Stimulus checks for SSDI, SSI recipients: 12 things to know about your third

If you’re a beneficiary of the SSDI or SSI programs from the Social Security Administration, the IRS is sending the third stimulus check for up to $1,400 you qualify for. You may have received your payment already if you get your benefits by direct deposit or on your Direct Express card. If you’re waiting on a check in the mail, the IRS began sending those payments April 9 for people in the US, and April 23 for those without a US address. (track your stimulus check here.) 

Your stimulus payments should also be arriving if you qualify for retired railroad worker benefits. And if you’re eligible for benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs, the IRS said those payments started going out on April 14.

Below, we’ve got all of the payment details for these groups, and we’ll explain why you might need to file a 2020 tax return to get stimulus money for your dependents. If you stopped or started receiving SSI or SSDI in 2019 or 2020, or are missing money from the first two checks in 2020, you may need to request a payment trace. While you’re here, check out how you may be able to save up to $50,000 this year thanks to new stimulus rules. (If you have kids, read up on eligibility for the new child tax credit, including if your child is a qualified dependent — the child tax credit could deliver up to $3,600 per child.) This story is updated frequently.

I’m a Social Security beneficiary. What do I need to know?

If you receive Social Security benefits, your check should have arrived or be on the way now. Here are the details:

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Stimulus check 3: How much money you’ll get

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When might third payments start arriving for SSI, SSDI beneficiaries and veterans?

Federal beneficiaries who file a 2019 or 2020 tax return or used the Non-Filers tool in 2020 may have already received a stimulus payment, or could get one in a future batch of checks being sent out by the government.

For most everyone else, payments started going out on April 7 by direct deposit or on your Direct Express card. For those receiving payments through the mail, those checks began on April 9. If you have a foreign address and don’t typically file a tax return, electronic payments went out around April 21 and paper checks on April 23.

However, veterans who don’t file taxes ordinarily should have received their payment on April 14, according to the IRS.

The IRS and Treasury will use the information it has on file to automatically send you a check (even if you didn’t file a return). People who have already filed a 2020 tax return this year to claim missing stimulus money may find that the IRS will use this information instead of your 2019 details if it has processed your latest return (here’s how to see).

Some people may need to file a 2020 tax return, even if they don’t usually file, so the IRS has all the information needed to send payments to cover your eligible dependents. 

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