Stimulus checks went to most people on disability, but not all, and the rules changed between rounds

If you receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI), you were included in the stimulus payment rounds that happened in 2020 and 2021. The government used your Social Security records to send you money automatically — you did not have to file a tax return or take any action to receive it.

However, not every person on disability received every stimulus check. Some people missed payments because they had not filed taxes in recent years, or because their income situation changed between rounds. If you were on disability but did not receive a check you thought you should have gotten, there were specific reasons why, and some of them could be fixed.

Stimulus checks are no longer being issued. The last round ended in 2021. This article explains who received them, why some people were left out, and what to do if you believe you should have gotten a payment but did not.

Key Takeaways

  • Most people receiving SSDI or SSI automatically got stimulus checks in 2020 and 2021 without having to do anything.
  • You could have been left out if you had not filed a tax return in the past two years, even though you were on disability.
  • If you did not receive a stimulus check you were may have access to to, you could claim it on your 2020 or 2021 tax return as a Recovery Rebate Credit.
  • Stimulus payments have ended; no new rounds are being issued.
  • Your stimulus check amount did not affect your SSDI or SSI benefits going forward.

Who automatically received stimulus checks

The Social Security Administration (SSA) used its own records to identify people on SSDI and SSI and sent them stimulus payments directly. You did not need to file a tax return, call anyone, or submit paperwork. If you were receiving benefits in the month the payment was issued, the money went to your bank account or mailing address on file with Social Security.

This automatic process worked because SSA already had your information and knew you met the income requirements. The government sent three rounds of stimulus checks: one in spring 2020 ($1,200 per person), one in early 2021 ($600 per person), and one in summer 2021 ($1,400 per person). The amounts were the same whether you were on SSDI or SSI.

Why some people on disability did not receive a check

Even though most people on disability got stimulus payments automatically, some were left out. The most common reason was that they had not filed a federal income tax return in the two years before the stimulus was issued. The IRS used tax records as one way to verify who should receive money, and if you had no recent tax return on file, you might not have appeared in their system.

Another reason you might have been skipped: if you were a dependent on someone else's tax return. If your parent or guardian claimed you as a dependent, you did not receive your own stimulus check — the money went to the person who claimed you instead. This affected some adults on disability who were still claimed as dependents.

A third situation involved people who had recently started receiving benefits. If you began SSDI or SSI after the SSA and IRS data matched up for a particular round, you might not have been in the system yet when the payment was issued.

How to claim a stimulus check you did not receive

If you were on disability during 2020 or 2021 but did not receive a stimulus check, you could claim the money on your tax return. The IRS called this the Recovery Rebate Credit. You would file a 2020 or 2021 tax return (or an amended return if you had already filed) and claim the credit for any payments you did not get.

To use this route, you needed to file a tax return even if you normally did not owe taxes and had no income to report. The return itself was how you told the IRS you were may have access to to the stimulus money. Many people on disability had no tax filing requirement, so this step was unfamiliar, but it was the only way to recover a missed payment.

The important date to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on your 2020 return was April 15, 2022. For 2021 payments, the important date was April 18, 2023. If you missed those dates, you could no longer claim the money through the tax system.

What happened to your benefits after you received a stimulus check

Receiving a stimulus check did not reduce your SSDI or SSI benefits. The government specifically ruled that stimulus payments were not counted as income for benefit purposes. Your monthly SSDI or SSI amount stayed the same whether or not you received the money.

However, if you were on SSI, the stimulus check could have affected your may be able to access if you had not spent it by the time your next benefit month began. SSI has strict rules about how much money you can have in savings — the limit is $2,000 for an individual. If your stimulus check pushed your savings over that limit and you did not spend it down, your SSI could have been suspended until your resources dropped back below $2,000. SSDI has no resource limit, so this was not a concern for SSDI recipients.

Stimulus checks and non-citizen recipients

If you were on SSDI or SSI and had a valid Social Security number, you received stimulus checks the same way as anyone else. Immigration status did not disqualify you. The government sent payments based on Social Security records, not citizenship records.

However, if you were on SSI and not a U.S. citizen, there were some restrictions on how long you could stay on the program. SSI has citizenship requirements that SSDI does not. But those rules existed before stimulus checks and were separate from them — receiving a stimulus payment did not change your SSI status based on citizenship.

What to do if you still have questions about a missed payment

If you believe you should have received a stimulus check but did not, and you are past the important date to claim it on your taxes, you can contact the IRS directly. Call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 (the main customer service line) and explain your situation. They can look up whether a payment was issued to you and where it went.

You can also create an account on the IRS website (irs.gov) and use the "Get My Payment" tool, though this tool was most useful during 2020 and 2021 when payments were actively being issued. If you need help filing a tax return to claim a missed payment, the IRS offers free tax preparation services through VITA (Volunteer Income Tax information) sites in most communities.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I still get stimulus checks if I am on disability?

No. Stimulus checks were only issued in 2020 and 2021. No new rounds are being sent. If you did not receive a payment you were may have access to to during those years, the only way to get it now would have been to claim it on your tax return by the important date, which has passed.

Will receiving a stimulus check affect my SSDI or SSI in the future?

A stimulus check you received in 2020 or 2021 will not affect your ongoing SSDI benefits. For SSI, the check could have affected your may be able to access only if it pushed your savings above $2,000 and you did not spend it down before your next benefit month. That impact would have been temporary — once your resources dropped back below the limit, your SSI would resume.

What if my stimulus check was sent to the wrong address?

Contact the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 and provide your Social Security number and current address. They can tell you where the payment was sent and may be able to issue a replacement check if the original was lost or never received. You can also check the IRS website for a payment trace form.

Can I claim a stimulus check on my taxes if I did not file a return in 2020 or 2021?

Yes, but only if you file before the important date. For 2020 payments, the important date was April 15, 2022. For 2021 payments, it was April 18, 2023. Those important date have passed, so you can no longer claim missed stimulus payments through the tax system.

Does it matter if I am on SSDI versus SSI for stimulus checks?

Both SSDI and SSI recipients were treated the same way for stimulus payments — both received the same amounts automatically. The only difference was that SSI recipients had to be careful not to let the check push their savings above $2,000, while SSDI recipients had no such limit.