Can People on Disability Still Get Their Stimulus Checks in 2025?

There are no new federal stimulus payments related to the COVID-19 pandemic for 2024 or 2025, and the federal government has issued all three "economic impact payments. These stimulus payments were authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

Unfortunately, not everyone received their third stimulus payment. You should have received this payment in 2021, but the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) released a report saying that millions of eligible individuals hadn't received their stimulus payments.

People who have yet to receive their stimulus payments fall into several groups:

• people who haven't filed a tax return in recent years
• people without bank accounts
• people with limited or no internet access, and
• people who were experiencing homelessness in 2021.

Most SSDI and SSI recipients should have received their payments since they were already set up to receive payments from the federal government, but some people may have fallen through the cracks. To see the amount of your first, second, and third stimulus payments, go to the IRS's page on the Recovery Rebate Credit.

How Can I Get a Stimulus Check I Never Received?

SSDI and SSI recipients who haven't received checks have been able to file a simplified tax return on the IRS website to get their unclaimed payments, until April 15, 2025. The IRS makes payments in the form of a "Recovery Rebate Credit, a refundable credit for people who file tax returns, rather than with stimulus checks.

In December 2024, after finding there were one million eligible taxpayers who still hadn't claimed a Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2021 tax returns, the IRS announced that it would be sending automatic payments to people who filed tax returns but didn't claim the credit.

When Will the New Automatic Payment Go Out in 2025?

Taxpayers who qualified for a stimulus payment but didn't claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2021 tax return should have received an automatic payment by February 1, 2025. The payment would have been sent to the bank account listed on the taxpayer's 2023 tax return or to the taxpayer's address of record.

The IRS should also have sent you a letter if it sent you a 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit.

If you closed their bank account after filing your 2023 tax return, your bank will return the payment to the IRS. The agency will then issue you a refund and send it to the address they have on record for you.

Who Was Eligible for the Stimulus Check?

Most recipients of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) were eligible for the $1,400 COVID-19 stimulus check. Couples who filed joint returns were eligible for $2,800. And SSDI and SSI recipients who have dependents were eligible for an extra $1,400 per dependent (as long as the child or other dependent lives with them for more than half the year).

You were eligible for a stimulus check as long as you had a Social Security number (a taxpayer ID number doesn't count) and you were not claimed as a dependent on someone else's tax return (or possibly incarcerated).

Was I Eligible for a Stimulus Check If I Have Other Income?

If you have income in addition to your disability benefits that make your combined income over $75,000, you weren't eligible for the full stimulus payment. Similarly, if you were married and filed a joint return, and your income combined with your spouse's income was over $150,000, you were eligible for only a reduced payment. In those situations, your stimulus payment, including any payment for dependents, was reduced by a percentage of the amount over those thresholds.

What income did the IRS look at to determine if your payment should be reduced? For the third stimulus check, the IRS used your "adjusted gross income" from your 2020 tax return (line 11 of your 2020 Form 1040) to determine if you're eligible. If you didn't file a tax return, the IRS used your income from your Social Security or SSI checks.

Am I Eligible for the Third Check If I Didn't File a Tax Return?

Individuals who receive Social Security disability or SSI should have automatically received the third stimulus check. If you don't file tax returns because your income is low and/or your only income is SSI or SSDI or veterans benefits, you were still eligible for the COVID-19 stimulus payment. If you received SSDI, SSI, or veterans compensation or pension in 2020, and you don't have dependents, you didn't need to do anything to get your $1,400; the government should have sent you your check automatically.

Disability recipients, however, may not have received the $1,400 for each dependent if they didn't file a 2019 or 2020 tax return and they didn't submit non-filer information to the IRS for the first stimulus check (more on this below).

How Should I Have Received the Stimulus Payment?

You should have received the automatic payment the same way you normally receive your monthly disability or pension payment—by direct deposit, Direct Express debit card, or paper check. Your stimulus payment, however, came from the Treasury Department, not the Social Security Administration.

