Question:I did not file a tax return for years 2018 or 2019. So I received my $1,200 Economic Impact Payment manual check by using the IRS link to the non-filer website. Do I need to refile through the same method to receive the second EIP of $600 and potentially another $1,400 if a third payment is approved? I do have a checking and saving account now for electronic deposits. Also, are income taxes supposed to be paid for any EIP?

Answer: No, you do not need to re-register using the non-filer tool; you should receive the second payment automatically, assuming that you are eligible, according to the Internal Revenue Service. The answer to your second question is no, because EIPs are not taxable income. EIPs, commonly known as stimulus payments, are tax credits paid in advance.

Readers are asking many questions about the second round of stimulus payments, which are being distributed now. Here are answers from the IRS:

>> The first wave of payments are going to people whose information is on file because they received the first EIP and are eligible for round two, which is called EIP2. Some people may see a direct-deposit payment as pending or provisional in their account before the official payment date of Jan. 4. No action is required on their part.

>> Payments are automatic for “eligible taxpayers who filed a 2019 tax return, those who receive Social Security retirement, survivor or disability benefits (SSDI), Railroad Retirement benefits as well as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Veterans Affairs beneficiaries who didn’t file a tax return. Payments are also automatic for anyone who successfully registered for the first payment online at IRS.gov using the agency’s Non-Filers tool by Nov. 21, 2020, or who submitted a simplified tax return that has been processed by the IRS.”

>> Most recipients will receive the money by direct deposit, but paper checks and debit cards also will be issued. “Social Security and other beneficiaries who received the first round of payments via Direct Express will receive this second payment the same way.”

>> Direct deposits began Tuesday night and mailed payments started going out Wednesday. Mailed payments by check or debit card will conclude in January.

>> Don’t contact your financial institution or the IRS asking about the timing of your payment. Within a few days, you should be able to check its status online, at IRS.gov/GetMyPayment, but the tool was not operational as of deadline on Wednesday.

>> The full amount in the second round is $600 for singles and $1,200 for married couples filing jointly, up to a certain income. In addition, those with qualifying children will receive $600 for each qualifying child. Dependents 17 and older are not eligible for either payment.

>> The U.S. House passed a bill increasing the EIP to $2,000, but the measure stalled in the Senate. “If additional legislation is enacted to provide for an additional amount, the Economic Impact Payments that have been issued will be topped up as quickly as possible.”

>> The EIP phases out at higher incomes, at a rate of $5 for every $100 over the threshold. Since EIP2 is half the size of the first EIP, some people who received partial payment in the first round won’t get anything this time. “Generally, if you have adjusted gross income for 2019 up to $75,000 for individuals and up to $150,000 for married couples filing joint returns and surviving spouses, you will receive the full amount of the second payment.”

>> Eligible individuals who didn’t receive an EIP this year may claim it when they file their 2020 taxes in 2021. Economic Impact Payments are referred to as the Recovery Rebate Credit on Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR. The EIPs are advance payments of the RRC.

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