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Substantial Gainful Activity: Subsidies, Work Attempts, and Business Expenses

This guide presents selected U.S. government consumer education from Social Security Administration. References to “we” or “us” in the source material refer to the issuing agency. Source dates and links appear below.

How Do We Define Disability?

Our Definition Of Disability

To meet our definition of disability, you must not be able to engage in any substantial gainful activity (SGA) because of a medically determinable physical or mental impairment (or combination of impairments) that is either:

  • Expected to result in death, or
  • Has lasted or is expected to last for a continuous period of at least 12 months.

NOTE BOX

Note

There is a separate definition of disability for children (under age 18) who are applying for the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. A child with a disability also qualifies for the SSI employment supports.

END NOTE BOX

What Is Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA)?

We use the term “substantial gainful activity” to describe a level of work activity and earnings.

Work is “substantial” if it involves doing significant physical or mental activities or a combination of both.

“Gainful” work activity may include:

  • Work performed for pay or profit.
  • Work of a nature generally performed for pay or profit.
  • Work intended for profit, whether a profit is realized.
  • Work performed on a part-time basis.

We use SGA as one of the factors to decide if you are initially eligible for Social Security Disability benefits (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI). For 2026, the SGA amount is $1,690 per month for nonblind individuals and $2,830 per month for individuals who are blind.

If you receive SSDI benefits, we use SGA to decide if your eligibility for benefits continue after you return to work and complete your Trial Work Period (TWP). If you receive SSI based on disability, we apply different standards to determine if your eligibility should continue.

We do not use SGA as a factor to determine initial eligibility for SSI if you are blind.

How Do We Evaluate Your Activity For SGA Purposes?

We generally use earnings guidelines to evaluate whether your work activity is SGA.

The amount of monthly earnings we consider to be SGA depends on the nature of your disability. The Social Security Act specifies a higher SGA amount for people who meet the definition of blindness described by the law. For details on our rules about earnings and blindness, refer to  Working While Disabled: How We Can Help (Publication No. 05-10095). We usually adjust these amounts every year based on increases in the national average wage index.

What If You Are Self-Employed?

If you are self-employed and your disability is not blindness, how we evaluate your work activity for SGA purposes depends on certain factors. These determine whether we evaluate your work activity before or after you have received SSDI benefits for 24 months and the purpose of the evaluation. We will evaluate your work under the Three Tests or the Countable Income Test to determine if your work activity is SGA, depending on when you worked.

The Three Tests:

We apply 3 tests to evaluate your work activity when you initially apply for disability benefits and before you have received SSDI benefits for 24 months. We will also use the 3 tests to evaluate your work activity during the re-entitlement period to determine if we can reinstate your benefits in the Extended Period of Eligibility (EPE) (see EXTENDED PERIOD OF ELIGIBILITY). Your self-employment work activity is SGA if one of the below criteria is met:

  • You render significant services to the business, and you have average monthly earnings over the SGA level.
  • Your work is comparable to the work of a person without a disability in your community who is engaged in the same or similar businesses.
  • Your work is worth more than the SGA level earnings in terms of its effects on the business or when compared to what you would have to pay an employee to do the work.

The Countable Income Test:

We apply the countable income test if you have received SSDI benefits for at least 24 months. We will only use the countable income test to determine whether you have engaged in SGA and if your disability has ended because of that SGA.

For 2026, the SGA amount is $1,690 per month for nonblind individuals and $2,830 per month for individuals who are blind. If your average monthly countable earnings exceed the SGA amount, we will determine that your work is SGA. If there is evidence that you are not rendering significant services in the month, we will determine that your work is not SGA. If your monthly countable earnings average less than the allowed amount, we will decide that your work is not SGA.

If you are self-employed and your disability is blindness, we decide SGA based on certain factors. These include whether you have received a substantial income from the business and rendered significant services to the business. We make this determination using your countable earnings. We also use your countable earnings to determine whether your work is SGA and we can reinstate benefits during the EPE.

