SSDI recipients received the third stimulus payment between March and December 2021

The third stimulus payment, formally called the American Rescue Plan Economic Impact Payment, was distributed to SSDI beneficiaries starting in March 2021. Most SSDI recipients who were may be able to access received their $1,400 payment automatically, without having to take any action. The IRS and Social Security coordinated to send payments in waves throughout the spring and summer, with stragglers arriving into the fall and early winter of that year.

The timing depended on how you received your benefits. If you got direct deposit to your bank account, your payment typically arrived within the first two waves—between mid-March and mid-April 2021. If you received a paper check or a debit card, the process took longer because of mail delays and card set up time. Some recipients did not receive their payment until late 2021 or early 2022 if there were errors in Social Security's records or if the IRS needed to verify their address.

Unlike the first two stimulus payments, the third payment did not require you to file a tax return to receive it. Social Security automatically reported SSDI beneficiaries to the IRS, so the agency knew who was may be able to access and sent the money without waiting for you to claim it on a form.

Key Takeaways

  • The third stimulus payment of $1,400 was sent to SSDI recipients automatically between March and December 2021, with no action required on your part.
  • Direct deposit recipients typically received their payment in March or April 2021, while paper check and debit card recipients waited longer due to mail and processing delays.
  • Social Security reported all SSDI beneficiaries to the IRS, so you did not have to file a tax return or contact anyone to receive the payment.
  • If you did not receive your payment by the end of 2021, the issue was usually a mismatch in your address or banking information on file with Social Security or the IRS.

Why SSDI recipients did not have to explore or file taxes

The third stimulus was different from the first two because Congress changed the rules. For the first two payments in 2020 and early 2021, SSDI recipients had to file a tax return or use a special IRS tool to claim the money if they did not normally file taxes. Many people missed the important date or did not know about the process, so they never received those payments.

For the third payment, the IRS and Social Security agreed to share data automatically. Social Security sent a list of all SSDI beneficiaries to the IRS, along with their addresses and banking information. The IRS then generated the payment without waiting for you to do anything. This meant that even if you had never filed a tax return in your life, you still received the $1,400.

The downside was that if your address or bank account information was wrong in Social Security's system, the payment might have gone to the wrong place. Some recipients received checks at old addresses or had payments rejected by banks that no longer held their accounts.

How to check if you received your third stimulus payment

If you are not sure whether your payment arrived, the IRS provided a tool called the Get My Payment portal on IRS.gov. You could log in with your Social Security number, date of birth, and address to see the payment status and the date it was sent. The tool showed whether the payment was mailed as a check, sent by direct deposit, or loaded onto a debit card.

If the Get My Payment tool said your payment was sent but you never received it, the next step was to contact Social Security to verify your address and banking information. Social Security can confirm what information they reported to the IRS, and if there was an error, they can help you correct it for future payments.

If the tool said no payment was issued to you, it usually meant one of three things: you did not meet the income limits, Social Security did not have your information on file, or there was a data mismatch between Social Security and the IRS. In those cases, you could file a 2021 tax return and claim the payment as a credit, or contact the IRS directly at 1-800-829-1040.

Income limits and who was excluded from the third payment

Not all SSDI recipients received the third stimulus. The payment had income limits, and if your total income in 2020 was above a certain threshold, you were not may be able to access. For single filers, the limit was $75,000 of adjusted gross income. For married couples filing jointly, it was $150,000. For heads of household, it was $112,500.

For most SSDI recipients, income limits were not a problem because SSDI itself does not count as income for stimulus purposes. However, if you had other income—such as wages from work, interest from savings, or income from a spouse—that total could push you over the limit. Some SSDI recipients who also received Supplemental Security Income (SSI) were in this situation if they had work income or other resources.

Additionally, if you were claimed as a dependent on someone else's tax return, you were not may be able to access for your own payment. This affected some adult SSDI recipients whose parents still claimed them as dependents.

What happened if your payment was lost or never arrived

If you never received your third stimulus payment and the Get My Payment tool confirmed it was sent, you had options. If it was mailed as a check, you could wait up to one year from the mailing date before assuming it was lost. If you wanted to move faster, you could file a 2021 tax return and claim the payment as a credit called the Recovery Rebate Credit. This told the IRS that you did not receive the payment, and they would send you the money as a tax refund.

If your payment was sent by direct deposit but rejected by your bank, the IRS would have mailed you a check as a backup. That check could take several weeks to arrive, and if it was lost in the mail, you again had the option to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on your 2021 tax return.

Some SSDI recipients had their payments intercepted by state or federal debt collection agencies if they owed back taxes, child support, or other debts. In those cases, the payment went to the debt collector instead of to you. You could dispute this by contacting the IRS or the agency that intercepted the payment, but the process was slow and required documentation.

The third stimulus and your SSDI benefits going forward

Receiving the third stimulus payment did not affect your SSDI benefits or your Medicare coverage. The payment was a one-time transfer and did not count as income for purposes of the SSDI work incentives or the Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) limit. It also did not affect your Medicaid coverage if you received it.

However, if you received SSI in addition to SSDI, the stimulus payment could have affected your SSI benefits temporarily. SSI has strict resource limits, and the payment counted as a resource for one month. After that month, it no longer counted. If the payment pushed your resources over the SSI limit, your SSI payment would have been reduced or stopped for that month only.

For tax purposes, the third stimulus was not taxable income. You did not have to report it on your 2021 tax return, and it did not increase your tax liability. This was true even if you received it and then spent it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did I have to pay back the third stimulus if I received it by mistake?

No. The IRS did not require anyone to return the third stimulus payment, even if there was an error in determining may be able to access. If you received it and later found out you did not meet the income limits, you did not have to repay it. This was different from some other government programs that require repayment of overpayments.

What if I was in a nursing home or institution when the third stimulus was sent?

You were still may be able to access for the payment. Being in an institution did not disqualify you. However, if your address on file with Social Security was the institution's address and mail was not being forwarded to you, your check might have gone there instead. Contact Social Security to update your mailing address if this happened.

Can I still claim the third stimulus if I did not receive it?

Yes, if you did not receive it by the end of 2021, you could file a 2021 tax return and claim the Recovery Rebate Credit. You have until the tax filing important date to claim it. If you do not normally file taxes, you may still want to file just to claim this credit and get a refund.

Did the third stimulus count as income for Medicaid or SSI?

For Medicaid, no—the payment did not count as income and did not affect your coverage. For SSI, the payment counted as a resource for one month only. After that month, it no longer counted toward your resource limit, even if you still had the money in your account.

What if my bank rejected my direct deposit payment?

The IRS would have automatically mailed you a check as a backup. The check could take several weeks to arrive. If you never received the check, you could claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on your 2021 tax return to get the money as a refund.