Hello,
Due to high income, AOTC cannot be claimed by parents who are filing jointly.
So can my college going child file separately to claim the refundable $1000 AOTC in 2021
if we don't claim him as a dependent on our return ?
We will lose $500 dependent credit but our child stands to gain $1000 by filing separately.
Our child has no income, fulltime student, we provide more than 50% of the support and paid his tuition.
But somewhere I read AOTC cannot be claimed if the child does not provide more than 50% support
and this credit is only meant for parents/guardians who pay for these expenses.
Reading thru 8863, Pub 970 chap 2 , our child fulfills all the requirements and is eligible for AOTC credit.
Please advise if our child can file separately to claim $1000 refundable credit if we choose to not include him as our dependent ?
Who Can Claim a Dependent's Expenses?
If there are qualified education expenses for your dependent during a tax year, either you or your dependent, but not both of you, can claim an American opportunity credit for your dependent's expenses for that year.
| IF you... | THEN only... |
claim on
your tax return a
dependent who is an
eligible student | you can claim the American opportunity credit based on that dependent's expenses. The dependent can't claim the credit. |
| don't claim on your tax return a dependent who is an eligible student (even if entitled to claim the dependent) | the dependent can claim the American opportunity credit. You can't claim the credit based on this dependent's expenses. |
