SSDI recipients are generally included in stimulus payments, but receipt depends on whether you filed a tax return and met income thresholds

If you receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), you were treated the same as other Social Security recipients during the stimulus payment rounds of 2020 and 2021. The payments went to people based on their tax filing status and income level, not on the type of benefit they received. However, some SSDI recipients were missed because they did not file a tax return or because their income exceeded the limit for that payment round.

The three stimulus payments issued during the pandemic had different rules. The first payment in 2020 went to people earning under $75,000 (single) or $150,000 (married filing jointly). The second and third payments in 2021 had the same income limits. If you received SSDI and your only income was your SSDI benefit, you almost certainly fell below these thresholds and should have received a payment.

The main reason SSDI recipients missed payments was not filing a tax return. Social Security does not automatically report SSDI recipients to the IRS in a way that triggers stimulus may be able to access. If you did not file taxes and had no other income reported to the IRS, the government had no record of you and could not send you a payment.

Key Takeaways

  • SSDI recipients with income below $75,000 (single) or $150,000 (married) were included in all three stimulus payment rounds if the IRS had a record of them.
  • The IRS matched stimulus payments to tax returns first, then to Social Security records for people who did not file taxes but received benefits.
  • If you received SSDI and did not file a tax return, you may have been missed and can still claim the payment on your tax return.
  • Stimulus payments were not counted as income for SSDI purposes and did not reduce your monthly benefit amount.

How the IRS found SSDI recipients for stimulus payments

The IRS used two main sources to identify people who should receive stimulus money. First, they looked at tax returns filed in 2019 and 2020. If your name and Social Security number matched a return with income below the threshold, you were sent a payment automatically.

Second, the IRS worked with Social Security to identify people receiving benefits who had not filed a tax return. This process was slower and less reliable than matching tax returns. Social Security sent the IRS a list of SSDI recipients, but the IRS could only match people if their name and Social Security number were exactly correct in both systems. Errors in spelling, middle initials, or address information sometimes caused the match to fail.

If you received SSDI and did not file a tax return, you were supposed to be included in the second wave of payments. However, the matching process was imperfect, and some people fell through the cracks. The IRS later allowed people to claim missed stimulus payments on their 2020 and 2021 tax returns using the Recovery Rebate Credit.

What to do if you did not receive a stimulus payment

If you received SSDI during 2020 or 2021 and did not receive a stimulus payment, you can claim the money on your tax return. You do this by filing a return and claiming the Recovery Rebate Credit for each payment you missed.

The Recovery Rebate Credit is claimed on Form 1040 (the main income tax form) using Schedule 3. You will need to know the payment amounts: $1,200 for the first payment (2020), $600 for the second payment (2021), and $1,400 for the third payment (2021). If you did not receive any of these, you can claim all three on your next tax return.

You do not need to have earned income to file a return and claim the credit. Even if your only income was SSDI, you can file a return for the purpose of claiming the Recovery Rebate Credit. The IRS will send you the money as a refund.

The important date to claim a missed stimulus payment is three years from the original payment date. For the 2020 payment, the important date was April 15, 2024. For the 2021 payments, you have until April 15, 2025, and April 15, 2026, respectively. If you missed a important date, you can still file, but the IRS may not process your claim.

Whether stimulus payments affected your SSDI benefit

Stimulus payments were not counted as income for SSDI purposes. Your monthly SSDI benefit amount did not change because you received a stimulus check. This was true for all three payments.

However, stimulus payments could have affected your Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefit if you received SSI instead of or in addition to SSDI. SSI has strict asset limits, and stimulus money counted toward those limits. If your total assets exceeded $2,000 (single) or $3,000 (married), your SSI payment could have been reduced or stopped. SSI recipients who received stimulus payments were supposed to be notified of this risk, but many were not.

If you received SSI and a stimulus payment caused your assets to exceed the limit, you could have asked Social Security to exclude the stimulus money from the asset calculation for a limited time. This process required filing a form and providing proof that the money was from a stimulus payment. The rules varied by state and by the timing of your request.

Stimulus payments and your tax filing status

You may have received a stimulus payment even if you did not usually file a tax return. The IRS sent payments based on Social Security records, not on tax filing history. If you received SSDI and your income was below the threshold, you should have been sent a payment whether or not you filed taxes.

However, if you did file a tax return in 2019 or 2020, the IRS used that return to determine your payment amount. If your income on that return was above the threshold, you would not have received a payment, even if your SSDI income alone would have may have access to you. The IRS used the most recent tax return on file, not your current income.

This created a problem for people whose income had changed. For example, if you filed a tax return in 2019 showing income of $80,000, but you became disabled and started receiving SSDI in 2020, the IRS would have used your 2019 return and denied you a stimulus payment. You could have claimed the payment on your 2020 tax return using the Recovery Rebate Credit if your 2020 income was below the threshold.

Stimulus payments and non-citizen SSDI recipients

Stimulus payments required a valid Social Security number, but not U.S. citizenship. SSDI recipients who were not U.S. citizens but had a valid Social Security number were included in stimulus payments on the same basis as citizens.

However, some non-citizen SSDI recipients were excluded because they did not have an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) and had never filed a tax return. The IRS could not match them to Social Security records without a tax return on file. These recipients could claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on a tax return filed using an ITIN, though the rules for non-citizens claiming the credit were complex and varied.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I claim a stimulus payment I did not receive if I am still receiving SSDI?

Yes. You can file a tax return at any time and claim the Recovery Rebate Credit for any stimulus payment you missed, as long as you are within three years of the original payment date. You do not need to have earned income or have filed a return before. The IRS will send you the money as a refund.

What if I received a stimulus payment but it was the wrong amount?

If you received less than you should have, you can claim the difference on your tax return using the Recovery Rebate Credit. For example, if you received $600 but should have received $1,200, you can claim the $600 difference. You will need to know the payment amount for each stimulus check.

Did stimulus payments count as income for SSI?

Stimulus payments did not count as monthly income for SSI purposes, but they did count as assets. If you received SSI and your total assets exceeded $2,000 (single) or $3,000 (married), your SSI payment could have been reduced. You could have asked Social Security to exclude the stimulus money temporarily if you reported it quickly.

What if I received SSDI but also had a job or other income?

If your total income from all sources was below the stimulus threshold ($75,000 single, $150,000 married), you should have received a payment. The IRS used your total income from your tax return or Social Security records, not just your SSDI amount. If you did not receive a payment and your total income was below the threshold, you can claim it on your tax return.

Do I need to report stimulus payments to Social Security?

No. Stimulus payments do not need to be reported to Social Security for SSDI purposes. They do not count as income and do not affect your benefit amount. If you receive SSI, you should report the payment to Social Security because it counts as an asset, but you have time to do so and can ask for temporary exclusion.