SSI Income Limits 2026 and 2027

When we checked on November 2, 2026, Internet Archive copies of SSA’s SSI Federal Payment Amounts pages (captured October 24 and 25, 2026) and of SSA’s 2027 COLA fact sheet (captured October 25, 2026) listed these monthly federal benefit rates for 2026 and 2027. SSA’s www.ssa.gov pages were read from Internet Archive copies captured October 14–25, 2026; the SSI Resources page copy is from January 1, 2026 and is headed "2025 Edition". POMS pages were read directly on November 2, 2026. SSA says:

The arithmetic: with unearned income only, countable income is the income minus $20, so the federal amount is $0 at the rate plus $20. With earned income only, countable income is (income minus $20 minus $65) divided by 2, so the federal amount is $0 at twice the rate plus $85. One dollar below those points the federal amount is $1 for unearned income and 50 cents for earned income, and one dollar above them it stays at $0.

The SSA page Understanding SSI: SSI Income does not state a dollar income at which SSI stops, and neither does the SSI Federal Payment Amounts page. SSA’s text gives the rate and the counting rules, and the $0 points above come from applying them. When income is mixed, part earned and part unearned, the $0 point falls between the two figures; the calculator below shows the steps.

Enter a month of income. The calculator follows the order of the SSA rules quoted further down and shows each step. It is an estimate of the federal amount only. It does not include state supplements, deeming, in-kind support and maintenance, income based on need, the student earned income exclusion, work-expense exclusions, PASS or other exclusions.

SSA’s income page separates earned and unearned income:

It describes the figuring in two steps:

The $20 general exclusion comes off unearned income first. SSA’s Program Operations Manual System (POMS) says:

The calculator treats all unearned income as ordinary unearned income, not in-kind support and maintenance valued under the one-third rule (the VTR) and not income based on need (IBON). For earned income, POMS gives this order, after income excluded by other Federal laws:

The calculator applies steps d, e and g (the unused part of the $20, the $65, and one-half of what remains). POMS adds two rules about unused exclusions and couples:

For a couple, SSA says the amount is divided after countable income is subtracted:

The calculator takes a couple’s income entered together, applies one $20 and one $65 and shows the couple’s combined federal amount only. POMS SI 02001.010 (rounding) says SSA divides the couple’s amount by two and then rounds the payment for each member, so each spouse’s payment is not shown here.

On rounding, POMS SI 02001.010 says countable income is an interim step that is not rounded, so the calculator keeps countable income to three decimals (for example $7.505 for $100.01 of earned income) and raises only the estimated payment to the next higher cent.

SSA’s income page gives sample dollar amounts at the 2026 rate of $994. The calculator reproduces them:

Our own example, labelled arithmetic: $500 of earned income and $100 of unearned income in a month, individual rate. The $20 comes off the unearned income, so $80 of it counts; the earned income loses $65, and one-half of the rest counts.

SSA’s income page introduces its list of exclusions this way:

Below is a selection of examples from SSA’s list, each in SSA’s words. SSA’s list has more entries, and the calculator uses only the $20 and $65 exclusions and the one-half rule.

• “The first $65 of earnings and one half of earnings over $65 received in a month.”
• “The value of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps) received.”
• “Income tax refunds.”
• “Home energy assistance.”
• “Assistance based on need and funded by a State or local government, or an Indian tribe.”
• “Small amounts of income received irregularly or infrequently.”
• “Grants, scholarships, fellowships, or gifts used for tuition and educational expenses.”
• “Earnings up to $2,410 per month to a maximum of $9,730 per year (effective January 2026) for a student under age 22.”
• “The cost of impairment-related work expenses for items or services that a person with a disability needs to work.”
• “The cost of work expenses that a blind person incurs in order to work.”
• “Income set aside under a Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS).”

On in-kind support and maintenance, SSA’s income page says:

The calculator does not include in-kind support and maintenance, so it does not model that part of the page.

SSA’s resources pages say:

The pages above give more exclusions than those first two items.

State supplement amounts vary by state and are not listed here. SSA’s income page shows a federally administered state supplement only as a sample amount, so the calculator adds none.

SSA’s income page describes two more deeming situations, for a child under age 18 and for a noncitizen with a sponsor. The calculator includes none of them.

• SSI payment schedule
• Social Security COLA 2027
• Substantial gainful activity (SGA) limits
• SSDI payment schedule
• SSDI back pay calculator