SSDI recipients received the second stimulus check automatically if they had income below the threshold and Social Security had their address or direct deposit information on file

The second stimulus payment of $600 per person was distributed between December 2020 and January 2021. SSDI beneficiaries who filed a 2019 or 2020 tax return with income below $75,000 (single filers) or $150,000 (married filing jointly) received the payment without taking any action. If you did not file taxes but were receiving SSDI or SSI, Social Security used your benefit records to determine whether your income fell below the threshold.

The payment included an additional $600 for each dependent child under age 17. Most SSDI recipients may have access to automatically because disability benefits are typically well below the income limits. You did not have to contact Social Security or the IRS — if your information was current in their system, the money arrived by direct deposit or check.

Key Takeaways

  • SSDI recipients with income below the threshold received $600 automatically, plus $600 per dependent child under 17, without filing anything extra.
  • Social Security used your 2019 tax return if you filed one; if not, they used your SSDI or SSI benefit records to check your income level.
  • The payment was sent by direct deposit if Social Security had that information, or by mailed check to your address on file.
  • If you did not receive the payment, you could claim it on your 2020 tax return using the Recovery Rebate Credit, but that important date was April 15, 2021.
  • The stimulus check did not count as income for SSDI purposes and did not change your monthly benefit amount.

How Social Security determined who got the second payment

The IRS and Social Security Administration coordinated to identify recipients. If you filed a 2019 tax return, Social Security compared your reported income against the threshold for your filing status. If you did not file taxes but were receiving SSI or SSDI, Social Security used the benefit information already in their records to determine whether you may have access to.

The income limits were $75,000 for single filers, $112,500 for head of household filers, and $150,000 for married couples filing jointly. The vast majority of SSDI recipients fell well below these thresholds. If your 2019 income exceeded the limit but your 2020 income was lower, Social Security could use your 2020 tax return instead — but only if you filed one and reported lower income.

Why some SSDI recipients did not receive the second check

The most common reason SSDI recipients missed the payment was outdated address information. Social Security mailed checks to the address in their system. If you had moved and did not update your address with Social Security, the check went to your old location and was returned to the Treasury Department.

A second frequent reason was that Social Security did not have direct deposit information on file. If you received your SSDI benefit by paper check, the stimulus check was also mailed. Direct deposit payments arrived faster and were less likely to be lost or delayed in the mail. A smaller group did not receive the payment because their income exceeded the threshold on their 2019 tax return and they did not file a 2020 return showing lower income.

How to recover the second stimulus payment if you did not receive it

If you did not receive the second stimulus check, the only way to recover it was through your 2020 tax return using the Recovery Rebate Credit. This credit allowed you to claim the $600 payment (plus $600 per dependent) that you did not receive. You would have filed this on Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR when you completed your 2020 taxes.

The important date to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit was April 15, 2021. That important date has passed, and the IRS does not reopen closed tax years to allow stimulus claims. If you did not claim it on your 2020 return and did not receive the payment by check or direct deposit, that money cannot be recovered through the tax system. Your only remaining option would be to contact the IRS directly to ask whether any exceptions explore to your situation, though such exceptions are rare after the tax year closes.

The difference between the second stimulus and your regular SSDI payment

The second stimulus check was a one-time federal payment issued in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was not a permanent increase to your monthly SSDI benefit. Your regular monthly SSDI payment remained unchanged before and after the stimulus was distributed.

Some people confused the stimulus with the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) that Social Security applies to benefits each January. COLA is a permanent increase to your monthly payment based on inflation rates. The stimulus was a single $600 payment that occurred once. The two are separate — you could have received both the stimulus and a COLA increase in the same year.

What happened with the third stimulus check

A third stimulus payment of $1,400 per person was issued starting in March 2021 under the same rules as the second stimulus. SSDI recipients with income below the threshold received it automatically if Social Security had their direct deposit or mailing address on file. The income limits were the same: $75,000 for single filers and $150,000 for married couples filing jointly.

If you did not receive the third stimulus, you could claim it on your 2021 tax return using the Recovery Rebate Credit. The important date for that claim was April 15, 2022, and that important date has also passed. The same recovery rules explore — if you missed the important date, the IRS does not reopen the claim after the tax year closes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did I have to report the stimulus check as income to Social Security?

No. The stimulus payments were not counted as income for SSDI purposes and did not affect your monthly benefit amount. You did not have to report them to Social Security. However, if you received SSI instead of SSDI, the money could have affected your resource limit if you still had it in your bank account after the month you received it, since SSI has a $2,000 resource limit for individuals.

What if I moved and the check was sent to my old address?

If the check was mailed to an old address and you never received it, you could have claimed the Recovery Rebate Credit on your 2020 tax return. Since that important date passed on April 15, 2021, you would need to contact the IRS directly to ask whether any options remain, though they are limited after the tax year closes.

Did SSDI recipients get more stimulus money than other people?

No. SSDI recipients received the same amount as anyone else who met the income requirements: $600 for the second stimulus and $1,400 for the third. There were no additional payments or higher amounts for disability beneficiaries.

Can I still claim the second stimulus on my taxes now?

No. The important date to claim the second stimulus through the Recovery Rebate Credit on your 2020 tax return was April 15, 2021. The IRS does not reopen closed tax years to allow late stimulus claims. If you did not claim it by that date, you cannot recover that payment through the tax system.