A STABLE Account is a tax-advantaged savings and investment account that lets a person with a disability put money aside for everyday and disability-related costs without losing Supplemental Security Income or Medicaid. The program is run by the Ohio Treasurer’s Office under the federal Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act of 2014, and it is open to eligible residents of all 50 states.1Congress.gov. H.R.647 – ABLE Act of 20142STABLE. STABLE In 2026, you can contribute up to $19,000 a year, invest the balance, and the first $100,000 is invisible to the SSI resource limit.3Social Security Administration. Spotlight On Achieving A Better Life Experience (ABLE) Accounts
Who Qualifies
Starting January 1, 2026, you can open a STABLE Account if your disability or blindness began before age 46. That is an expansion from the original age-26 threshold under the ABLE Age Adjustment Act.3Social Security Administration. Spotlight On Achieving A Better Life Experience (ABLE) Accounts Your current age does not matter; what matters is when the condition began.
If you already receive SSI or Social Security Disability Insurance based on blindness or a disability that started before 46, you qualify automatically. No extra medical paperwork is needed. If you don’t receive either benefit, you can still qualify by getting a disability certification signed by a licensed physician. The certification confirms a physical or mental impairment that causes marked and severe functional limitations and has lasted or is expected to last at least 12 months.3Social Security Administration. Spotlight On Achieving A Better Life Experience (ABLE) Accounts Keep a copy in your personal files. The IRS or Social Security Administration can ask for it.
Each eligible person may hold only one ABLE account at a time. If you already have one through another state’s program, you’d need to close or roll it over before opening a STABLE Account.
How Much You Can Put In
The 2026 annual contribution cap is $19,000, matching the federal gift tax exclusion.4Internal Revenue Service. Gifts and Inheritances 1 That limit covers everything coming in from every source combined: your own deposits, family, friends, and any employer contributions.
An employed beneficiary who does not participate in an employer retirement plan like a 401(k) or 403(b) can contribute more under the ABLE to Work provision. The extra amount is capped at the lesser of the beneficiary’s gross income for the year or the federal poverty level for a one-person household in their state. In the continental U.S., total yearly savings could reach roughly $35,650.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 529A – Qualified ABLE Programs If your employer contributes to a separate retirement plan for you during the year, you lose access to the extra ABLE to Work amount.
There is also a lifetime balance cap of approximately $517,000. Once the account reaches that ceiling, no new contributions are accepted until the balance drops below it. Investment earnings continue to accrue regardless.
What the Money Can Be Spent On
The IRS defines qualified disability expenses broadly: any expense tied to the beneficiary’s blindness or disability that helps maintain health, independence, or quality of life. The federal law specifically lists education, housing, transportation, employment training and support, assistive technology, personal support services, health care, wellness, financial management, legal fees, oversight and monitoring, and funeral and burial costs.1Congress.gov. H.R.647 – ABLE Act of 2014 In practice that covers rent, groceries, therapy co-pays, job coaching, and much more.
Keep receipts for every purchase. You don’t send them with your tax return, but you’ll need them if the account is audited. The STABLE Card creates a transaction record automatically; still hold onto the itemized receipts.
One timing rule matters a great deal for SSI recipients using ABLE funds for housing: withdraw the money for rent or mortgage and spend it within the same calendar month. If the funds sit in a personal bank account past month-end, Social Security may count them as a resource.
How It Protects Your Benefits
The reason the account exists is to let you save without being pushed off benefits. The protection works differently depending on the program.
Supplemental Security Income
For SSI, the first $100,000 in your STABLE Account is excluded from the $2,000 individual resource limit.6Social Security Administration. Payee and ABLE Accounts If the balance grows enough to push your countable resources over the SSI limit, your cash payment is suspended, not terminated. When your resources fall back under the limit, payments resume automatically without a new application.3Social Security Administration. Spotlight On Achieving A Better Life Experience (ABLE) Accounts
Medicaid
Medicaid eligibility continues no matter how large the STABLE Account grows, even if the balance is high enough to pause your SSI cash payments. There is no dollar cap on the Medicaid protection.6Social Security Administration. Payee and ABLE Accounts
HUD Housing
For HUD-assisted housing programs, the entire ABLE account balance is excluded from the household’s asset calculation, and distributions used for qualified expenses are not counted as income.7HUD Exchange. Should Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Tax-Advantaged Savings
How Taxes Work
Contributions go in with after-tax dollars, so there is no federal income tax deduction for depositing money. The tax advantage shows up later: investment earnings grow tax-free, and withdrawals used for qualified disability expenses are exempt from federal income tax.8Internal Revenue Service. ABLE Accounts – Tax Benefit for People with Disabilities
A beneficiary who contributes their own earned income may also qualify for the Saver’s Credit (formally the Retirement Savings Contributions Credit). You must be at least 18, not a dependent, not a full-time student, and within the income limits. Claim it on Form 8880 with your federal return.9Internal Revenue Service. People Paying Disability-Related Expenses Consider an ABLE Savings Account and Savers Credit Some states also offer their own income tax deduction or credit for ABLE contributions, though a few limit the benefit to their in-state program.
Spend account funds on something that isn’t a qualified disability expense and the earnings portion of the withdrawal is added to your taxable income for the year, plus a 10 percent penalty on that taxable amount. Your original contributions are not taxed or penalized because that money was already taxed when you earned it. The 10 percent penalty is waived for distributions after the beneficiary’s death and for excess contributions returned before the tax filing deadline.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 529A – Qualified ABLE Programs
Opening and Funding the Account
Enrollment is online at the STABLE Account website and open to residents of every state.2STABLE. STABLE You’ll need the beneficiary’s full legal name, Social Security number, a permanent residential address (not a P.O. Box), bank account details for funding, and an email address. The minimum opening deposit is $25, transferred electronically from a linked bank account.
If the beneficiary cannot open the account on their own, an Authorized Legal Representative can do it for them. An ALR can be a parent, legal guardian, conservator, spouse, sibling, grandparent, representative payee, or someone with power of attorney for the beneficiary, and must attest to the legal relationship during enrollment.2STABLE. STABLE
STABLE offers five investment options: four mutual-fund portfolios running from conservative to aggressive, plus one FDIC-insured savings option for people who want no market risk.2STABLE. STABLE You can split the balance across multiple options and adjust the mix over time. The cash option fits money you’ll spend soon; the equity-heavy portfolios fit savings you won’t touch for years.
Account holders can also request a STABLE Visa Prepaid Card, which draws from the account balance. You load the card with the amount you need, up to $20,000, and use it like any other prepaid card. If a purchase exceeds the balance, it is declined with no overdraft fee. Ohio residents and residents of a few partner states pay no monthly card fee; all other state residents pay $5 per month once the card is activated.10STABLE. Prepaid Card – STABLE Account Cards arrive by mail within about six to eight business days.
What Happens When the Beneficiary Dies
This piece catches a lot of families off guard. After the beneficiary dies, remaining funds can be used to pay any outstanding qualified disability expenses. After that, the state’s Medicaid agency may file a claim against the account to recover the cost of medical assistance it provided to the beneficiary after the account was opened.11Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Implications of the ABLE Act for State Medicaid Programs The recovery amount is reduced by any premiums the beneficiary paid into a Medicaid Buy-In program.
Whatever is left after those claims passes to the beneficiary’s estate or a designated successor. Because the Medicaid payback only reaches costs incurred after the account was opened, an account opened later in life faces a smaller potential recovery claim. For long-term planning, families often coordinate a STABLE Account with other tools such as a special needs trust, which can offer different treatment for remaining assets.