Does a Spouse's Income Affect My Disability Benefits?

Your spouse's income might affect your disability benefits, depending on which disability program pays you benefits. The good news is that the SSDI program, which is the disability program for those who paid payroll taxes (or self-employment taxes) over many years, has no household income limits. Your husband or wife's income only matters for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) (the low-income, need-based disability program).

If you're married and your husband or wife makes an income, the SSI program will likely "deem" part of your spouse's income to be available to you. We'll explain what deeming is below. But the gist is that, if your spouse has a sizeable income, it's likely to lower your SSI payment, or even make you ineligible for SSI.

Who Is Considered a Spouse by Social Security?

If you're legally married to your partner and are living together, the Social Security Administration (SSA) considers you married for the purpose of counting your spouse's income as available to you. And because same-sex marriage is legal in all states, Social Security will "deem" income between any two people who are married.

In addition, if you live with a boyfriend or girlfriend and you "hold yourselves out" in the community to be married, Social Security will deem your boyfriend or girlfriend's income to you. Social Security will also deem income between those in some types of non-marital relationships, such as domestic partnerships and civil unions.

Social Security has special rules if you're married but legally separated that the agency uses when deciding whether to deem your spouse's income.

When Does Your Spouse's Income Affect Your Disability Benefits?

Remember, your spouse's income does not affect your SSDI benefits. And if you're receiving SSI, your spouse can make a small amount of income and not have it counted against you. The amount depends on whether you have children. Here's how it works.

If you and your spouse have no children and your spouse has more than $472 per month (in 2024) in earned income (like wages) and unearned income (like a pension), Social Security will consider part of your spouse's income as available to you.

If you have one child, part of your spouse's income is considered to be available to you only if your spouse has more than $944 per month in income.

If you have two children, your spouse's income is considered to be available to you only if your spouse has more than $1,416 per month in income. (And so on, adding $472 for each child.)

When Social Security considers income to be available to you to pay for your food, shelter, and other necessities, the agency is "deeming" it to be available to you.

How Much Income Can Your Spouse Have Without It Affecting Your Benefits?

If you think in terms of annual income, Social Security will deem part of your spouse's income to you if you have no children and your spouse has more than $5,664 annually earned or unearned income.

If you have one child, your spouse's income will deem part of your spouse's income to you if your spouse has more than $11,328 per year in income. (And so on, adding $5,664 for each child.)

So if you have three children, your spouse can have almost $23,000 per year in income, and it won't affect your SSI benefits at all.

Number of Children	Monthly Threshold for Deeming Spouse's Income	Annual Threshold for Deeming Spouse's Income
0	$472 per month	$5,676 per year
1	$944 per month	$11,328 per year
2	$1,416 per month	$16,992 per year
3	$1,888 per month	$22,656 per year
4	$2,360 per month	$28,320 per year
5	$2,832 per month	$33,984 per year
6	$3,304 per month	$39,648 per year

Will Your Spouse's Government Benefits Count as Your Income?

The SSA won't count most benefits that your spouse receives as your income, including:

• SSI benefits
• SNAP benefits (food stamps)
• TANF benefits (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families)
• VA pension and other needs-based veterans benefits
• general assistance from the Bureau of Indian Affairs
• state and local need-based assistance, and
• most disaster assistance.

Social Security also won't deem some types of income to you, including:

• income that's needed to make court-ordered spousal or child support payments
• scholarship grant money that's set aside to pay tuition or educational expenses
• money used for disability-related work expenses for spouses who are SSDI recipients
• most tax refunds, and
• more. (20 C.F.R. 416.1161.)

How Much of a Spouse's Income Will the SSA Deem to You?

Social Security has a complicated formula for how much of your spouse's income the agency will deem to you. To estimate how much of your husband or wife's income will be deemed to you, you can follow these guidelines.

1. Deduct living expenses of $472 for each child from your spouse's unearned income, if any, or earned income.

2. Add your spouse's earned income to any earned income you have. Don't yet include income from a spouse's IRA or company pension.

