TexTaxToo

I would be wary of scams where a deposit is made (which later turns out to be fake and is cancelled), and the person is called, told it was a mistake, and is asked to return the money via wire transfer or gift cards.

The scholarship is taxable (Line 1 with notation 'SCH') - your software should have a place to put it so that happens automatically. You can first subtract out the cost of books and other required fees, equipment, if any. The Kiddie Tax does come into play if the kid is required to file. The taxable scholarship income is unearned for purposes of the kiddie tax. SImplest would be if there is no filing requirement. If kid has no other income and $300 book expense so gross income drops below $12,400 - there is no filing requirement (scholarship income is treated as earned for purposes of the filing requirement), and you can forget the whole thing.

What's your experience with efiling an amended return? Does any refund get sent as quickly as for a regular 1040 - that is, does it appear they are handled automatically in most cases?

They can now use the opt out portal to change direct deposit information. They'll be able to change address, children claimed, expected income later this year.

In Windows, I normally see what JohnH and jklcpa describe, but when I reduce the width of the browser window below a certain point, the top area and blue stripe completely changes, and I see the hamburger as Lion EA describes. It also changes based on your magnification level (when use use Ctrl+ and Ctrl- to change magnification).

The law already provides for a safe harbor of $2000 per child on payback of advanced CTC. Low income taxpayers (AGI < $60000 MFJ/QW, $50000 HOH, $40000 other) will not need to pay back anything. The safe harbor phases out for an AGI of double those amounts. The IRS is calling it "repayment protection": https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/2021-child-tax-credit-and-advance-child-tax-credit-payments-topic-h-reconciling-your-advance-child-tax-credit-payments-on-your-2021-tax-return#collapseCollapsible1624567062314

The IRS is now using an external vendor (ID.me) for identification verification. It looks like it's just for the Advanced CTC payments now, but maybe it will work for other secure access (now or later). https://help.id.me/hc/en-us/articles/4402754222615-IRS-CTC-What-does-ID-me-do-for-the-IRS-#!

I wonder if underpayment penalties will be assessed if you don't opt out and need to pay back the advanced payments. I hope not, but I agree that would be a good reason.

Have you tried recently? I got a similar message when I tried to create a personal account a couple years ago. I tried again last week and was able to create an account online. I didn't even have to lift my credit freezes - they did a "soft inquiry" only.

The "Update portal" which may be used to opt out of the payments is now available here: https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/child-tax-credit-update-portal I don't see much reason to opt out, but you can also use it to see what you'll get, and future enhancements will allow: changing bank account information changing mailing address changing family status and income (will this allow opting in?)

Yes, see this topic and post: https://www.atxcommunity.com/topic/25543-3rd-stimulus-taxpayer-with-itin-dependents-with-ssn-are-they-eligible/?do=findComment&comment=179741 The IRS first said no, but now says yes.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think the EIN from the 1099-NEC is actually sent as part of the e-file. The IRS just compares the total amount reported on Schedule C to the total on the Forms 1099-NEC the IRS knows about.

Maybe it is - from Pub 463: https://www.irs.gov/publications/p463#en_US_2020_publink100033937

The only "option" is that they can agree on who should claim the children. If they are treated as one household, only the one that paid more than half of the household costs can be HOH. If they are treated as two households sharing living quarters, only the one with the higher AGI can be HOH. They cannot split the kids and each claim HOH. In those years, the one who worked may be able to claim the other as a dependent.

And this "shifting" is only allowed if the terms of the scholarship or grant allow it. Scholarships that are restricted to paying only tuition and other qualified expenses cannot be shifted to income. (Pell grants are unrestricted - many scholarships are not). Even though the income goes on line 1, it is considered unearned for most purposes and could result in the student being subject to the kiddie tax. But for purposes of the filing requirement, the scholarship is considered earned income, and if the student's income is less that the filing requirement, you needn't report it at all.