SSDI recipients got the third stimulus check on the same schedule as other Social Security beneficiaries

The third stimulus payment—$1,400 per adult and $1,400 per dependent—went out in waves starting in March 2021. If you received SSDI, you did not have to file a tax return or take any action. The IRS and Social Security coordinated to send the money automatically to the bank account or address on file with Social Security.

Most SSDI recipients received their payment between mid-March and early April 2021. Some received it as late as mid-April if their bank took longer to process the deposit. A smaller group received a paper check by mail if no direct deposit information was on file, which could arrive weeks later.

Because this payment occurred in 2021 and is now in the past, this article explains how the timing worked and what to do if you never received it. If you are looking for information about a different stimulus round or payment, that information is not available here—only the third payment is covered.

Key Takeaways

  • SSDI recipients received the third stimulus automatically between mid-March and early April 2021 without filing taxes or submitting any form.
  • The payment went to the bank account or mailing address Social Security had on file, so you did not choose the delivery method.
  • Paper checks arrived by mail and took longer than direct deposits, sometimes not arriving until late April or May 2021.
  • If you never received the payment in 2021, you could claim it on your 2021 tax return or contact the IRS for a trace.

How Social Security coordinated with the IRS to send payments automatically

Social Security and the IRS shared data so that people receiving SSDI would get the stimulus without having to file a return or contact anyone. The IRS used the most recent Social Security records to identify who may have access to and where to send the money. This meant SSDI recipients were among the first groups to receive payment, because Social Security had current banking information for most beneficiaries.

The IRS did not send a separate process or form to SSDI recipients. If you were on SSDI in 2021, you were automatically included in the payment run. The only exception was if Social Security did not have a valid mailing address or bank account on file—in that case, the IRS would have had to locate you through other means, which delayed payment.

Why some SSDI recipients received checks by mail instead of direct deposit

Direct deposit was faster. If Social Security had your bank account information, the money arrived in your account within days of the IRS releasing that payment batch. If Social Security did not have banking details—because you had never set up direct deposit for your benefits—the IRS mailed a paper check instead.

Paper checks took much longer. The IRS had to print, sort, and mail millions of checks. Depending on where you lived and postal delays, a check could take two to four weeks to arrive after the IRS mailed it. Some recipients did not receive their checks until May 2021, even though the payment batches began in March.

If you were homeless or living in a shelter in 2021, Social Security may not have had a valid mailing address. In that case, the IRS held the payment and you would have needed to claim it on your 2021 tax return or contact the IRS directly.

What to do if you never received the third stimulus payment

If you did not receive the payment in 2021 and believe you were may have access to to it, you had two options: claim it on your 2021 tax return, or contact the IRS to request a payment trace.

Claiming it on your tax return meant filing a 2021 return and using the Recovery Rebate Credit line to report the stimulus as income you did not receive. The IRS would then issue the money as part of your refund. This was the simplest route for most people, because it required no phone calls or waiting on hold.

Requesting a payment trace meant calling the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 and asking them to investigate where your payment went. The IRS would check whether the payment was sent, whether it was deposited to the wrong account, or whether it was lost in the mail. This process took weeks and was useful only if you suspected the payment was sent but never arrived.

By now, in 2024 and beyond, the third stimulus is no longer available. If you did not receive it and did not claim it on your 2021 return, you cannot claim it now. The important date to claim it as a Recovery Rebate Credit has passed.

Why SSDI recipients did not have to file taxes to get the payment

Congress designed the stimulus to reach people quickly, and requiring tax filing would have delayed payment for millions. SSDI recipients typically have low incomes and many do not file tax returns. The law allowed the IRS to use existing government records—including Social Security data—to identify and pay people without asking them to file.

This automatic payment approach meant SSDI recipients were treated differently from workers who had to file a 2020 tax return to prove their income. Because Social Security already knew who was receiving SSDI and where to send money, the IRS could act when ready.

The timeline of when different groups of SSDI recipients received payment

The IRS released stimulus payments in batches over several weeks. SSDI recipients who had direct deposit set up received their payment in the first wave, between March 12 and March 29, 2021. Those with direct deposit but whose banks processed deposits more slowly received payment by early April 2021.

SSDI recipients who received paper checks began receiving them in late March 2021, but the full delivery took until mid-April or later. Some recipients in rural areas or those whose mail was delayed did not receive checks until May 2021.

The exact date you received the payment depended on three things: whether you had direct deposit set up, which batch the IRS included you in, and how fast your bank or the postal service processed the payment. Social Security did not control the timing—the IRS did.

How to check if a third stimulus payment was deposited to the wrong account

If you had direct deposit set up but the payment went to an old or closed account, the money may have been returned to the IRS. Banks are required to return payments sent to closed accounts, but the process takes time. The IRS would then hold the payment and you would need to claim it on your 2021 tax return or request a payment trace.

To check whether a payment was sent to an old account, you can contact your bank and ask them to search their records for a deposit from the IRS in March or April 2021. If they find it and the account is closed, ask them whether they returned it. If they did, the IRS has it and you can claim it on your return.

You can also use the IRS's "Get My Payment" tool, which was available during 2021. That tool is no longer active, so you cannot use it now to check on the third stimulus. Your only option now is to file a 2021 tax return and claim the Recovery Rebate Credit if you did not receive the payment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did I have to report the third stimulus as income on my taxes?

No. The third stimulus was not taxable income. You did not report it as income, and it did not reduce any benefits you received. It was a one-time payment that did not affect your SSDI, Medicare, Medicaid, or any other program.

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

The IRS did not ask for the money back. If you received a payment you did not think you were may have access to to, you did not have to return it. The IRS made no effort to recover overpayments of the third stimulus.

Can I still claim the third stimulus on my 2024 taxes?

No. The important date to claim the third stimulus as a Recovery Rebate Credit was April 15, 2022. If you did not claim it by then, you cannot claim it now. The payment is no longer available.

Why did some people get the stimulus as a check and others as direct deposit?

Social Security had direct deposit information on file for most SSDI recipients, so the IRS sent those payments electronically. For recipients without direct deposit set up, the IRS mailed a paper check. Direct deposit was faster because the bank processed it when ready, while checks had to be printed and mailed.

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

If the check was mailed to an old address and you did not receive it, you could have filed a 2021 tax return and claimed the Recovery Rebate Credit. The IRS would have issued the payment as part of your refund. That important date has now passed.