The substantial gainful activity limit for 2023 was $1,470 per month for non-blind individuals and $2,460 per month for people who are statutorily blind.1Social Security Administration. Substantial Gainful Activity The Social Security Administration uses this monthly earnings figure to decide whether your work activity disqualifies you from disability benefits. If your countable earnings in a given month of 2023 hit or passed the applicable ceiling, the agency can treat that month as substantial gainful activity, which points toward a finding that you can support yourself through work.
These 2023 figures still matter if you have a pending claim, appeal, or continuing disability review that looks at work you did during that year. The SSA applies the SGA limit that was in effect during the month the work was performed, not the limit in effect when a decision is made.
The 2023 Numbers and How They Compare
The $1,470 non-blind threshold and the $2,460 blind threshold applied to every calendar month of 2023. Both figures are measured against gross wages before taxes and Social Security withholding, with certain deductions applied before the comparison.
One boundary worth naming up front: the higher SGA limit for blind individuals applies to SSDI only. For Supplemental Security Income, the non-blind SGA amount is used for both blind and non-blind applicants at the initial eligibility stage.1Social Security Administration. Substantial Gainful Activity
Where 2023 sits in the recent history of the threshold:
- 2020: $1,260 non-blind / $2,110 blind
- 2021: $1,310 non-blind / $2,190 blind
- 2022: $1,350 non-blind / $2,260 blind
- 2023: $1,470 non-blind / $2,460 blind
- 2024: $1,550 non-blind / $2,590 blind
- 2025: $1,620 non-blind / $2,700 blind
- 2026: $1,690 non-blind / $2,830 blind
The jump from 2022 to 2023 was larger than the increases in earlier years because the annual adjustment is tied to the national average wage index, and wages rose strongly during that period.2Social Security Administration. National Average Wage Index The result is rounded down to the nearest $10, so the year-over-year increases are not perfectly proportional to wage growth.
What Counted as Earnings in 2023
Countable earnings for SGA include wages from an employer and net profits from self-employment. Passive income does not count. Interest on a savings account, stock dividends, pension payments, and insurance settlements are outside the SGA calculation because they are not tied to labor you performed.3Social Security Administration. Understanding Supplemental Security Income SSI Income
Earnings are assigned to the month the work was performed, not the month the paycheck arrived. A bonus paid in January 2024 for work done in December 2023 counts against the December 2023 ceiling. A delayed direct deposit does not create an artificial spike in the month it lands.
Deductions That Lower Your Countable Earnings
Gross pay is not the last word. Two adjustments can pull your countable earnings below the 2023 threshold even when your paycheck was above it.
Impairment-Related Work Expenses
Money you spent on items or services you needed because of your disability in order to work can be subtracted from your gross earnings before the SGA comparison. These are impairment-related work expenses, or IRWEs.4Social Security Administration. 20 CFR 404.1576 – Impairment-Related Work Expenses Qualifying costs include medical devices such as wheelchairs, crutches, and prosthetics, attendant care services you need in order to get to work or perform your job duties, and specialized transportation if your impairment prevents you from using standard options.
The expense has to be directly related to your impairment and necessary for you to work. Ordinary commuting costs on public transit generally do not qualify.5Social Security Administration. Spotlight on Impairment-Related Work Expenses You also have to have paid the cost yourself. Any portion reimbursed by insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, your employer, or another source is not deductible.4Social Security Administration. 20 CFR 404.1576 – Impairment-Related Work Expenses Keep receipts. The SSA will want documentation for every 2023 expense you try to claim now.
Employer Subsidies
If an employer paid you more than the reasonable value of the work you actually performed in 2023, the difference is a subsidy, and the SSA subtracts it from your gross earnings for the SGA comparison.6Social Security Administration. SSDI and SSI Work Incentives – Section: Subsidy and Special Conditions A subsidy commonly shows up as extra supervision, a job coach who handled part of your duties, fewer or easier tasks than others in the same role, extra breaks, or additional time off as an accommodation.7Social Security Administration. Subsidy and Special Conditions
The arithmetic can matter a lot. If you earned $1,800 in a 2023 month but the agency determined the actual value of your work was worth $400 less, your countable earnings drop to $1,400, below the $1,470 non-blind ceiling. To document a subsidy, the SSA typically sends Form SSA-3033 to a supervisor or job coach with direct knowledge of your work, who has 15 days to estimate the reasonable value of what you actually did.8Social Security Administration. Form SSA-3033 Raise the issue yourself if you think it applies. The agency does not always spot a subsidy on its own.
Self-Employment Is Measured Differently
If you were self-employed during 2023, the SSA does not simply compare your monthly net profit to $1,470. The agency uses up to three tests to decide whether your work was substantial gainful activity.9Social Security Administration. 20 CFR 416.975 – Evaluation Guides if You Are Self-Employed
The first test asks whether you provided significant services to the business and whether the business produced substantial income. If you ran the business alone, any services you rendered are automatically significant. If others were involved, you provided significant services when you contributed more than half of the total management time or spent more than 45 hours a month on management.
The second test compares your work to that of unimpaired people running similar businesses in your community. If your hours, duties, and responsibilities were comparable, the agency can find SGA even when your income was low.10Social Security Administration. POMS DI 10510.020 – Tests Two and Three of General Evaluation Criteria The third test looks at the worth of your work to the business: what an owner would have paid an employee to do the same duties.
When calculating net income for these tests, the SSA deducts normal business expenses, the value of significant unpaid help from family members, impairment-related work expenses, and any business costs paid on your behalf by a sponsoring agency.9Social Security Administration. 20 CFR 416.975 – Evaluation Guides if You Are Self-Employed
If You Tried Working in 2023 and It Did Not Last
A short stretch of earnings above $1,470 in 2023 does not necessarily count against you. If you returned to work but your impairment forced you to stop or drop below SGA within six months, the SSA may treat the period as an unsuccessful work attempt and disregard the earnings entirely.11Social Security Administration. 20 CFR 404.1574 – Evaluation Guides if You Are an Employee
Two conditions have to be met. First, a significant break came before the attempt: you were out of work for at least 30 consecutive days, or you had to change jobs because of your condition. Second, the work then ended or dropped below SGA because your impairment made it unsustainable. If you sustained work above SGA for more than six months in 2023, the agency will not classify it as an unsuccessful attempt regardless of why it eventually ended.
This matters most in pending applications and appeals, where a brief 2023 spike could otherwise sink a claim. Make sure the SSA knows the medical reasons the work ended.
If 2023 Work Led to an Overpayment
Anyone receiving disability benefits has to report work when it starts, regardless of how much they earn.12Social Security Administration. Reporting Responsibilities for Disability Insurance Benefits If unreported 2023 work has caught up with you and the SSA has issued an overpayment notice, the agency will demand repayment of the benefits you were not entitled to during the affected months. If you do not repay within 30 days, the SSA automatically withholds 50 percent of your monthly SSDI benefit, or 10 percent of your SSI payment, until the balance clears.13Social Security Administration. Resolve an Overpayment If you are no longer receiving benefits, the agency can garnish wages and withhold tax refunds.
You have options. If the overpayment was not your fault and repaying would be a hardship, you can request a waiver on Form SSA-632-BK. Filing the waiver request within 30 days of the notice stops collection while the SSA reviews it.14Social Security Administration. Ask Us to Waive an Overpayment You can also appeal if you believe no overpayment actually occurred, for example because IRWEs or a subsidy should have brought your 2023 countable earnings below $1,470.