Can my son claim college education credit if I paid his tuition

[Needtaxhelp102]

I paid for my son college tuition but my income is too high to get any tax credit. Can he file his own tax (he has some w2 income from summer job but not much) to get the credit. I dont plan to claim him as dependent. He is 18 and a half year old by end of Dec 2021.

Thank you for your help

[xmasbaby0]

The rule is if a person CAN be claimed as a dependent he must say on his own return that he can be claimed--even if the person who can claim him does not do so.   And...an 18 year old full-time student CAN be claimed as a dependent.   A dependent cannot get education credits or a recovery rebate credit.   Sorry.  

He can file a tax return to seek a refund of tax withheld if his W-2 shows amounts in boxes 2 or 17, but his return must say that he can be claimed as someone else's dependent.

[JohnB5677]

Yes, he certainly can file his own taxes.

He can use education payments made by the parents or even a third party to claim tuition tax credits if both of these are true:

• He is a student.
• He qualifies to claim an education credit.