Tax Year Prior to 2020: Claiming daughter as a dependent

[lewjfab]

My daughter is 19.  She goes to school part time because she has prereqs to take and then has to apply and get accepted into the program.  So she can’t go full time until accepted.  She works part time but made more than $4200.  She lives at home full time and we support her far more than 50%.  So TT is not letting me claim her as a dependent.  So I lose the credit.  

what can I do? 

[Bsch4477]

You can’t claim her and that is just the fact. There is nothing that you can do. 

[lewjfab]

Thank you for the answer.  Next question, same topic...can my daughter get a Fed return higher than the Fed taxes paid?

So, we don't claim her as a dependent (per your answer).  She is doing her own return and checked that no one could claim her as a dependent.  She goes to college half time and works part time.  In round numbers...she made about $12,500 and paid $890 in fed taxes.  She was getting almost all the fed tax back ($850)...but then, we added her college tuition payments ($3400)...and her return went up to $1200.  NYS was similar...low return, then we added the college tuition payments and it went way up.  Is this correct?  So, Fed $890 W2 payments minus $850 return meant that she paid about $40 to Feds....but then the return went to $1200 (due to American Opportunity Credit)...can you get this much more return back like this?

[Carl]

My daughter is 19. She goes to school part time because she has prereqs to take and then has to apply and get accepted into the program.

Did your daughter graduate high school in 2019? If she did, then did she attended that last semester of high school with more than half of a "regular" load for a high school student? Most likely she did. If so, then it's a fact that she was a "full time student for at least one semester that started in the tax year".

Nowhere in IRS Publication 971 can I find where it says she must be a full time student for at least one semester "AFTER" graduating high school.

[VictorW9]

Your daughter is obviously claiming the one of the education credits. Yes, it's normal for your refund to go up after taking the education credit. She can take the credit so long as she's not been claimed as a dependent by any other person.

[NCperson]

yes she can because part of AOTC is a refundable credit.