With only a month to go in the tax season, many Americans are wondering what the implications are for reporting their coronavirus stimulus checks on their tax returns.

What If You Owe Money? It's Complicated: 

As for the current batch of $1,400 checks, taxpayers should know that the money cannot be garnished for unpaid federal debts or back taxes, but they can indeed be garnished for unpaid private debts—such as medical bills or credit card debts—if they are subject to a court order.

Garnishment is a court order that allows for money to be removed from an individual’s bank account, and banks generally have to comply with a court’s demands.

What About Past Stimulus Cash? 

And if an individual has yet to receive either the first or second stimulus check, know that the Internal Revenue Service will no longer send the payments out automatically. The agency, fortunately, has a set of procedures that can help out taxpayers.

For this particular tax season, a Recovery Rebate Credit has been added to all returns, so that people mired in this situation can eventually get their hands on the overdue payments.

According to the IRS website, it states that “if you didn’t get any payments or got less than the full amounts, you may qualify for the Recovery Rebate Credit and must file a 2020 tax return to claim the credit even if you don’t normally file.”

The agency advises that individuals keep the form they receive regarding their stimulus payment and refer to it when filing their tax returns.

Also, some people reportedly have gotten a confirmation letter (Notice 1444 or Notice 1444-B) from the IRS stating that their payment was issued even though they have yet to receive it. In this situation, the affected individuals have the option to request an IRS payment trace.

The same holds true if the IRS “Get My Payment” tool at www.irs.gov/coronavirus/get-my-payment shows that the stimulus funds have been transferred but nothing has changed in the recipient’s bank account.

In order to request a payment trace, first call the IRS at 800-919-9835 or mail or fax a completed Form 3911, “Taxpayer Statement Regarding Refund.” Make sure to set aside some time to complete this process because many have been left on hold for a considerable amount of time. If the trace request was done via phone, then know that one does not have to fill out Form 3911.

According to the agency, here’s the best way to complete Form 3911. First, make sure to write “EIP3” on the top of the form, then fill out the form answering all of the refund question as they relate to the missing stimulus payment.

When one reaches item seven under section one, be sure to check the box for “Individual” as the type of return. For “Date Filed,” leave that blank and then sign the form. Finally, keep in mind that for those who are married and filing together, both spouses must sign the form.

Ethen Kim Lieser is a Minneapolis-based Science and Tech Editor who has held posts at Google, The Korea Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, AsianWeek, and Arirang TV. Follow or contact him on LinkedIn.