SSDI recipients were not sent a fourth stimulus check

There was no fourth round of stimulus payments. The federal government issued three rounds of Economic Impact Payments: in 2020 (the first check), early 2021 (the second check), and mid-2021 (the third check). After the third payment in July 2021, Congress did not authorize additional stimulus checks, and no fourth payment was distributed to any group of people, including those receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).

SSDI recipients who were may be able to access for the first three payments received them through the same mechanism as other Social Security beneficiaries. The IRS and Social Security Administration coordinated to send payments to bank accounts on file or by paper check. If you received the first three payments, your SSDI status made you part of that distribution. If you did not receive one or more of those three payments and believe you were may have access to to them, the issue is not that SSDI was excluded—it is that your specific payment may have been lost, sent to a wrong address, or held up by a banking problem.

Key Takeaways

  • Only three stimulus payments were issued by the federal government, in 2020, early 2021, and mid-2021; no fourth payment was authorized or sent.
  • SSDI recipients were included in all three rounds of stimulus payments on the same terms as other Social Security beneficiaries.
  • If you received SSDI and did not get one of the three payments you believe you were owed, you can check the IRS website or contact the IRS to trace the payment.
  • Some people confused state-level payments or child tax credit payments with a fourth federal stimulus check.

How SSDI recipients received the first three stimulus payments

SSDI recipients did not have to take any action to receive stimulus payments. The Social Security Administration automatically identified people receiving SSDI and provided their banking information to the IRS. Payments were deposited directly to the bank account on file with Social Security, or mailed as a paper check if no account was registered.

The three payments were $1,200 (first round), $600 (second round), and $1,400 (third round). Amounts did not vary based on the type of Social Security benefit received. A person on SSDI got the same payment as a person on retirement benefits or Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

Because SSDI is a federal benefit program and the stimulus was a federal program, there was no gap in coverage. Unlike some other groups who had to file tax returns or register with the IRS to receive payments, SSDI recipients were automatically included in the Social Security Administration's data match with the IRS.

What to do if you did not receive one of the three payments

If you were receiving SSDI during any of the three payment windows and did not receive a check you believe you were owed, the IRS has a tool to trace the payment. Visit irs.gov and use the "Get My Payment" tool (or "Where's My Refund" for tax-year-specific payments). You will need your Social Security number, date of birth, and mailing address.

The tool will tell you whether the payment was issued, the date it was sent, and the method (direct deposit or mail). If it shows the payment was deposited but you never received it, contact your bank to ask whether the deposit arrived and was reversed, or whether there was a hold on the account. If the tool shows the payment was mailed but never arrived, you can request a replacement check from the IRS.

If the tool shows no payment was issued at all, the problem may be that your address or banking information was incorrect in the Social Security Administration's records at the time of the payment run. You can contact Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 to verify the address and bank account they have on file, and ask whether a replacement payment can be issued.

Why some people thought there was a fourth payment

Confusion about a fourth stimulus check arose from several sources. Some states issued their own pandemic relief payments separate from the federal stimulus checks—for example, California, Colorado, and other states sent additional money to residents in 2021 and 2022. These were state payments, not federal stimulus checks, and they had different rules about who received them.

The Child Tax Credit expansion in 2021 also caused confusion. Families with children received monthly payments from July through December 2021 as an advance on the expanded child tax credit. These were not stimulus checks; they were tax credit payments and had different income limits and may be able to access rules than the stimulus payments.

Some people also received payments from state unemployment programs or other pandemic-relief programs and mistook them for a fourth federal stimulus check. The federal government did not issue a fourth round of stimulus payments to any population.

Whether Congress considered a fourth stimulus payment

After the third stimulus payment in July 2021, some members of Congress proposed additional rounds of stimulus checks, but no proposal passed both chambers. The debate centered on inflation, the state of the economic recovery, and the cost of additional payments. By late 2021 and into 2022, the focus of federal spending shifted to other programs, and no fourth stimulus authorization was enacted.

Proposals for additional stimulus payments have been made periodically since then, but none have become law. If a fourth stimulus payment were authorized in the future, SSDI recipients would almost certainly be included on the same basis as the first three payments—automatically, without requiring an process or action on the recipient's part.

How stimulus payments affect SSDI and SSI benefits

The stimulus payments themselves did not count as income for purposes of SSDI. SSDI is not means-tested, meaning there is no income limit that can cause your benefit to be reduced or stopped. Receiving a stimulus check did not change your SSDI payment amount or your may be able to access to receive SSDI.

For people receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI), the rules were different. SSI is means-tested, and normally any income above $65 per month reduces the SSI payment. However, Congress excluded stimulus payments from the SSI income rules, so receiving a stimulus check did not reduce an SSI payment. The payments were also excluded from the resource limits that explore to SSI, so having the money in a bank account did not count against the $2,000 resource limit for individuals.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I still get a refund or replacement for a stimulus payment I never received?

Yes, but only for the three payments that were issued. Use the IRS "Get My Payment" tool at irs.gov to confirm whether your payment was sent. If it was mailed and never arrived, the IRS can issue a replacement check. If it was deposited to a bank account that no longer exists or was closed, contact that bank first to see whether the deposit was rejected.

If I was not receiving SSDI during one of the payment periods, can I still get that stimulus check?

may be able to access for the stimulus payments was based on having a valid Social Security number and meeting income thresholds, not on receiving a specific benefit. If you were not on SSDI but had a Social Security number and income below the limit, you may have been may have access to to a payment. Check the IRS website or contact the IRS to determine whether you were included in a particular round.

Do I have to report stimulus payments on my taxes?

No. The stimulus payments were not taxable income and do not need to be reported on your federal tax return. You will not receive a 1099 or other tax form for them.

What if I received a stimulus payment by mistake?

You do not have to return it. The IRS has not pursued recovery of stimulus payments sent in error, and there is no mechanism to return them. If you received a payment and later learned you were not may have access to to it, you do not owe the money back.