I vote "wrong." It looks to me like section 222(c)(2)(A) specifically prohibits this: "2) Coordination with other education incentives (A) Denial of deduction if credit elected No deduction shall be allowed under subsection (a) for a taxable year with respect to the qualified tuition and related expenses with respect to an individual if the taxpayer or any other person elects to have section 25A apply with respect to such individual for such year."
Note that the reference to section 25A doesn't talk about the expenses of the individual, but the individual himself. Thus it seems clear to me that if you take a section 25A credit based on A's expenses, you cannot also take a section
222 deduction for any of A's expenses. Compare this to 222(c)(2)(B), which deals with total expenses used for different benefits.-- Phil Marti Clarksburg, MD