If you receive SSI, you might be eligible for your own economic impact (stimulus) payment as part of the coronavirus relief package passed by Congress. In many cases, the IRS already has your information and you don’t need to do anything in order to receive your $1,200 payment (plus $500 for any dependent children). However, some SSI recipients must take action by May 5 to provide their information to the IRS and receive the correct payment.
This rule applies to SSI recipients who:
- Did not file a 2018 or 2019 tax return, and
- Have a child dependent (or more than one dependent) that they wish to claim
If both of the above situations apply to you, you should use the non-filer online tool on the IRS website by May 5 in order to provide your income information and list your dependents.
Again, this deadline only applies to those who did not file a tax return and have dependents that they wish to claim (for an extra $500 per dependent).
Those who already filed a 2018 or 2019 tax return will not need to provide any additional information to the IRS. Stimulus payments will be calculated according to the number of dependents claimed on your tax return, and the payment will be sent to the account where you received your tax refund.
If you do not normally file a tax return, and do not need to claim dependents, your $1200 stimulus payment will arrive by direct deposit via the bank account where you receive your SSI payments. You do not need to take any further action at this time.
If you have any other questions about stimulus payments for Social Security or SSI recipients, check this fact page on the Social Security website.