<p>If the student does not have taxable income (her income from employment, plus any taxable scholarships) she will not get anything from the AOC, unless she can show that she supports herself. If she doesn’t support herself, she is not an independent student for tax purposes - even if the parents don’t claim her, she is not legally entitled to claim herself, because she is a full time student under 24.</p>
<p>For the parents, if they are not required to file, and the scholarships are structured such that they can be used to pay room & board instead of tuition, then they might be able to claim AOC. But the most they will get is 40% ($1000). If the daughter does owe any taxes, it probably only makes sense to claim the first $2000 of expenses, for $800 refund. The next $2000 of allowable expenses will only provide $200 more of credit - which would be less than the tax paid on the $2000 of taxable income. (The first $2000 results in up to 100% credit, the second $2000 results in 25% credit, and 40% of that is refundable - so net 10% of the second $2000).</p>