What Is Countable Income for SSI Benefits?

You're only eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits if your income falls under the SSI income limits ($967 for individuals and $1,450 for couples applying for SSI). But income isn't just money you earn from a job. To level the playing field between SSI applicants, the Social Security Administration (SSA) counts the value of some free items as income—such as a room provided to you at no charge by a relative or friend.

But to encourage you to work and to account for some expenses, Social Security allows you to exclude some money from your countable income, as well as some types of government benefits. Read on to learn what counts as income for SSI and what doesn't, to help you figure out whether you qualify for SSI.

What's Considered Countable Income for SSI?

Social Security defines income as the amount of money you bring in as well as items you can use to get food and shelter.

In addition to your "earned income" (money you earn from working), Social Security considers all of the following countable income for SSI purposes. All of this income combined has to fall under the SSI income threshold for you to qualify for SSI. The SSA will calculate your countable income each month and subtract your countable income from the maximum SSI amount to come up with your monthly payment amount.

Unearned Countable Income

Unearned income is any income you don't receive as compensation from work. The following types of unearned payments and benefits are counted as income for SSI eligibility purposes:

• Social Security (including SSDI disability benefits or retirement benefits)
• VA compensation (disabled veterans benefits)
• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
• pensions from prior work
• alimony, and
• child support.

Your Family Members' Countable Income

Some income earned by your spouse, parents, or other people in your household may count as income for SSI. Social Security will count a portion of this money, assuming it will go toward your living expenses, in most situations. But Social Security has some special rules for the types of income that are countable in these situations (for instance, government caregiver payments to your spouse or parents for your care aren't counted).

Learn how much of a spouse's income Social Security will count and, for children applying for SSI, how much of a parent's income Social Security will count.

Free or Discounted Rent

Social Security will count free rent or housing as income (as well as some other goods you're receiving from a nongovernmental source, if you can use them to pay for housing). The SSA calls this "in-kind income" because it's equivalent to the money you'd otherwise have to pay for shelter. The rules for how free housing, or discounted rent, affects your SSI payment are complicated. Read our article on in-kind income to learn more.

What Income Doesn't Count as Income for SSI?

Social Security doesn't count some income and benefits when calculating your income for SSI eligibility. These are called income exclusions. Social Security won't count the following income when it determines your SSI eligibility.

• Unearned income:
  • $20 per month of income other than wages, and
  • the first $60 of infrequent or irregular unearned income received in a quarter.
• Earned income:
  • $65 per month of your wages and half of your remaining monthly wages
  • wages that go toward special impairment-related work expenses (IRWE) for disabled persons or blind persons (BWE)
  • the first $30 of infrequent or irregularly earned income received in a quarter, and
  • $20 per month of earned income, if you didn't take the $20 unearned income exclusion (mentioned just above).

Also, if you're a student under age 22, you can earn up to $2,250 per month—up to $9,460 per year (in 2025)—and it won't count as income for SSI purposes.

What Benefits Don't Count as Income for SSI?

Social Security doesn't consider the following benefits to be countable income:

• food stamps
• medical care
• food or shelter provided by a nonprofit agency
• reimbursement of expenses from a social services agency
• housing or home energy assistance provided by a nonprofit or government agency
• income tax refunds, and
• tuition and scholarships used for educational expenses.

Also, income you set aside for an SSI "Plan for Achieving Self-Support" (PASS) isn't countable income. PASS is a work incentive program that allows you to set aside income or resources to help you get a job, go back to school, or start a business. (Learn more about Social Security work incentive programs.)

For more information on what doesn't count as income for SSI, Social Security keeps an extensive list of earned and unearned income exclusions.