If you are self-employed, your disability is blindness, and you are age 55 or older, special rules apply. Your earnings may demonstrate SGA, however your work may require a lower level of skill and ability than the work you did before age 55, or when you became blind, whichever is later. If so, we will suspend, not terminate, your benefits. Your eligibility for SSDI benefits continues indefinitely, and we pay your benefits for any months your earnings fall below SGA. For more information on SGA, refer to our website: https://www.ssa.gov/oact/COLA/sga.html.

Subsidy and Special Conditions (SSDI and SSI eligible)

When Do We Consider Subsidies And Special Conditions?

We consider the existence of subsidies and/or special conditions when we make a substantial gainful activity (SGA) decision. We use only earnings that represent the real value of the work you perform to decide if your work is at the SGA level.

What Is A Subsidy?

A “subsidy” is support provided by your employer that may result in you receiving more pay than the actual value of the services you perform. A subsidy may exist when you work under any of the following conditions:

  • You receive extra assistance or employer accommodation to complete job duties (i.e., job coach, extra help, or supervision, etc.).
  • You are assigned fewer or easier duties than typically required by the job description.
  • You have a special relationship to the employer (i.e., friend, relative, long-term employee, etc.,).
  • You take additional breaks or time off as an accommodation.
  • You have other employer accommodations.

What Are Special Conditions?

A special condition is support and on-the-job assistance provided by your employer, or someone other than your employer, for example, a vocational rehabilitation agency. Because of this support, you may receive more pay than the actual value of the services you perform.

Do Subsidies Or Special Conditions Affect My SSI Payments?

No, we do not consider subsidies or special conditions when we figure your SSI payment amount. We do, however, consider subsidies and special conditions when we determine your initial eligibility to SSI benefits.

Unincurred Business Expenses (Self-Employment) (SSDI and SSI eligible)

What Are Unincurred Business Expenses?

"Unincurred Business Expenses" are contributions made by others to your self-employment business effort. For example, if the state vocational rehabilitation agency gives you a computer for your business, or a friend works for your business as unpaid help, these are "unincurred business expenses".

We generally follow the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rules to figure your net earnings from self-employment. The IRS only allows you to deduct expenses you actually paid or incurred debt. When we make a SGA decision, we also deduct unincurred business expenses from your net earnings because we want an accurate measure of the value of your work.

What Qualifies As An Unincurred Business Expense?

For an item or service to qualify as an unincurred business expense, it must be an item or service that the IRS would allow as a legitimate business expense if you had paid for it.

Do Unincurred Business Expenses Affect Your Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Payments?

No. We do not deduct unincurred business expenses from earnings when we figure your SSI payment amount. However, unincurred business expenses may be deducted for SGA determinations in SSI initial applications.

Unsuccessful Work Attempt (UWA) (SSDI and SSI eligible)

What Is A Uwa?

A UWA (Unsuccessful Work Attempt) is when you try to work but have to stop or reduce your work to below the substantial gainful activity (SGA) level within six months because of your disability or because you lose the extra help you need to do your job.

What Is The Benefit Of A Uwa If You Receive SSDI?

When we make an SGA decision to determine if your disability continues or ceases because of your work, we do not count your earnings during a UWA.

Can A Uwa Occur During The Extended Period Of Eligibility (EPE)?

Yes. During the EPE, we consider a UWA as part of our SGA decision for months up to and including the month we decide your disability has ceased.

Can A Uwa Occur During The Trial Work Period (TWP)?

No. We do not consider a UWA during the TWP or after we decide that your disability has ceased.

Does A Uwa Affect Your Monthly SSI Payment?

For SSI, we only consider a UWA as part of our SGA decision when you file an initial claim. After that, we do not consider a UWA when calculating your SSI payment.

Sources and publication details

The federal agency source text is U.S. government work in the public domain. Fynoptic selected, adapted, and formatted it for this guide. No agency endorsement is implied. Follow the linked sources for current program details and the rules applicable to your circumstances.

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