SSDI recipients received the third stimulus payment on the same schedule as other Social Security beneficiaries, with most deposits arriving between March 17 and April 7, 2021

The third stimulus check, formally called the Economic Impact Payment, was part of the American Rescue Plan Act signed into law on March 11, 2021. The IRS and Social Security Administration coordinated to send payments to people already receiving SSDI without requiring a new process or tax return. If you received SSDI in 2020 or early 2021, you were automatically included in the payment file.

The payment amount was $1,400 per person for most recipients. Payments went to the same bank account or address where you normally received your SSDI deposit. The IRS did not mail paper checks to SSDI recipients the way it did for some other groups — direct deposit was the standard method.

Key Takeaways

  • SSDI recipients did not need to file a tax return or take any action to receive the third stimulus; the Social Security Administration automatically sent their information to the IRS.
  • Most SSDI recipients received their $1,400 payment between mid-March and early April 2021, deposited to the same account where they got their monthly SSDI check.
  • The payment was not counted as income for purposes of SSI (Supplemental Security Income) limits, though it could affect your resources temporarily depending on your state.
  • If you did not receive a payment by mid-April 2021, you could check the IRS "Get My Payment" tool or contact Social Security to trace the deposit.

How Social Security Coordinated With the IRS

The Social Security Administration sent the IRS a file of all SSDI beneficiaries in early March 2021, before the law was even signed. This meant the IRS had the payment information ready to process when ready. Unlike the first two stimulus payments, which required SSDI recipients to file a tax return if they had no other income, the third payment used Social Security's records directly.

The IRS used the same bank account information that Social Security had on file. If you had set up direct deposit for your monthly SSDI check, your stimulus payment went to that account automatically. This eliminated the delay that some recipients faced with paper checks in 2020.

Payment Timing by Wave

The IRS released stimulus payments in waves rather than all at once. SSDI recipients were included in the first wave, which began processing on March 12, 2021, the day after the law passed. Most direct deposits cleared by March 17, though some banks took an extra day or two to post the funds to accounts.

A second wave of payments went out in late March and early April for people whose information needed correction or verification. A third wave continued through April for recipients who had not received payments in the first two waves. By mid-April, the vast majority of SSDI recipients had received their $1,400.

Resource Limits and SSI Interaction

If you received both SSDI and SSI (Supplemental Security Income), the stimulus payment was treated as a resource, not income. This distinction mattered because SSI has strict resource limits — currently $2,000 for an individual and $3,000 for a couple. A $1,400 payment could push you over that limit temporarily.

However, Congress passed a law excluding stimulus payments from SSI resource limits for nine months after receipt. This meant you could hold the $1,400 without it counting against your SSI limit through December 2021. After that period ended, the money counted as a resource if you still had it. Many SSI recipients spent or transferred the funds before the nine-month window closed to avoid losing their SSI benefits.

What Happened if You Did Not Receive a Payment

A small number of SSDI recipients did not receive the third stimulus by mid-April 2021. Common reasons included a closed or invalid bank account, a recent address change that Social Security had not processed, or an error in the IRS database. If this happened to you, the IRS issued a paper check instead, which took several weeks to arrive by mail.

You could check the status of your payment using the IRS "Get My Payment" tool on IRS.gov, which showed whether a payment had been issued, the amount, and the delivery method. If the tool showed no payment issued, you could contact Social Security to verify your bank account information or request that the IRS resend the payment.

Reporting the Payment on Your Taxes

The third stimulus payment was not taxable income and did not appear on any tax form you received. You did not report it on your 2021 tax return. This was true whether you filed a return or not. The IRS did not send a 1099 or any other document related to the stimulus payment.

If you had overpaid taxes during 2021 and were owed a refund, the IRS did not reduce your refund because of the stimulus payment. The payment was separate from your tax liability and did not offset any other government benefits you received.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did I have to do anything to get the third stimulus if I was on SSDI?

No. Social Security sent your information to the IRS automatically, and you received the payment without filing a form or contacting anyone. If you had direct deposit set up for your SSDI check, the $1,400 went to that account.

What if my bank account information was wrong when the payment was sent?

The IRS issued a paper check to your address on file with Social Security. Paper checks took four to six weeks to arrive. You could contact Social Security to update your bank account information for future payments, though the third stimulus had already been processed.

Did the stimulus payment affect my SSI benefits?

The payment counted as a resource for SSI purposes but was excluded from resource limits for nine months (through December 2021). After that period, any remaining balance counted toward your $2,000 individual limit and could reduce or stop your SSI check if you exceeded the limit.

Can I still get the third stimulus if I missed it in 2021?

The third stimulus payment was only issued in 2021. If you did not receive it then, you could claim it on your 2021 tax return as the Recovery Rebate Credit. You would need to file a 2021 return, even if you normally do not file, to claim the credit.

Was the third stimulus different from the first two payments?

Yes. The first two payments required SSDI recipients with no other income to file a tax return to receive the money. The third payment used Social Security's records directly, so no tax return was needed. The third payment also had a lower income phase-out, so some higher-income SSDI recipients received less or nothing.