3. Take certain deductions to give you your countable income, just as you would if you weren't married. (Social Security doesn't count all income for SSI, such as disability-related work expenses. For earned income (income from work), you're allowed to subtract $85 and then cut the remainder in half to come up with your countable earned income.)

4. Add your countable income to the unearned income you and your spouse have (such as pension withdrawals).

What's left after you've made these deductions is the countable income that's deemed to you.

4. Subtract this amount from the SSI income limit for a couple (as if you were both disabled), not for an individual. The income limit (and monthly SSI benefit rate) for a couple is $1,415 in 2024.

5. What remains, if anything, will be your monthly benefit. If the remainder is zero or less, you aren't eligible for SSI.

6. If the remainder is more than the maximum federal SSI rate for an individual, $943, then you will receive only $943. (Note that these calculations would change if your state adds a state supplement to the SSI payment.)

Examples of How Your Spouse's Income Affects Your SSI Benefits

Here are a few more examples to give you an idea of whether your husband or wife's earned income might make you ineligible for SSI payments.

Spouse's salary $15,600 per year, no children

Your husband makes $1,300 per month by working and has no other income, and you have no other income and no children. The SSA will deem your spouse's income to you since your spouse makes more than $472 per month.

About $607 per month of your husband's income will be deemed to you (($1,300-$85)/2). Subtracting that amount from the couple's SSI rate of $1,415, you would only get about $808 per month ($1,415-$607), somewhat less than the federal maximum benefit of $943.

Spouse's salary $15,600 per year, two children

Your husband makes $1,300 per month through work, and you have two minor children living with you. You don't have any income of your own. The SSA will deem your spouse's income to you since your spouse makes more than $1,416 per month.

Social Security will subtract $472 from your spouse's income for each child's living expenses and then deduct the earned income exclusion amount of $85 plus half of the reaminder of the wages. So the agency will deem only $135.50 of your husband's income to you (($1,300-$472-$472-$85)/2). Subtracting this amount from a couple's maximum SSI payment of $1,415 would give you $1,279.50 in SSI, in theory. However, you can't get more than the $943 federal maximum for SSI (unless there's a state supplement), so your monthly payment would be $943. You can see here that, because of your children, your husband's income isn't deemed to you at all.

Spouse's salary $36,000 per year, no children

Say your wife makes $3,000 per month at her job and has no other income, and you have no other income and no children. The SSA will deem your spouse's income to you since your wife makes more than $472 per month.

You've been approved for SSI. Only $1,457.50 per month of your wife's income will be deemed to you (($3,000-$85)/2). Subtracting that amount from the couple's SSI rate of $1,415 would leave you with nothing. You would not be eligible for SSI because of your wife's income.

Spouse's salary $30,000 per year, two children

Your wife makes $2,500 per month at her job and has no other income. You have no other income but you have two children (without an income of their own). Your wife's income will be deemed to you since she makes more than $1,416 per month.

Only $735.50 of your wife's income will be deemed to you (($2,500-$472-$472-$85)/2). Subtracting this amount from the couple's maximum SSI payment of $1,415 would give you $679.50 in SSI benefits.

What If Your Spouse Pays for Housing and Food?

In most circumstances, if you receive free housing, Social Security will lower your SSI payment due to "in-kind income and support." But if you're living in the same household with your spouse and your spouse's income can be deemed to you, Social Security won't lower your SSI payment for getting free room and/or board. (20 C.F.R. 416.1148.)

Other Factors Change How Your Spouse's Income Affects Your Benefits

Note that these examples are simple calculations for the purpose of illustration. The SSA's formula can get a bit more complicated, particularly if:

• you are also working and have earned income of your own
• you or your spouse also has unearned income (such as a pension or a free place to live), or
• you have any impairment-related work expenses.

In addition, the calculations change in states that add on a supplementary payment to SSI. For more information, see our article on the state supplementary payment for SSI.