The third stimulus check was distributed in 2021 and is no longer being sent

The third round of economic impact payments — sometimes called the third stimulus check — went out between March and December 2021. If you received SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance) at that time, you should have received $1,400 per person, plus $1,400 for each dependent child under 17. That payment is finished. The IRS is not sending new third stimulus checks today or on any future date.

If you did not receive a third stimulus payment in 2021 and believe you were may have access to to one, you may have been able to claim it on your 2021 tax return. That important date has passed. The only remaining option is to contact the IRS directly to ask about your specific situation, though recovery is unlikely at this point.

Key Takeaways

  • The third stimulus check was a one-time payment distributed in 2021 and is not being repeated or sent again.
  • SSDI recipients received the same $1,400 per person payment as other may be able to access groups, with no separate SSDI-specific rules.
  • If you missed the payment in 2021 and did not claim it on your tax return, contacting the IRS is your only remaining option.
  • No new stimulus payments are currently planned or announced by Congress or the Treasury Department.

Who received the third stimulus check automatically

The IRS sent the third stimulus payment automatically to people who had filed a 2019 or 2020 tax return, received certain federal benefits (including SSDI), or were listed in IRS records as a dependent. You did not have to do anything to receive it — the payment went to the bank account or address on file with the Social Security Administration or IRS.

SSDI recipients were treated the same as other benefit recipients. There was no separate process, no special form, and no SSDI-specific process. If you were receiving SSDI in early 2021, you should have received the payment unless you were claimed as a dependent on someone else's tax return.

What to do if you did not receive your payment

If you believe you should have received a third stimulus check in 2021 but did not, your first step is to check the IRS website using the "Get My Payment" tool (available at irs.gov). This tool shows the status of all three stimulus payments and the address or account where each was sent.

If the tool shows the payment was sent but you never received it, contact the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. Have your Social Security number, date of birth, and filing status ready. The IRS can investigate whether the payment was misdirected or lost in the mail, though recovery of payments sent years ago is difficult.

If you did not receive the payment and the IRS tool shows no record of it being sent, you may have been missed due to an error in IRS records. Again, calling 1-800-829-1040 is the only way to report this and ask the IRS to investigate.

Why some SSDI recipients did not receive the payment

Most SSDI recipients received the third stimulus check automatically. However, some did not because of specific circumstances. If you were claimed as a dependent on someone else's 2020 tax return — for example, an adult child claimed by a parent — you did not receive your own payment. Your parent or guardian would have received an additional $1,400 for you instead.

A small number of SSDI recipients had outdated address or bank account information on file with Social Security, which caused the payment to be sent to the wrong place. If you moved between 2020 and 2021 and did not update your address with Social Security, this may have happened to you.

Non-citizens without a Social Security number were not sent the third stimulus check, even if they received SSDI. This was a federal rule applied to all three rounds of stimulus payments.

How the third stimulus check differed from the first two

The first stimulus check (2020) was $1,200 per person. The second (2020-2021) was $600 per person. The third was $1,400 per person — the largest of the three. All three rounds included $1,400 per dependent child under 17, and SSDI recipients were treated the same as other groups in all three rounds.

The main difference between the rounds was not the rules for SSDI recipients, but the total amount sent and the income limits that determined who received the full payment. SSDI recipients had no special income limits — the payment was based on whether you received SSDI, not on how much you earned.

Whether more stimulus payments might come

Congress has not passed any new stimulus payment legislation since the third round in 2021. No new payments are currently planned or announced. Future stimulus payments would require a new law passed by Congress and signed by the President, which has not happened.

If you hear claims that a new stimulus check is coming "today" or "this week," those are not accurate. Stimulus payments are major legislative events that are announced publicly by Congress and the Treasury Department months in advance. You will not learn about a real stimulus payment from a social media post or email.

Frequently Asked Questions

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

No. The payment was only sent in 2021. If you did not receive it then and did not claim it on your 2021 tax return, you cannot receive it now. Contacting the IRS is your only option, and they can only investigate whether an error prevented you from receiving it at the time.

Do I have to report the stimulus check as income on my taxes?

No. Stimulus checks are not taxable income and do not need to be reported on your tax return. They do not affect your SSDI benefits or your may be able to access for other programs.

If I receive SSDI, do I get a larger stimulus check than other people?

No. SSDI recipients received the same $1,400 per person as everyone else who was may be able to access. There were no SSDI-specific payment amounts or bonuses.

What if my stimulus check was deposited to the wrong bank account?

Call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 with your Social Security number and the details of the account where you believe it was sent. The IRS can investigate, but recovering a payment sent to the wrong account years ago is difficult and not always possible.

Will SSDI recipients get priority for future stimulus payments?

There are no announced future stimulus payments, so this is not yet a question Congress has addressed. If new stimulus legislation passes, SSDI recipients would likely be treated the same as in the first three rounds — automatically sent the payment with no separate process.