Self-Employment and SSDI

The Social Security Administration (SSA) sets an earnings cutoff amount to determine “substantial gainful activity” (SGA). If an applicant earns above this cutoff amount each month, they will not be eligible for SSDI. However, if an applicant is self-employed, the criterion is a bit different to determine SGA. In fact, the SSA uses three tests.  

The first is the “significant services and substantial income” test. If a self-employed applicant BOTH contributes significant services AND receives substantial income from their business, they may be denied SSDI benefits. The substantial income test is a bit tricky, but certainly, if an applicant is making above $1,310 a month, that will qualify as substantial income.

The second test is the “comparability” test. If the applicant does not meet the requirements for significant services and/or substantial income, the SSA will compare their work to a non-impaired individual doing similar work. The SSA will look at job duties, energy used, and other criteria to determine the similarity. If they are deemed to be comparable, the applicant may be denied SSDI.

Finally, the third test is the “worth of work” test. Regardless of your actual income, if the SSA determines that the worth of your work is more than $1,310 a month, you will be deemed to have SGA and may be denied SSDI benefits.