The reason the TurboTax program asks if this was the student's first year as of January 1, 2021 is because if it was not, the program will ask if the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) had been taken in any prior year, and if so, how many times.
If the answer is "Yes" this was the student's first year, the program knows that the AOTC has not been used yet.
