Who received the 2020 stimulus payments

The 2020 stimulus checks—officially called Economic Impact Payments—went to most U.S. citizens and permanent residents with a Social Security number, including people receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). If you were on SSDI in 2020, you were generally sent a payment without having to take any action.

The first payment, issued in spring 2020, was $1,200 per adult. The second payment, sent in December 2020, was $600 per adult. Both payments also included $500 per child under 17. The IRS used tax return information from 2019 or 2018 to identify who should receive the money, and for SSDI recipients, they also used Social Security Administration records.

You did not have to file a tax return to receive these payments, even if you normally would not file one. The Social Security Administration automatically reported SSDI recipient information to the IRS so payments could be sent without a separate process step.

Key Takeaways

  • SSDI recipients received both the spring 2020 ($1,200) and December 2020 ($600) stimulus payments automatically, with no process required.
  • The payments were sent to the bank account or address on file with Social Security, or by paper check if no direct deposit was on record.
  • If you did not receive a payment you thought you were owed, you could claim it on your 2020 tax return using IRS Form 1040 or a simplified form.
  • The stimulus payments did not count as income for SSDI purposes and did not reduce your monthly SSDI benefit amount.
  • Some people on SSDI had payments sent to a representative payee instead of directly to them, depending on how their case was set up.

How the payments were delivered to SSDI recipients

If you had direct deposit set up with Social Security, your stimulus payment was deposited into that same bank account. The Social Security Administration had this information on file and shared it with the IRS, so the process happened automatically.

If you did not have direct deposit, the IRS sent a paper check to the address Social Security had for you. This took longer—paper checks began arriving weeks after the direct deposits. Some people received their checks several months after the initial payment date.

For people whose SSDI benefits were managed by a representative payee (a family member, social worker, or other person authorized to handle the money), the payment went to the payee's account or address, not directly to the beneficiary. The payee was legally required to use the money for the beneficiary's needs, but the payee received and controlled the payment.

Whether the stimulus payments affected your SSDI benefits

The 2020 stimulus payments did not reduce your monthly SSDI check. SSDI is not a means-tested program, which means your benefit amount does not change based on how much money you have or receive. The stimulus was treated as a one-time payment, not as income that would affect your ongoing benefits.

The payments also did not count toward any resource limits if you were also receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a different program with strict asset rules. However, if you received SSI and did not spend the stimulus money, it could have affected your SSI benefits in future months if your total resources exceeded the limit. SSDI and SSI are separate programs with different rules.

You were not required to report the stimulus payment to Social Security. The agency already knew about it because the IRS coordinated with them on who should receive the money.

What to do if you did not receive your 2020 stimulus payment

If you were on SSDI in 2020 but never received either stimulus payment, you had the option to claim the money on your 2020 tax return. The IRS provided a form called the Recovery Rebate Credit that let you report the missing payment and receive it as a tax refund.

To claim a missing stimulus payment, you needed to file a 2020 tax return even if you did not normally file one. You could use IRS Form 1040 (the standard return) or Form 1040-SR (for people 65 and older). The IRS also created a simpler form, Form 1040-NR, for certain non-resident aliens, though most SSDI recipients used Form 1040.

The important date to claim a missing 2020 stimulus payment on your tax return was April 15, 2021. If you missed that important date, you could still file a late return, but you would need to do so before the statute of limitations ran out—generally three years from the original important date.

Reasons some SSDI recipients did not receive payments

Some people on SSDI did not receive stimulus payments because the IRS did not have their correct address or bank account information. If Social Security's records were outdated or incomplete, the IRS could not locate them to send the money.

Others did not receive payments because they were not U.S. citizens or permanent residents at the time. The stimulus was limited to people with valid Social Security numbers who met citizenship or residency requirements. Some people on SSDI who were not citizens were excluded.

A small number of SSDI recipients did not receive payments because of errors in the IRS or Social Security databases—for example, if they were incorrectly marked as deceased, or if their name or number did not match between the two agencies' records. These cases usually required contacting the IRS directly to correct the record.

How the stimulus payments worked with other benefits

If you received both SSDI and SSI, you received stimulus payments for both programs. However, the SSI rules about resources meant that holding onto the money could have caused problems. SSI limits your total resources to $2,000 (for an individual) or $3,000 (for a couple), and any money above that can reduce or stop your SSI benefits.

If you received SSDI only, the stimulus had no effect on your benefits no matter how much money you had or kept. SSDI has no resource limit.

Veterans on SSDI who also received VA disability payments received stimulus payments based on their SSDI status. The two programs did not interact—receiving a stimulus payment did not affect VA benefits, and receiving VA benefits did not change the stimulus amount.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did I have to pay taxes on the 2020 stimulus money?

No. The stimulus payments were not taxable income. You did not report them on your tax return as income, and they did not increase the taxes you owed. If you filed a return to claim a missing stimulus payment, you reported it as a credit, not as income.

What if my representative payee received my stimulus but did not give it to me?

A representative payee is legally required to use your benefits and any payments made to you for your current maintenance and needs. If you believe your payee misused the stimulus money, you could report this to Social Security's Office of Inspector General or contact your local Social Security office. You could also request a change of payee if you no longer trust the current one.

Can I still claim a 2020 stimulus payment I never received?

If you missed the April 2021 important date to claim it on your tax return, you can still file a late return, but you must do so within three years of the original important date. After that window closes, you generally cannot recover the payment. Contact a tax professional or the IRS for help with a late claim.

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

No. The stimulus was not counted as income for purposes of Medicaid or Medicare. It did not affect your may be able to access for either program or change any premiums you paid. However, if you were on SSI and Medicaid together, the stimulus could have affected your SSI benefits if you did not spend it, which could have indirectly affected your Medicaid status.