The IRS reached its deadline for sending out second stimulus checks of up to $600 per person. And while that money is yours to keep in most cases, there are a few rule changes in the December stimulus bill -- including changes to qualifications and new income limits that may prevent you from getting a check at all -- that could also affect which people or organizations to take your money in this round.

This may leave you wondering: Will I get taxed on my first or second stimulus check this year? Can states, banks or my landlord garnish my money? Could my second check be garnished to pay overdue child support? What if the IRS sent me too much money by accident? 

We've got all of the information you'll need as you wait to see if the new payment arrives this week via physical check or EIP card. (Here's how to track your stimulus check online and in the mail, and what we know so far about a potential third stimulus check for $2,000 per adult.) Those who don't receive their checks this week will need to claim them on their taxes or, in some cases, report a missing check to the IRS or even start a payment trace. This story has been updated recently. 

Your second check can't be taken away for overdue child support 

Under the CARES Act, stimulus money could be seized by state and federal agencies to cover past-due child support. However, your second stimulus check can't be taken if you owe money for child support. This change with the new payment is widely understood across federal and state agencies. Here's everything to know about stimulus checks and child support. It isn't clear if garnishment rules would further change in a third stimulus check.

Banks and creditors won't be able to take your second stimulus payment, but there is one exception

With the first stimulus check, private banks and creditors were able to seize a payment to cover an outstanding debt. However, some states, such as California, issued orders forbidding banks and creditors from garnishing your stimulus check. With the second stimulus check, your payment is protected from bank garnishment and from private creditors and debt collectors, according to the text of the law. 

However, there's one major caveat here: Individual banks can decide whether they want to use your stimulus direct deposit to cover overdraft fees, according to a New York Times report. This is because, for most people, their stimulus check is deposited into the same bank account where they also receive tax refunds. 

Though large US banks including Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo said they would temporarily zero out their customers' negative balances so that they can access their stimulus money, some regional and community banks are garnishing that money to pay overdraft fees, or are considering customer requests on a case-by-case basis, according to the Times. If this has happened to you, you can try contacting your bank to ask for a temporary overdraft waiver, but it may not be granted. 

No, the government will not tax either of your stimulus checks

The IRS doesn't consider stimulus payments to be income, which means you won't be taxed on your stimulus money, and the IRS won't garnish it to pay for any back taxes you owe. 

That also means a direct payment you get this year won't reduce your tax refund in 2021 or increase the amount you owe when you file your 2020 tax return. You also won't have to repay part of your stimulus check if you qualify for a lower amount in 2021. If you didn't receive everything you were owed this year, you can claim your full stimulus check amount as a Recovery Rebate Credit on your 2020 federal income tax return when you file next month (more on that below).

You aren't required to file taxes to qualify for a stimulus check, however...

Though taxes do play a role in determining stimulus check eligibility, you don't need to have filed a tax return to qualify for a check. If you're over age 65, for example, and receive Supplemental Security Income or Social Security Disability Insurance, you could still qualify for a stimulus check under the CARES Act as well as with the second check. You just might need to take an extra step to request your payment and get your check, however. People in this group, termed nonfilers, will have to file a tax return to receive any stimulus money that doesn't come shortly after the Jan. 15 deadline, which has already passed. 

Landlords and nursing homes can't force you to use your stimulus money to pay them

The CARES Act prevented landlords from demanding you give them your stimulus check to make a rent payment. Nursing homes and care facilities also cannot ask you to hand over your stimulus check money to meet a payment, according to the IRS. 

The second stimulus check follows the same rules. If someone pressures you or threatens you with eviction in exchange for your payment, make sure you know your rights in regards to stimulus checks and to the eviction moratorium that lasts through Jan. 31. The $900 billion stimulus legislation includes rental assistance for states and cities. 

Your stimulus check can't be taken to pay a late car payment

Likewise, people who are worried about car repossession if they can't make a payment are in most cases not obligated to hand over stimulus money, unless it falls into an exception below. Here's what we know about missed car payments during the coronavirus pandemic.

If your first check never arrived, you can claim a rebate to get that money later

If you were eligible for a first check but still haven't received a direct deposit, check or prepaid EIP debit card from the IRS, you may have mistakenly been overlooked, or you may have a problem that you need to resolve. Certain groups who are eligible for that first payment, such as some older adults, retirees, SSDI recipients, noncitizens and those who are incarcerated, can file a claim for payment in February.

If you don't receive your second check by the end of this week, you can also claim it on your taxes in 2021.

To get your money this way -- which the IRS calls a Recovery Rebate Credit -- you have to wait until you file your 2020 federal income tax return (the deadline for which is currently April 15). When you file a 2020 Form 1040 or 1040SR, you'll get a rebate for the amount of money you missed out on in the first round. This credit would either increase the amount of your tax refund or lower the amount of the tax you need to pay by the amount of stimulus money you're still owed. 

If you got a letter from the IRS confirming either your first or second payment, but never actually got the money, you can try filing a Payment Trace through the IRS to track it down. 

Incarcerated people are still able to claim their stimulus check 

Though there was a lot of confusion at first, people who are in prison and jail are eligible to qualify for the first stimulus check of up to $1,200 per adult. 

A ruling this fall from a federal judge in California required the IRS to contact those incarcerated who can file a claim for a stimulus check. The deadline to file a claim this year -- either through the mail or online -- has passed. As with others who are missing a payment, the IRS said if you do not receive a payment by Dec. 31 you may be able to claim it as a Recovery Rebate Credit by filing a 2020 Form 1040 or 1040-SR.

Right now, incarcerated people are also entitled to a second stimulus check.

Could the IRS make you return your stimulus payment?

The IRS said a payment you get this year won't reduce your tax refund in 2021 or increase the amount you owe when you file your 2020 tax return. You also won't have to repay a stimulus payment if you qualify for a lower amount in 2021. (Here's how your income taxes influence your payment.)

However, if the IRS thinks it mistakenly sent you more stimulus check money than you qualify for, or if you receive money in your check for someone who's died, the agency expects you to return the payment.

NOTE: WE ARE ACCEPTING TAX RETURNS RIGHT NOW. CALL US TO SEND YOUR INFO VIA SECURE FILE OR DROP BY OUR OFFICE (602) 456-0427 or (602) 438-6823 or (602) 753-3322   www.AngularFinancial.com