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There is a discussion on whether $K$ has two elements or is larger, which strongly affects the conclusion.

One has the determinant map $\mathrm{GL}_2(K[X])\to K^*$. To show that it's the abelianization, it's enough to show that the kernel $\mathrm{SL}_2(K[X])$ is contained in the derived subgroup of $\mathrm{GL}_2(K[X])$.

Since $K[X]$ is a Euclidean domain, $\mathrm{SL}_2(K[X])$ is generated by elementary matrices $e_{12}(y)$ and $e_{21}(y)$ where $y$ ranges over $K[X]$, $e_{ij}(y)=I_2+yE_{ij}$, and $(E_{ij})_{1\le i,j\le 2}$ is the canonical basis of the space of matrices.

For $t\in K^*$, write $d_1(t)=tE_{11}+E_22$. Then $d_1(t)e_{12}(y)d_1(t)^{-1}=e_{12}(ty)$, and in particular, the commutator (with suitable conventions) is $e_{12}((t-1)y)$.

If $K$ is not reduced to the field on 2 elements, one concludes that $e_{12}(y)$ (and similarly $e_{21}(y)$ is a commutator for each $y$, since one can choose $t\in K^*$ such that $t-1$ is a nonzero scalar. In this case, we deduce that:

For $|K|\ge 3$ the abelianization of $\mathrm{GL}_2(K[X])$ is the determinant map onto $K^*$.

It remains to deal with the case when $K$ is the 2-element field $\mathbf{F}_2$, we have $\mathrm{GL}_2(\mathbf{F}[X])=\mathrm{SL}_2(\mathbf{F}[X])$. In this case the determinant map is trivial. But yet the abelianization map is non-trivial (in contrast to $n\ge 3$ where $\mathrm{SL}_n(K[X])$ is a perfect group for every field $n$).

Indeed, it is known (for $K$ any field) that $\mathrm{GL}_2(K[X])$ is the amalgamated product of its subgroups $\mathrm{GL}_2(K)$ and $B(K[X])$ over their intersection $B(K)$. Here $B$ is the upper triangular group. A reference for this nontrivial fact is Serre's Astérisque book "Arbres, amalgames, $\mathrm{SL}_2$", or its English translation "Trees".

Let us specify the latter to $K=\mathbf{F}_2$: in this case, $\mathrm{GL}_2(\mathbf{F}_2)$ is a non-abelian group of order $6$, while $B(\mathbf{F}_2[X])$ is the upper unipotent (abelian) group consisting of those matrices $e_{12}(y)$ where $y$ ranges over $K[X]$. Let me write presentations for these two groups: $$\mathrm{GL}_2(\mathbf{F}_2)=\langle z,x_0\mid z^2=x_0^2=(zx_0)^3=1\rangle$$ $$B(\mathbf{F}_2[X])=\langle x_i:i\ge 0\mid x_i^2=[x_i,x_j]=1:i,j\ge 0\rangle$$ These presentations are arranged so that $x_0$ represents the element $e_{12}(1)$, which generates the amalgamated subgroup (of order two). Hence a presentation of the amalgamated product is obtained by amalgamating the presentations: $$\mathrm{GL}_2(\mathbf{F}_2[X])=\langle z, x_i:i\ge 0\mid z^2=(zx_0)^3=x_i^2=[x_i,x_j]=1:i,j\ge 0\rangle.$$ To abelianize we just have to read this as presentation of abelian group. We know that $\mathrm{GL}_2(\mathbf{F}_2)$ abelianizes to a cyclic group of order $2$ in which $x_0$ and $z$ are identified, and we get $$\mathrm{GL}_2(\mathbf{F}_2[X])_{\mathrm{ab}}=\langle x_i:i\ge 0\mid x_i^2: i\ge 0\rangle_{\mathrm{AbGrp}}:$$ this freely generated by $(x_i)_{i\ge 0}$ as 2-elementary abelian group, and $x_i$ is the image of $e_{12}(X^i)$ in the abelianization map.

YCor
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