How to Keep Income Below SGA: A Guide for Disability Benefits

You can work while receiving disability benefits, but your income must stay below a specific limit to maintain eligibility.

The SSA uses the term substantial gainful activity (SGA) to describe a level of work activity performed for pay. You're safe under the monthly SGA limit ($1,620 monthly for non-blind individuals in 2025). But if your earnings exceed this amount, you could lose your benefits.

The good news is that you can reduce your countable income to stay within SGA limits. Let’s take a look.

What is substantial gainful activity?

Substantial gainful activity (SGA) is a term the SSA uses to describe work activity and earnings. “Substantial” work involves significant physical and/or mental activity, and “gainful” means it is done for pay or profit. 

The SSA uses substantial gainful activity to determine if you’re eligible for disability benefits. If you are doing a significant amount of work and earning more than a certain amount, the SSA considers you to be engaging in SGA. If you can work and engage in SGA, the SSA may determine that you are ineligible for disability benefits.

For 2025, the SGA limit is $1,620 a month for non-blind individuals and $2,700 for people who are legally blind. You can earn less than these monthly amounts (your gross income before taxes) and qualify for benefits. 

SGA limits apply to small business owners, too. If you’re self-employed, the SSA considers your profit (total income minus operating expenses) and the time spent managing your business.  

What happens if you go over the SGA limit?

You can work while receiving disability, but it’s a tricky balance—you might lose your benefits if you exceed the SGA limit. The SSA will not consider you disabled if you engage in substantial gainful activity. 

The rules differ for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). The SSI program is designed to help support low-income people. The SSA determines the size of their monthly payment based on the federal benefit amount (a maximum of $967 per individual in 2025) and their countable income. 

SSI

Countable income is not only money you earn but also income you “share” with someone you live with, including the value of subsidized food, housing, and other income sources that aren’t from working a job. You must stay under that $967 monthly limit to remain eligible for SSI. Your benefits may stop entirely if your countable income exceeds this monthly number. 

SSDI

If you receive SSDI and want to work, you can enter a nine-month Trial Work Period (TWP).

• Trial Work Period: You’ll work for nine months, report your work activity to the SSA, and continue to receive full disability benefits. For a month to count toward your TWP, you must earn $1,160 or more or work more than 80 hours of self-employment in a month. The nine months do not have to be consecutive as long as you accumulate these days within 60 months. 

• Extended Period of Eligibility: After the trial period comes an Extended Period of Eligibility (EPE) for 36 months. If earnings exceed SGA during your EPE, your disability will be considered “ceased.” You’ll have a “grace period” of two months when the SSA continues paying benefits. After that, your benefits will end.

• Expedited Reinstatement: If needed, the SSA offers another program, Expedited Reinstatement (EXR), as a safety net. If you’ve successfully returned to work, but need to stop working due to a medical impairment that’s the same or similar to your original disability, you can restart your benefits without having to submit a new application. 

You are eligible for EXR if your impairment begins within five years when your benefits stop. You can request a medical improvement review and, if approved, receive up to two years of payments (for every month you don’t earn above SGA). Then, you’ll start the TWP and EPE process again.

Finally, if you exceed the SGA limit at any point but don’t notify the SSA and continue receiving disability checks, you might receive overpayments that need to be paid back. 

What happens to your healthcare coverage?

If your Trial Work Period ends and your disabling condition still meets the SSA rules, you can continue to receive Medicare coverage for at least 93 months (over 7 years) after the TWP. After your premium-free Medicare coverage ends, you can also purchase premium hospital Medicare coverage. 

4 ways to reduce your countable income for SGA

If you’re receiving disability benefits and you want to continue working, you must stay under the SGA limit. There are several legal ways you can reduce your countable income, so you technically have fewer earnings coming in. Consider the following:

1. Deduct Impairment-Related Work Expenses (IRWE)

An Impairment-Related Work Expense (IRWE) is an expense for an item or service you pay for that enables you to work and is necessary due to a physical or mental impairment.

For an IRWE to qualify, you must pay for it during a month of work activity and it must be a reasonable cost. The SSA also has to approve it. After approval, the SSA can deduct the cost of the item from the amount of earnings they use to calculate your SSI benefit. 

Examples of supported employment services might include:

• Attendant care

• Medical equipment or devices

• Residential modifications or vehicle modifications

• Service animals

• Transportation

2. Use employee subsidies

An employee subsidy can help lower your income so you don’t exceed the substantial gainful activity limit. If you have a disability and your employer pays you extra wages above the value of the services you’ve done, this money is considered a subsidy. The SSA deducts the value of subsidies from earnings when making an SGA decision.

3. Request special conditions or accommodations in the workplace

Special conditions, such as on-the-job coaching or continuous supervision, may also be taken into account. The SSA recognizes that with close supervision or assistance, your actual productivity might not fully reflect your wages, meaning you’re not truly “earning” the full amount you’re being paid. 

4. Make self-employment adjustments

Finally, if you’re self-employed, deducting business expenses is another way to reduce your wages. The types of expenses you can deduct will vary depending on the nature of your business. Some common examples might include internet or phone bills, vehicle use/travel expenses, and materials/supplies.  

3 tips for reducing your income

There are additional strategies you can use to manage your finances and lower your countable income. Even small adjustments can make a difference. Here are some tips:

1. Communicate well. Remember, it’s your responsibility to notify the SSA of any changes in your job or your income. You can do this online, over the phone, or by mail.

2. Track your expenses. Use an app, a spreadsheet, or a simple paper planner to track all of the money you have coming in and out. You want to be aware of how much you’re earning (and where it’s coming from) and how much you’re spending each month.

3. Work with a lawyer. We also recommend consulting a lawyer about the best way to approach the SGA limit. An experienced lawyer is well-versed in what happens if you make too much on disability. They’ll be able to give you good advice on the best, safest way to reduce your wages.

To get started, take our two-minute disability quiz to give us more information about your circumstances. Someone from our team will reach out and, if you’d like, connect you with a vetted disability lawyer.