Your Education Expenses Summary". Click edit next to the student's name. That should take you to a screen “Here’s your Education Summary”. Click edit next to “Education Information”. When you get to the screen titled “Amount Used to Calculate Education Deduction or Credit”, verify the amount you want to use or change it to $4000. TT will add $4000 to taxable scholarship. You may reach that screen sooner.
Be advised some people are saying they're not getting the "Amount used to claim the tuition deduction or credit" screen on the dependent’s return. The alternate workaround is to enter $4000 less than the actual box 1 amount, when you enter the 1098-T (change 7447 to 3447).
TT will report $15,621 as taxable scholarship (11,621 +4000).
