Senator Collins Announces SSI Recipients Will Receive Coronavirus Rebate Checks Automatically

Washington, D.C. – Following a bipartisan push by U.S. Senator Susan Collins, recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) will automatically receive their rebate check under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and will not be required to file a tax return.  The IRS and the Treasury Department project that these automatic payments will go out no later than early May.

“Mainers who receive Supplemental Security Income will now automatically receive their coronavirus rebate check.  I worked closely with Senator Sinema to remove a bureaucratic hurdle that could have prevented SSI recipients from receiving the rebate they are entitled to,” said Senator Collins.  “I am pleased that the Treasury Department, the IRS, and the Social Security Administration worked together to update their policy in order to allow SSI recipients who normally do not file taxes to receive these checks automatically.”

SSI recipients with no qualifying children do not need to take any action in order to receive their $1,200 economic impact payment. The payments will be automatic.

SSI recipients who have qualifying children under age 17, however, should not wait for their automatic $1,200 individual payment.  They should now go to the IRS’s webpage at www.irs.gov/coronavirus/non-filers-enter-payment-info-here and visit the Non-Filers: Enter Your Payment Info section to provide their information.  By taking proactive steps to enter information on the IRS website about themselves and their qualifying children, they will also receive the $500 per dependent child payment in addition to their $1,200 individual payment.  If SSI recipients in this group do not provide their information to the IRS soon, they will have to wait until later to receive the $500 per qualifying child.

The Social Security Administration will not consider the rebate checks as income for SSI recipients and the payments are excluded from resources for 12 months.

Earlier this month, Senator Collins announced that Social Security beneficiaries will not be required to file a tax return in order to receive a rebate check.