To see if you qualify for SSI, the first question becomes: What is "income" for SSI purposes? Once we have determined what income is, and what income is not, the question then becomes what is the maximum income you can receive and still qualify for SSI. This article describes the definition of "income".

SSI defines income in three different ways:

• Earned Income  (How To Calculate Earned Income For SSI Eligibility)  
• Unearned Income  (Income Requirements For SSI Eligibility: Unearned Income)  
• Deemed Income (Income Requirements For SSI Eligibility: Deemed Income) 

The total of the three types of income together equals countable income for SSI purposes.

An item received in a month is income. What's left becomes a resource the following month.

The maximum income you can receive and still qualify for SSI is the SSI benefit you would receive.

To calculate countable Earned Income, SSI starts with earnings, then excludes certain amounts. What is left after deducting permitted exclusions from earnings is countable against the SSI benefits which would have been paid if there were no countable income.

Earnings: For SSI purposes, earnings include the following: 

• Everything you earn as wages or from self employment including salaries, commissions, bonuses, severance pay, and any other special payments you receive for our employment.
• Royalties on published works.
• Net earnings from self employment (including your share of profit or loss in any partnership to which you belong).
• Refunds of federal income taxes and advance payments by employers made in accordance with the earned-income-credit provisions of the IRS.
• Payments for services provided in a sheltered workshop or work activities center designed to help you become self-supporting.

Exclusions: For purposes of determining earnings, SSI does not count the following:

• $65 [or $85 if no unearned income has been counted (see below)].
• One half of the remainder.
• If you are disabled but work, Social Security does not count any wages used to pay for items or services you need to work because of your disability. For example,if you need a wheelchair in order to work, the wages you use to pay for the wheelchair don't count as income. To learn more, see: Impairment Related Work Expenses (IRWE).
• Income set aside for a PASS account. (To learn about PASS accounts, see: PASS).
• For SSI recipients who are under age 18 and students under age 22, earned wages in 2013 up to $1,730 per month to a maximum of $6,960 per year. 

A Sample Calculation Of Earnings For SSI Purposes

For example, Michael R. has gross wages of $800 per month in 2013 and no unearned or deemed income.

• From $800, subtract $85 (earned and unearned disregards) = $715.
• Divide $715 by 2 = $357.50. $357.50 = Michael's countable income.
• MIchael's countable income is then deducted from the benefit otherwise payable.

Earnings:

Unearned income is any money you receive from:

• Alimony and child support, whether in cash or in kind
• Annuities
• Dividends, interest and royalties on capital investments
• Gifts, including financial assistance from friends and family
• Inheritances
• In kind support or maintenance in the form of food, clothing or shelter
• Investments
• Lottery winnings
• Pensions including other Social Security, VA, and Railroad Retirement
• Periodic payments related to prior work or service
• Prizes and awards
• Rents for the use of real or personal property, after deducting ordinary and necessary expenses
• Royalties other than on published works
• State disability payments, unemployment insurance and workers compensation payments
• Unemployment Insurance benefits
• Workers Compensation benefits

Exclusions: (Do not count:)

• The first $20 per month you receive from any source except other needs-based public assistance such as General Relief
• Up to $20 a month if received on an irregular or infrequent basis
• Grant, scholarship or fellowship used for educational expenses other than any portion used for room and board
• Interest on excluded burial resource
• Transportation tickets for domestic travel received as a gift
• Needs based assistance wholly funded by a state or city
• Home produce
• Disaster relief assistance
• Home energy assistance
• Most food, clothing, or shelter you get from private nonprofit organizations
• Other exclusions such as federal relocation assistance, and l/3rd of support from an absent parent for a SSI recipient who is a child
• Special income exclusions such as reparation payments made to Holocaust survivors, or hostile fire pay

Calculation:

To calculate the effect of unearned income, deduct the first $20.

Then calculate the value of each item, dollar for dollar.

Included:

• Spousal income of the non-SSI eligible spouse is deemed available to the SSI eligible person, even it the income is not actually available - as long as the two of you live together.
• Parents and children under age 18: both parents' incomes are counted with respect to an SSI-eligible disabled child. Pension funds of the parents are not counted.
• In kind support such as free or below-cost food, clothing or shelter, or something you can use to get food, clothing or shelter. In kind support is valued one of two ways, depending on your Living Arrangements.
  • For individuals who live "in the household of another" in which you receive a subsidy for both food and shelter, you deduct from gross income one third of the Federal Benefit Rate.
  • For all other living arrangements, the amount to deduct is one third of the Federal Benefit Rate plus $20. The rules concerning living arrangements are complicated and living arrangements can be changed at any time. A living arrangement can change even though you remain in the same location and live with the same people. If you have a question, speak with a qualified social worker or a non-profit organization that helps people with SSI such as your disease specific nonprofit organization.
  • To learn more about living arrangements, see: www.ssa.gov/ssi/text-living-ussi.htm .
• In kind rental subsidy: If the rent you pay is less than the fair or current market rental value, SSI can count the difference as a subsidy. If landlord and tenant are strangers, SSI assumes that rent is equal to the current market value. However, if there is parent/child relationship, SSI assumes you are not paying fair market value and will set a value on the rental subsidy. If there is a rental subsidy, your SSI is reduced by the lesser of:
  • The difference between the current market rental value and what you are paying .
  • The presumed maximum value which is l/3 of Federal Benefit Rate plus $20.
• Earned income tax credits.

Exclusions:

• Repayment of a loan.
• Loans which are expected to be repaid. If a family member gives you money, it counts as income and can make you ineligible for SSI. However, it doesn't count as income if you're loaned the money. If you are considering a loan, execute a written loan agreement with a promise to repay as evidence of the loan. Include interest in the agreement or it won't look like a real loan - even though it's from a friend or family member. The transaction can still be a loan if the agreement provides you don't have to start paying interest or pay any of the money back for a limited period such as six months. If you don't pay the interest stated in the document, the transaction is likely not to be deemed to be a loan.
• Medical care and services.
• Social services.
• Sale or replacement of a resource. For example, if you sell your home, it isn't income. It is treated as another form of the resource.
• Income tax refunds.
• Payments made by third parties directly to vendors for bills of the claimant for any non-food, clothing or shelter items. For example, a friend pays for a repair to your house.
• Weatherization assistance.
• Receipt of certain non-cash items which would be excludable as a resource such as an automobile.
• Flexible Spending Accounts (See Flexible Spending Accounts.)