What is Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) for SSDI purposes?
Executive summary
Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) is the Social Security Administration’s yardstick for deciding whether a person’s work and earnings are inconsistent with the agency’s definition of disability: if work is both “substantial” (significant physical or mental activity) and “gainful” (work usually done for pay or profit), the claimant generally is not considered disabled [1] [2]. The SSA measures SGA primarily by a monthly earnings threshold that is updated yearly and has higher limits for people who are blind [3] [4] [5].
1. What SGA legally means: activity plus earnings
SGA is a two-part test: “substantial” describes work involving significant physical and/or mental activities, and “gainful” means the kind of work normally done for pay or profit; both elements must be present for activity to count as SGA under SSA regulations and guidance [2] [1]. The SSA emphasizes that SGA is a threshold used to evaluate disability eligibility — being able to engage in SGA is, by definition, incompatible with a finding of disability for SSDI or SSI [4] [6].
2. The dollar cutoffs: a moving target with a blind exception
Rather than an abstract test alone, SSA operationalizes SGA with a specific monthly earnings cutoff that changes with cost‑of‑living adjustments; examples cited in public guides show cutoffs for recent years and higher thresholds for people who are blind (e.g., amounts reported for 2024–2026 and separate blind limits) [3] [4] [7]. Official SSA pages and consumer guides both underscore that the numeric threshold is the clearest and most commonly used indicator of whether earnings amount to SGA [5] [8].
3. What counts toward SGA — and what usually does not
The SSA generally counts work done for pay or in reasonable expectation of profit, including self‑employment and even income from criminal activity, while excluding unpaid hobbies, volunteer activities, school attendance and many household tasks — although unpaid activity can still be evidence of capacity to do SGA [9] [2]. Certain income types (for example, some disability‑related or public benefits) and passive income sources are treated differently in calculating SGA, and guidance from consumer sites notes these distinctions [7] [8].
4. Work incentives, trial periods and “unsuccessful” attempts
To avoid a hard cliff, the SSA allows work incentives: SSDI beneficiaries get a nine‑month Trial Work Period (TWP) during which they can earn any amount and still receive benefits, followed by an Extended Period of Eligibility governed by the SGA threshold; separate rules apply for SSI and for blindness in certain contexts [3] [4] [10]. The agency may also treat short, health‑terminated jobs as “unsuccessful work attempts” (UWA) if they lasted six months or less and ended because of the impairment, which can prevent such work from being counted as SGA [11] [12].
5. Consequences and practical nuances for SSDI recipients
Earning above the SGA threshold after the trial work period can cause suspension of monthly SSDI payments, though benefits can be reinstated if earnings fall below the threshold later; however, having earnings below SGA does not automatically prove disability because SSA can find someone capable of SGA through other evidence [8] [12]. Advocacy and informational organizations stress careful reporting and documentation because the SSA looks beyond raw earnings — hours worked, duties performed, and medical evidence all factor into whether activity truly amounts to SGA [12] [13].
6. Limits of available reporting and the remaining gray areas
Public summaries and legal guides make clear broad rules, numeric thresholds, and common exceptions, but specific determinations remain highly fact‑sensitive: whether a given part‑time self‑employment activity, unpaid work, or mixed income stream counts as SGA often requires case‑level review that agency rulings or a judge may need to resolve [2] [9]. The sources cited explain criteria and common scenarios but cannot substitute for individualized legal or SSA case analysis, which is outside the scope of these summaries [1] [4].