SSDI recipients did receive stimulus payments during the COVID-19 pandemic

Yes, people receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) were included in all three rounds of federal stimulus payments issued between 2020 and 2021. You did not need to file a tax return or take any separate action to receive the money — Social Security sent it automatically to your bank account or mailing address on file.

The three payments were: $1,200 in spring 2020, $600 in December 2020, and $1,400 in March 2021. Amounts were the same for SSDI recipients as for other adults, though some people received additional payments for dependent children.

Because these payments have already been distributed and the stimulus program has ended, this information is mainly useful if you are trying to understand what happened to money you received, or if you need to report it on your taxes.

Key Takeaways

  • All three stimulus payments (2020, 2020, and 2021) went to SSDI recipients automatically without requiring an process or tax filing.
  • The payments were deposited to the same bank account or address where Social Security normally sends your monthly benefit.
  • Stimulus payments do not count as income for purposes of SSDI's earnings limits or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) resource limits.
  • If you did not receive a payment you believe you were owed, you could have claimed it on your 2021 tax return using IRS Form 1040.

How SSDI recipients received the payments

Social Security used its existing records to identify SSDI recipients and sent payments automatically. You did not need to contact Social Security, file a form, or prove anything. The agency straightforward matched its beneficiary list against the stimulus payment criteria and processed the money.

Payments went to whichever account or address Social Security had on record for you. If you received your monthly SSDI benefit by direct deposit, your stimulus payment arrived the same way. If you received a paper check each month, the stimulus came as a paper check as well.

Some SSDI recipients also received payments for dependent children — typically $500 per child under age 17. Social Security used the information already in your file to calculate this automatically.

Why stimulus payments did not affect your SSDI benefit

The stimulus payments were explicitly excluded from SSDI's income and resource limits. This meant receiving the money did not reduce your monthly benefit, and it did not count against the resource limit if you were also receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

SSDI has an earnings limit — currently $1,550 per month (in 2024) — that can reduce your benefit if you work and earn above that amount. Stimulus payments did not count toward this limit. SSI has a resource limit of $2,000 for an individual; stimulus payments were excluded from this calculation as well.

This protection was written into the stimulus legislation itself, so it applied across all three payment rounds.

What to do if you did not receive a stimulus payment

If you were receiving SSDI during the payment periods and did not receive one or more of the three stimulus payments, you had the option to claim the money on your federal tax return. This was done using IRS Form 1040 and the relevant Recovery Rebate Credit line.

The important date to claim these payments on your taxes has passed. However, if you believe you were may have access to to a payment and never received it, you can contact the IRS directly at 1-800-829-1040 to ask about your payment status. Social Security itself does not process stimulus payment claims — the IRS handles all questions about whether a payment was sent.

Keep in mind that some SSDI recipients did receive payments but did not notice them — for example, if the money went to a bank account you no longer use, or if it arrived as a check that was misplaced.

Stimulus payments and your tax return

You do not report stimulus payments as income on your tax return. The IRS does not tax these payments, and you should not include them in your reported income.

If you received more than one stimulus payment and claimed one or more of them on your tax return using the Recovery Rebate Credit, make sure you did not claim the same payment twice. The IRS cross-checks its records against what you report, and claiming a payment you already received can delay your refund or trigger an audit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do stimulus payments count as income for SSI resource limits?

No. Stimulus payments were excluded from SSI's $2,000 individual resource limit and $3,000 couple resource limit. If you received SSI along with SSDI, the stimulus money did not affect your may be able to access or benefit amount.

What if I received a stimulus payment but I was not supposed to?

Contact the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. Do not spend the money while you are resolving this. The IRS can tell you whether the payment was sent in error and what steps to take next.

Can I still claim a stimulus payment I missed?

The window to claim missed payments on your tax return has closed. Contact the IRS directly to ask whether your payment was sent and where it went. They can sometimes reissue payments to a different address or account if there was a delivery problem.

Did my SSDI benefit amount change because of the stimulus?

No. Stimulus payments did not reduce your monthly SSDI benefit, and they did not count as earnings. Your benefit amount stayed the same whether or not you received a stimulus payment.