SSDI recipients did not receive a separate stimulus check in 2023

There was no stimulus payment issued to Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) beneficiaries in 2023. The last federal stimulus checks went out in 2021 as part of the American Rescue Plan Act. If you receive SSDI and did not get a check in 2023, it was not because you were overlooked — no check was issued that year to any group.

The confusion often stems from the fact that SSDI recipients were included in earlier rounds of stimulus payments (2020 and 2021). Many people reasonably expected the pattern to continue. It did not. Congress did not pass a new stimulus package in 2023, and no payments were authorized.

If you received a stimulus check in 2021 and are wondering whether you should have received another one in 2023, the answer is straightforward: the program ended. You were not left out of a payment you were supposed to get.

Key Takeaways

  • No stimulus checks were issued in 2023 to any Social Security beneficiaries, including SSDI recipients.
  • The last round of federal stimulus payments occurred in 2021 under the American Rescue Plan Act.
  • SSDI recipients who received checks in 2020 and 2021 were not excluded from a 2023 payment — the program straightforward did not run in 2023.
  • If you received a stimulus check in 2021, you do not need to report it as income on your SSDI record or your taxes.

How SSDI recipients were treated in earlier stimulus rounds

When stimulus checks were issued in 2020 and 2021, SSDI beneficiaries were included automatically. You did not have to file a tax return or take any action. The Social Security Administration matched its records against the payment list, and checks were sent to the address on file or deposited directly to a bank account if you had set up direct deposit for your benefits.

This automatic inclusion was significant because many SSDI recipients have little or no tax filing requirement — they live below the income threshold that triggers a filing obligation. The government recognized that and did not require a tax return as proof of identity or income. A valid Social Security number and an active SSDI case were enough.

The 2021 payment was the third and final stimulus round. After that, Congress did not authorize additional payments, and no new stimulus legislation passed in 2022 or 2023.

Why there was no 2023 stimulus and what changed

Stimulus checks were emergency measures tied to specific economic conditions — the pandemic shutdowns of 2020, the ongoing economic disruption of 2021. By 2023, the emergency declarations had ended, and Congress shifted focus to other priorities. No new stimulus bill was introduced or voted on.

The political environment also changed. The 2020 and 2021 payments had broad bipartisan support as emergency relief. By 2023, that consensus had fractured. Inflation and labor market conditions were different, and there was no legislative push for another round of direct payments to all Social Security beneficiaries.

This does not mean SSDI recipients were forgotten in policy discussions. Congress has considered other changes to SSDI — work incentive reforms, changes to the earnings limit, adjustments to the benefit formula — but none of those became law in 2023. A stimulus check is a one-time payment, not a permanent change to the program, so its absence does not affect your ongoing SSDI benefits.

What to do if you think you were owed a 2023 payment

If you received stimulus checks in 2020 and 2021 but believe you should have received one in 2023, the first step is to confirm that no payment was issued. You can check the status of any stimulus payment through the IRS website using the "Get My Payment" tool, even though you are not the one who filed a tax return. The tool works for Social Security beneficiaries and will show you the date and method of any payment issued to you.

If the tool shows no payment in 2023, that is the answer: no payment was issued to you because no payment was issued to anyone. You cannot claim a payment that was not authorized by Congress.

If the tool shows a payment was issued but you never received it, that is a different problem — a lost check or a deposit to a closed bank account. In that case, contact the IRS directly at 1-800-829-1040 or work with a local IRS office to trace the payment and request a replacement.

How stimulus payments affect your SSDI benefits and taxes

Stimulus checks do not count as income for SSDI purposes. They do not reduce your monthly benefit, trigger a work incentive review, or affect your Medicare or Medicaid coverage. The Social Security Administration treats stimulus payments as non-countable income — they are excluded from the calculation that determines whether you are earning too much to remain on SSDI.

For tax purposes, stimulus payments are also not taxable income. You do not report them on your federal tax return, and they do not increase your tax liability. If you filed a 2021 tax return and received a stimulus check that year, you should not have included it as income on that return.

This tax treatment is important if you are ever audited or if you are reviewing old tax documents. A stimulus check is not income in any sense — it is a one-time transfer payment from the federal government, similar to a tax refund.

Scams and false claims about 2023 stimulus payments

After each stimulus round, scammers have circulated false claims that additional payments are coming or that beneficiaries missed a payment they were may have access to to. In 2023, some of these scams resurfaced, claiming that SSDI recipients could still claim a "missing" 2023 payment or that a fourth round was about to be announced.

These claims are false. There was no 2023 stimulus payment, and there is no process to claim one retroactively. If you see an advertisement or receive a call or email claiming you can recover a missed stimulus payment, it is a scam. Do not provide personal information, do not pay any fee, and do not click links in unsolicited messages.

The Social Security Administration and the IRS do not contact beneficiaries by phone or email to notify them of stimulus payments. Legitimate government communications come by mail to your address on file, and they never ask for payment or personal information beyond what you have already provided.

What SSDI recipients should watch for instead

Rather than waiting for a stimulus check that will not come, SSDI recipients should focus on changes that do affect their benefits. The annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is one: each January, SSDI benefits increase by a percentage set by the Social Security Administration based on inflation. In 2023, that increase was 8.7 percent — a significant boost that actually exceeded the stimulus checks many people received in 2021.

Work incentive programs are another area worth attention. If you are working or thinking about working while on SSDI, programs like Impairment Related Work Expenses (IRWE) and Plans to Achieve Self-Support (PASS) can allow you to earn more without losing benefits. These are permanent changes to your benefit calculation, not one-time payments, so they have much larger long-term value than a stimulus check would.

Changes to the Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) limit — the earnings threshold above which you are considered to be working too much — also matter more than stimulus payments. In 2023, the SGA limit was $1,470 per month. If Congress raises that limit, it directly affects how much you can earn while keeping your SSDI case open.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did SSDI recipients get a stimulus check in 2023 that I might have missed?

No. No stimulus checks were issued in 2023 to any group. The last stimulus payment was in 2021. If you did not receive a check in 2023, it is because no check was issued that year, not because you were overlooked or did not meet the requirements.

Can I claim a 2023 stimulus payment now if I didn't get one?

No. There was no 2023 stimulus payment authorized by Congress. You cannot claim a payment that was not issued. If you received checks in 2020 and 2021, those were the only stimulus rounds that included SSDI beneficiaries.

Will there be another stimulus check in 2024 or later?

There is no current legislation proposing stimulus checks for 2024 or beyond. Any future stimulus would require Congress to pass a new law. As of now, no such bill has been introduced. If one is proposed, news coverage will be widespread, and you will not need to search for information about it.

Do I have to report the stimulus checks I received in 2020 and 2021 on my taxes?

No. Stimulus payments are not taxable income. You should not have reported them on your 2020 or 2021 tax returns, and you do not need to report them now. They do not affect your tax liability or your SSDI benefits.

What should I do if I received a stimulus check in 2021 but lost it or never cashed it?

If the check was issued more than a few years ago, it may no longer be valid. Contact the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 to confirm whether the payment was issued and to ask about a replacement. Bring your Social Security number and the year the payment was supposed to be issued.