SSDI recipients received stimulus payments in 2023 through the same federal programs that sent them in 2020 and 2021

If you received SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance) in 2023, you were not excluded from stimulus payments that year. The payments came through the same mechanism as before: Social Security deposited them directly to the bank account or debit card on file with your SSDI account, using the same schedule as regular monthly benefits.

The key difference in 2023 was that no new stimulus law was passed. The payments people received that year came from earlier legislation — primarily the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which some people had not yet received, or from corrections to prior payments. If you received a payment in 2023 and did not know why, it was almost certainly a catch-up payment from 2020 or 2021, or a correction to an amount you had already received.

You did not need to take any action to receive these payments. Social Security handled the deposits automatically if you were on the SSDI rolls during the period the payment covered.

Key Takeaways

  • SSDI recipients received 2023 stimulus payments automatically through their regular Social Security account — no separate process or form was required.
  • Most 2023 payments were catch-up distributions from the 2020 and 2021 stimulus laws, not new stimulus money from 2023 legislation.
  • Payments deposited to the same bank account or debit card where your monthly SSDI benefit arrives.
  • If you received an unexpected payment in 2023, check your Social Security account online or call 1-800-772-1213 to see the payment description and reason.

Why SSDI recipients received payments in 2023

The 2023 payments came from two sources. First, some SSDI recipients had not yet received their full share of stimulus money from the American Rescue Plan Act (passed in March 2021). Social Security continued processing and sending those payments throughout 2022 and into 2023. Second, Social Security corrected errors in prior payments — for example, if someone's payment amount was calculated wrong in 2020 or 2021, the correction arrived in 2023.

There was no new stimulus law in 2023. Congress did not pass a fourth round of stimulus payments. If you heard about stimulus money in 2023, it referred to these catch-up and correction payments from earlier laws.

How to check if you received a 2023 stimulus payment

Log into your Social Security account at ssa.gov using your username and password. Under "Benefit and Payment History," you can see deposits to your account and the description Social Security assigned to each one. Stimulus payments are usually labeled as "Economic Impact Payment" or "EIP" followed by the year (2020, 2021, or 2022).

If you do not have an online account, call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778). A representative can tell you the date and amount of any stimulus payment sent to you and explain why it was sent. Have your Social Security number ready.

If you received a payment you believe was an error — for example, you think you already received that money — ask the representative to explain the reason code. Do not assume it is a mistake until you understand what Social Security recorded.

What to do if you did not receive a 2023 stimulus payment

If you were on the SSDI rolls in 2023 and did not receive a payment, the most common reason is that you already received your full amount from the 2020 and 2021 stimulus laws. Most SSDI recipients got their payments by the end of 2021. If you were added to SSDI after 2021, you would not have been sent a payment for a period you were not receiving benefits.

If you believe you should have received a payment and did not, contact Social Security. They can review your account and tell you whether a payment was sent and where it went. If Social Security sent the payment to an old bank account or address, they can help you locate it or reissue it.

Do not contact the IRS about a stimulus payment you did not receive through SSDI. Social Security handles all stimulus payments for people on disability benefits. The IRS does not process them separately.

Stimulus payments and your SSDI benefits

Receiving a stimulus payment did not reduce your monthly SSDI benefit. Stimulus money was not counted as income for the purpose of calculating your benefit amount. It also did not affect your may be able to access to receive SSDI.

If you were receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) — a different program from SSDI — the rules were different. SSI has strict resource limits, and stimulus payments could have affected your may be able to access if they pushed your total resources over the limit. SSDI has no resource limit, so stimulus payments had no effect on your SSI status either, as long as you did not hold onto the money long enough to exceed the SSI resource cap.

Tax treatment of 2023 stimulus payments

Stimulus payments received in 2023 were not taxable income. You did not report them on your 2023 tax return, and Social Security did not send you a 1099 form for them. This was true whether the payment was new money from 2021 or a correction sent in 2023.

If you received a 1099 form that included a stimulus payment, contact Social Security to report the error. The form should not have included that money.

What changed between 2021 and 2023 stimulus rules

The main change was timing and volume. In 2021, Social Security sent most stimulus payments within weeks of the law passing. By 2023, Social Security was processing the remaining payments and corrections more slowly because the volume was lower and the cases were more complex (usually involving address changes, account updates, or calculation errors).

The payment amounts did not change. The 2021 American Rescue Plan Act set the amounts: $1,400 per adult and $1,400 per dependent child. Any payment you received in 2023 was based on that same formula, applied to a period you had not yet been paid for.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I get a stimulus payment if I started receiving SSDI after 2021?

No. Stimulus payments were tied to the tax years 2020 and 2021. If you were not receiving SSDI during those years, you were not sent a payment. You cannot receive stimulus money retroactively for a period you were not on benefits.

What if I received a stimulus payment but I think it was sent to the wrong person?

Contact Social Security when ready at 1-800-772-1213. Do not spend the money. Social Security can investigate and, if the payment was sent in error, will tell you how to return it. Keeping money sent to you by mistake can create problems with your benefits later.

Do I need to report a 2023 stimulus payment to anyone?

No. You do not report it to the IRS, to Social Security, or to any other agency. It is not income, and you do not need to document it. If you received it, Social Security already knows.

Will there be another stimulus payment in 2024 or later?

There is no way to know. Congress would have to pass a new law. As of now, no new stimulus law has been proposed or passed. If one is passed in the future, SSDI recipients would receive payments the same way they did in 2020 and 2021 — automatically through Social Security.