SSDI recipients can receive stimulus checks

Yes. If you receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), you are generally treated the same as other Social Security beneficiaries when stimulus payments are issued. You do not lose SSDI payments because you receive a stimulus check, and receiving SSDI does not disqualify you from getting one.

The stimulus checks sent during the COVID-19 pandemic went to most people who filed taxes or received Social Security benefits, including SSDI recipients. The government used existing Social Security records to identify who should receive payments, so many SSDI recipients got their checks automatically without having to take any action.

However, whether you actually received a stimulus check depended on specific circumstances — your income level, whether you filed taxes that year, and whether the Social Security Administration had your current banking information on file. These rules were the same for SSDI recipients as for everyone else.

Key Takeaways

  • SSDI recipients were treated the same as other Social Security beneficiaries for stimulus check purposes and were not excluded because of their disability status.
  • The government used Social Security records to send stimulus checks automatically to most SSDI recipients, so many people did not need to take action.
  • Income limits applied to stimulus checks just as they did for other recipients, so some SSDI recipients with additional income may not have received the full amount.
  • If you did not receive a stimulus check you believed you were owed, you could claim it on your tax return or contact the IRS for help locating it.

How the government identified SSDI recipients for stimulus payments

The Social Security Administration shared records with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) so the government could send stimulus checks to people who received SSDI but did not file tax returns. This meant that many SSDI recipients got their payments deposited directly into the bank account Social Security already had on file, without needing to fill out any forms.

If Social Security did not have your banking information, the government sent a check by mail to the address on your Social Security record. This process was automatic — you did not need to contact anyone or submit paperwork unless you wanted to update your bank account information before the payment was sent.

Some SSDI recipients did have to take action if their information had changed or if there was a problem with their account. For example, if you had moved and Social Security did not have your new address, you might not have received the check at the address on file.

Income limits and how they affected SSDI recipients

Stimulus checks had income limits, meaning people above a certain income level received a smaller payment or nothing at all. For most rounds of stimulus payments, the income thresholds were around $75,000 for single filers and $150,000 for married couples filing jointly, though these amounts varied slightly between payment rounds.

SSDI payments themselves did not count toward these income limits — only other income did. This meant that if you received SSDI and had no other income, you would not be affected by the income limits and would receive the full stimulus amount. However, if you also had wages from work, investment income, or other earnings, those amounts could push you over the limit.

The IRS used your most recent tax return to determine your income level. If you did not file taxes, Social Security reported your SSDI income to the IRS, which counted only as Social Security income and typically did not trigger the income limit.

What to do if you did not receive a stimulus check

If you believed you were owed a stimulus check but did not receive one, you had options. The first was to check the IRS website using the "Get My Payment" tool, which let you see the status of your payment and the address or bank account where it was sent.

If the tool showed that a check was mailed to an old address, you could file a change of address with the Postal Service to have it forwarded. If it showed a deposit to a bank account you no longer use, you would need to contact that bank to see if the money was deposited and what happened to it.

If you could not locate the payment through those steps, you could claim it on your tax return for that year. You would file Form 1040 and use Schedule 1 to report the stimulus payment you did not receive. The IRS would then issue the payment to you, usually as a refund or credit against taxes owed.

How stimulus checks affected your SSDI benefits

Receiving a stimulus check did not reduce your SSDI payments in any way. The government specifically stated that stimulus payments were not counted as income for purposes of SSDI, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), or other benefit programs. This meant you could receive both your regular SSDI payment and a stimulus check without losing either one.

The only exception was SSI, which has strict asset limits. If you received SSI (a different program from SSDI), a large stimulus payment could have temporarily pushed your assets over the limit and affected your SSI payment for that month. However, the government issued guidance allowing people to exclude stimulus payments from their asset count for a limited time, usually nine months, to prevent this problem.

Stimulus checks and taxes

Stimulus checks were not taxable income, meaning you did not owe taxes on them and did not have to report them on your tax return — unless you were claiming one you did not receive, in which case you reported it to get the payment.

Because stimulus checks were not income, they did not affect your SSDI in any way related to taxes. Your SSDI payments themselves are not taxable unless you have other income above certain thresholds, but that rule applied the same way whether or not you received a stimulus check.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I lose my SSDI because I got a stimulus check?

No. Stimulus checks are not counted as income for SSDI purposes, so receiving one does not affect your benefits. Your SSDI payment will continue at the same amount whether or not you received a stimulus payment.

What if I received SSDI but did not get a stimulus check?

Check the IRS "Get My Payment" tool to see where your payment was sent. If it went to an old address, file a change of address with the Postal Service. If you still cannot locate it, you can claim it on your tax return for that year using Form 1040 and Schedule 1.

Do stimulus checks count as assets if I receive SSI?

Stimulus payments were temporarily excluded from asset limits for SSI recipients, usually for nine months after receipt. After that period, they would count toward your asset limit if you still had the money. Contact your local Social Security office if you receive SSI and want to know how a stimulus payment affects your benefits.

If I earned money from work in addition to SSDI, did that affect my stimulus check?

Your work income could have reduced your stimulus payment if it pushed your total income above the limit for that year. The IRS used your most recent tax return to calculate your income, so if you reported wages, those were included in determining your stimulus amount.

Will there be more stimulus checks in the future?

There is no current plan for additional federal stimulus checks. If Congress passes legislation authorizing new payments, SSDI recipients would likely be treated the same way as in previous rounds — automatically receiving payments based on Social Security records.