Can Dependents File Separate Tax Return to Claim Student Credits? Also, Adult Dependent Stimulus Payments??

[cassandra1346]

Hello,

My boyfriend was claimed as a dependent by his dad and he is in college. He received his 1098-T and wanted to know if he is allowed to file taxes for himself (he would mark the box that he's considered a dependent still) to claim the AOTC credit. 

Also, an (adult) friend said he claimed his (adult) fiance as a dependent for 2020 and she just filed her own taxes and was still able to receive (claim?)  the stimulus payments through her refund?

I thought if you are an adult-dependent you are not eligible for the stimulus payments? 

Thank you for any help,

Cassandra

[Bsch4477]

If he was claimed as as a dependent he can’t claim education credit. 

You are correct that a dependent cannot receive a stimulus payment. 

[xmasbaby0]

Dependents cannot get stimulus checks nor can they claim education credits--you are getting some incorrect advice.   if your BF is claimed on his parent's return he cannot get a stimulus check.   And his parents are the ones who can enter the 1098T to get the AOC.  (And his parents are not getting a stimulus check for him---parents only get stimulus money for dependents under the age of 17).   

Your BF can file a tax return to seek a refund if he had income with tax withheld from paychecks, but on his return he MUST say that he can be claimed as someone else's dependent.

[Opus 17]

On your first question, there are two questions that TurboTax asks, “can you be claimed as a dependent this year?“ and, “will the person who could claim you actually claim you this year?“ A college student who qualifies to be claimed as a dependent must answer yes to the first question, even if they won’t actually be claimed. If they answer no to the second question, they will be eligible for the American opportunity tax credit. This is, as far as I know, the only reason for that second question, because there are some circumstances where a student dependent may receive a larger AOTC credit than their parents and so this option is allowed.

regarding your second question, a person who qualifies to be claimed as a dependent is not eligible for the recovery rebate credit.  If you can be claimed as a dependent, you must answer yes, and that will disqualify you from the rebate. If you answer no, in order to get the rebate, that would be tax fraud.  If the friend claimed their fiancé as a dependent, and the fiancé answered no in order to get a tax a rebate credit, that should cause one of their tax returns to be rejected from the e-file system. If they do manage to file that way, the IRS will deny the rebate credit to the person who was claimed as a dependent. If the IRS does pay it at first, I would expect the IRS to send a bill for it later with interest and possibly a penalty for improper filing.