SSDI recipients received the third stimulus payment on the same schedule as other Social Security beneficiaries, with most deposits arriving between mid-March and mid-April 2021

The third stimulus payment, authorized under the American Rescue Plan Act in March 2021, was $1,400 per person. The Social Security Administration (SSA) did not require SSDI recipients to file a tax return or take any action to receive it. Instead, SSA used the payment information it already had on file and sent deposits directly to the bank account or address where beneficiaries received their regular monthly SSDI payment.

The IRS and SSA coordinated the rollout in waves. SSDI recipients who had their payment set up for direct deposit typically received the stimulus between March 17 and April 7, 2021. Those receiving paper checks waited longer—some checks did not arrive until May or June. A small number of recipients never received a check and had to claim the payment as a credit on their 2021 tax return instead.

Key Takeaways

  • The third stimulus was $1,400 per person and was sent automatically to SSDI recipients without requiring them to take any action or file paperwork.
  • Direct deposit recipients received their payment between mid-March and early April 2021, while paper check recipients waited until May or June.
  • SSDI recipients who did not receive a payment by October 2021 could claim it as a credit on their 2021 tax return using IRS Form 1040.
  • The stimulus payment did not count as income for purposes of SSI resource limits or the Supplemental Security Income program, though it did count for SSDI.

How SSA determined who received the third stimulus

The SSA used Social Security records to identify SSDI beneficiaries and matched them against IRS tax records. If you were receiving SSDI in 2020 or had filed a 2020 tax return, you were included in the payment file. SSA did not send notices asking you to confirm your address or bank account—it used the information already in its system.

This automatic approach meant that SSDI recipients did not have to register on the IRS website, call a phone number, or submit any form. However, it also meant that if your address or bank account had changed since your last SSDI payment, the stimulus might have gone to the wrong place. If you moved and did not notify SSA, a paper check would have been sent to your old address.

Timeline for different payment methods

The IRS released stimulus payments in batches over several weeks. SSDI recipients with direct deposit on file received their payment first, generally between March 17 and April 7, 2021. The IRS prioritized direct deposit because it is faster and more reliable than mailing checks.

Paper checks began going out in late March and continued through May and June. The Postal Service delivered them according to normal mail timelines, which meant recipients in rural areas or those with address issues sometimes waited six to eight weeks. By mid-October 2021, the IRS had sent out nearly all third stimulus payments, but a small number of checks were still in transit or had been lost.

What to do if you did not receive the third stimulus by October 2021

If you did not receive your $1,400 payment by October 2021, you could claim it on your 2021 tax return. You would file Form 1040 and use the Recovery Rebate Credit line to report the missing payment. The IRS would then send you the money as a refund or explore it to taxes you owed.

To claim the credit, you needed to know your payment status. The IRS had a "Get My Payment" tool on its website where you could enter your Social Security number and see whether your payment had been sent, and if so, where it was supposed to go. If the tool showed your payment was sent to a closed bank account or an old address, that explained the delay. If it showed no payment was sent at all, you had a basis to claim the credit on your return.

How the third stimulus affected SSDI and SSI

The third stimulus payment did not reduce your monthly SSDI check. SSDI is not a needs-based program, so income and resources do not affect your benefit amount. You could receive the full $1,400 and your SSDI payment would stay the same.

For Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients, the rules were different. SSI is needs-based, and normally any income above $65 per month reduces your benefit dollar-for-dollar. However, Congress excluded stimulus payments from the SSI income and resource limits. This meant that even if you received SSI, the $1,400 stimulus did not count as income and did not reduce your SSI check. The stimulus also did not count against the $2,000 resource limit for SSI, so you could keep the money without losing benefits.

Stimulus payments and tax filing for SSDI recipients

SSDI recipients generally do not have to file a tax return unless they have other income above the filing threshold. The stimulus payment itself is not taxable income, so receiving it did not create a tax filing requirement. However, if you had wages, self-employment income, or other sources of income in 2021, you might have needed to file anyway.

If you did not file a 2021 tax return and did not receive your stimulus payment, you had until April 15, 2024 to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit. After that date, the IRS would not process claims for the third stimulus. Some SSDI recipients who moved or had banking problems missed the important date and lost the ability to claim the payment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did SSDI recipients have to do anything to get the third stimulus?

No. The SSA sent the payment automatically using the bank account or mailing address on file for your regular SSDI payment. You did not have to file a form, call anyone, or register online. If your address or bank account had changed, you should have notified SSA before the payment was sent.

What if I received the third stimulus but I was not supposed to?

If you received a payment you believe was an error—for example, because you were not a U.S. citizen or did not meet the income limits—you could return it to the IRS. However, most SSDI recipients were may have access to to the payment. Contact the IRS at 800-829-1040 if you have questions about your may be able to access.

Can I still claim the third stimulus if I never received it?

You could have claimed it on your 2021 tax return using the Recovery Rebate Credit, but only if you filed by April 15, 2024. If you missed that important date, you cannot claim the payment. Contact the IRS to confirm whether your payment was sent and where.

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

The stimulus payment did not count as income for Medicare purposes. For Medicaid, the rules varied by state, but most states did not count the stimulus as income for Medicaid may be able to access. Check with your state Medicaid office if you are unsure how it affected your coverage.