If you received the first or second check by direct deposit or Direct Express, you should have received your third payment the same way, but there are no guarantees.

If you received your first or second payment by EIP Debit Card, you should have received a new debit card in the mail in a white envelope with "Economic Impact Payment Card" in the return address.

If you've moved since last filing your taxes, you should file a change of address with the IRS on Form 8822.

How Do I Activate My EIP Debit Card?

If you received an EIP Debit Card, you needed to activate the card by calling the phone number that came with the card and choosing a 4-digit PIN number. Your EIP card can be used for purchases or to withdraw cash (subject to a daily limit). You can also transfer the funds from your EIP card directly into your own bank account, after you register for online access. (The card came with instructions on setting up online access.)

What If My Income Is Lower Than When I Filed My Last Tax Return?

If you had decreased income in 2020 due to starting disability benefits and/or losing a job, you might have been eligible for the money but you might not have received the third stimulus check in 2021. This could have happened if you filed a tax return for 2019 income that was above the $75,000 or $150,000 thresholds, but you made less income in 2020. You should be able to get the stimulus payment as a rebate (called the Recovery Rebate Credit) if you file a 2020 tax return.

Can Creditors Take My Stimulus Check or Rebate?

Your stimulus money is not subject to garnishment by the government, even for back taxes or student loan defaults. And unlike the first stimulus check, if you owe past-due child support payments, your second and third stimulus checks cannot be reduced to pay the past-due amount, and nor can your stimulus money can be levied or garnished by private debt collectors.

Does the Stimulus Money or Recovery Rebate Affect My Eligibility for Disability Benefits?

For SSI (and veterans pension) eligibility purposes, the stimulus check or Recovery Rebate Credit doesn't count as income to you, and you don't need to report it as income to the Social Security Administration. Plus, it's not taxable. In addition, for SSI, the stimulus money or rebate won't count as a resource (asset) unless you still have all or part of it 12 months after receiving it.

The Recovery Rebate Credit won't count as income for any of the following federal benefits:

• Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or
• Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

For SSDI eligibility purposes, income and assets don't matter, so the stimulus check will have no effect.

What If My Stimulus Check Was Lost, Destroyed, or Stolen?

To request a payment trace, call 800-919-9835 or fill out IRS Form 3911, Taxpayer Statement Regarding Refund. The IRS will research what happened to your check; if the check wasn't cashed, you'll need to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on your tax return. (See above for instructions on claiming the rebate on your tax return.) If the IRS finds that the check was cashed, you'll receive a claim package from the Treasury Department with a copy of the cashed check and instructions on filing a claim.

If you received your stimulus check by mail but then it was destroyed or stolen, make sure you request a payment trace. If you claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on your tax return without filing a payment trace, it will be denied, because the IRS will think that you already received the money.

Could Someone Else Have Received My Payment?

For some disability recipients who have representative payees, the IRS deposited the first stimulus payment into the representative payee's bank account or sent the payee a check. But since the stimulus money isn't a Social Security or SSI benefit, the representative payee was not responsible for managing it. Disability recipients who want to use the money on their own were instructed to ask their payees for it.

Similarly, some disability lawyers reported receiving first stimulus payments that were meant for former clients whom the lawyers helped get disability benefits. Lawyers who received the money erroneously were instructed to reverse the direct deposits to the IRS.

Beware of Stimulus Check Scams

The Treasury Department has warned people about phone calls and emails from scam artists claiming to be from the Treasury Department or the IRS. You may be asked for personal financial information or an advance fee. Do not respond; the IRS will not contact you for your information, and you don't have to pay a fee to receive stimulus money or the recovery rebate.

For security reasons, the IRS will mail a letter to your last known address approximately 15 days after the agency deposits your stimulus money or mails you a paper rebate check. The letter will tell you how the payment was made and, if you did not receive the payment, how to request a replacement from the IRS.