The third stimulus check went to most SSDI recipients automatically in 2021

If you received Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) in March 2021, the federal government sent you a third stimulus payment of $1,400 per adult and $1,400 per dependent child without requiring you to file a tax return or take any action. The payment arrived as a direct deposit, check, or debit card depending on how Social Security had your banking information on file.

This was the third round of pandemic relief payments. The first two went out in 2020, and this third one was authorized under the American Rescue Plan Act. Unlike tax refunds or other benefits you might have to request, this payment was sent automatically to people already in the Social Security system.

If you did not receive a payment, or if you received less than $1,400, there were specific reasons why — and some of them could be corrected through the IRS, not Social Security.

Key Takeaways

  • The third stimulus payment of $1,400 per person was sent automatically in spring 2021 to SSDI recipients without requiring an process or tax return.
  • Payments were based on your income in 2020 or 2019, and people earning over a certain threshold received a reduced amount or nothing.
  • If you did not receive the full amount, you could claim the difference on your 2021 tax return using the Recovery Rebate Credit, even if you normally do not file taxes.
  • The IRS had a "Get My Payment" tool that showed the status of your payment and the address where it was sent.

Who received the full $1,400 payment

The payment was based on your income from 2020 (or 2019 if you had not yet filed 2020 taxes). Single filers with income under $75,000 and married couples filing jointly with income under $150,000 received the full $1,400 per person. SSDI recipients typically fell well below these thresholds, so most received the complete amount.

The payment was also sent to your dependent children if you claimed them on your taxes — $1,400 per child under age 17. This included children of SSDI recipients, as long as they were listed as dependents.

Social Security did not require you to prove you were still receiving benefits in March 2021. If you were on the rolls at any point in 2020 or early 2021, you were included in the automatic mailing.

Why some SSDI recipients received less or nothing

If your 2020 income was above the threshold for your filing status, your payment was reduced. For every dollar of income over the limit, your payment decreased by five cents. For example, a single person earning $85,000 would have received $500 instead of $1,400.

Some people received nothing because their income was too high, or because they were claimed as dependents on someone else's tax return. If you were a working adult claimed as a dependent by a parent or guardian, you did not receive your own payment — your parent or guardian received $1,400 for you instead.

A smaller group did not receive payments because of a debt owed to a federal or state agency. The government could offset stimulus money to pay back child support, federal student loans in default, or certain other debts. This was rare among SSDI recipients but did happen.

How the payment was sent

The IRS and Social Security used the banking information they already had on file. If you received direct deposit for your SSDI benefits, your stimulus payment went to the same account. If Social Security had no bank account information, the payment was mailed as a paper check.

Some payments arrived on a debit card issued by the Treasury Department. This happened when Social Security or the IRS had no address or banking information for you, or when mail was returned as undeliverable.

Payments began arriving in mid-March 2021 and continued through the spring and into summer. Direct deposits arrived first, followed by paper checks and debit cards over the following weeks.

What to do if you did not receive your payment

The IRS provided a tool called "Get My Payment" on IRS.gov that showed whether a payment had been sent to you, how much it was for, and where it went. If the tool showed a payment was mailed to an old address, you could update your address with the IRS and request a replacement check.

If the tool showed no payment was sent, or if you believed you should have received more, you had the option to claim the difference on your 2021 tax return. This was done using a form called the Recovery Rebate Credit, which allowed you to report missing or reduced payments and receive the difference as a refund.

You could file this claim even if you normally did not file taxes. The IRS accepted Recovery Rebate Credit claims through the normal tax filing important date, and many people received their missing payments as part of a tax refund months later.

Income limits and phase-out amounts

The income thresholds were set by filing status. A single person with income under $75,000 received the full amount. A married couple filing jointly with income under $150,000 received the full amount. Head of household filers with income under $112,500 received the full amount.

Once your income exceeded these thresholds, the payment decreased by $5 for every $100 of income over the limit. This meant that single filers with income above $95,000, married couples above $170,000, and head of household filers above $132,500 received nothing.

These thresholds were based on your 2020 tax return, or your 2019 return if you had not yet filed 2020 taxes when the payments were processed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did I have to do anything to get the third stimulus check?

No. If you were receiving SSDI in March 2021, the payment was sent automatically. You did not need to file a tax return, contact Social Security, or take any action. The only exception was if you needed to update your address with the IRS after the payment was sent.

Can I still claim the third stimulus payment if I missed it?

Yes, through the Recovery Rebate Credit on your 2021 tax return. You can file this claim even if you do not normally file taxes. The IRS accepted these claims for several years after the original payment date, though the sooner you file the sooner you receive your refund.

What if I received the payment but then lost it or it was stolen?

If a check was lost or a debit card was stolen, contact the IRS directly. They can issue a replacement check or investigate the debit card transaction. Keep any documentation you have about the original payment, such as a bank statement showing a deposit or a notice from Social Security.

Did the third stimulus payment count as income for SSDI purposes?

No. The stimulus payment did not count as income for SSDI benefit calculations, and it did not affect your monthly benefit amount. It also did not count toward the resource limits that determine whether you remain on SSDI.

What if my income was too high and I received nothing?

If your 2020 income was above the phase-out range, you were not sent a payment. You cannot claim it on your tax return because you did not meet the income requirements. However, if your 2021 income was lower, that does not change the 2021 payment, which was based on 2020 income.