Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) is the monthly earnings threshold SSA uses to decide whether work activity disqualifies someone from Social Security Disability Insurance. To qualify for SSDI you must be unable to engage in SGA because of a medically determinable physical or mental impairment expected to last at least 12 months or result in death.
For 2026, the SGA threshold is $1,690 per month for non-blind beneficiaries with disabilities and $2,830 per month for blind beneficiaries. The non-blind amount went up by $70 from the 2025 figure. SSA updates both each October, indexed to the national average wage index.
2026 SGA (non-blind)
$1,690
Up $70 from 2025
2026 SGA (blind)
$2,830
Up $130 from 2025
Trial work month
Separate
Different threshold for SSDI trial work period
Indexed to
AWI
National average wage index
SGA amount by year, 1975 to 2026
Both the blind and non-blind SGA amounts updated by formula each year (with several flat years where the wage index did not rise). The blind amount has been wage-indexed automatically since 1978. The non-blind amount stayed flat at $300 from 1980 through 1989, then $500 through 1998, before formal wage indexing kicked in.
| Year | Blind SGA | Non-blind SGA |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | $200 | $200 |
| 1976 | $230 | $230 |
| 1977 | $240 | $240 |
| 1978 | $334 | $260 |
| 1979 | $375 | $280 |
| 1980 | $417 | $300 |
| 1981 | $459 | $300 |
| 1982 | $500 | $300 |
| 1983 | $550 | $300 |
| 1984 | $580 | $300 |
| 1985 | $610 | $300 |
| 1986 | $650 | $300 |
| 1987 | $680 | $300 |
| 1988 | $700 | $300 |
| 1989 | $740 | $300 |
| 1990 | $780 | $500 |
| 1991 | $810 | $500 |
| 1992 | $850 | $500 |
| 1993 | $880 | $500 |
| 1994 | $930 | $500 |
| 1995 | $940 | $500 |
| 1996 | $960 | $500 |
| 1997 | $1,000 | $500 |
| 1998 | $1,050 | $500 |
| 1999 | $1,110 | $700 |
| 2000 | $1,170 | $700 |
| 2001 | $1,240 | $740 |
| 2002 | $1,300 | $780 |
| 2003 | $1,330 | $800 |
| 2004 | $1,350 | $810 |
| 2005 | $1,380 | $830 |
| 2006 | $1,450 | $860 |
| 2007 | $1,500 | $900 |
| 2008 | $1,570 | $940 |
| 2009 | $1,640 | $980 |
| 2010 | $1,640 | $1,000 |
| 2011 | $1,640 | $1,000 |
| 2012 | $1,690 | $1,010 |
| 2013 | $1,740 | $1,040 |
| 2014 | $1,800 | $1,070 |
| 2015 | $1,820 | $1,090 |
| 2016 | $1,820 | $1,130 |
| 2017 | $1,950 | $1,170 |
| 2018 | $1,970 | $1,180 |
| 2019 | $2,040 | $1,220 |
| 2020 | $2,110 | $1,260 |
| 2021 | $2,190 | $1,310 |
| 2022 | $2,260 | $1,350 |
| 2023 | $2,460 | $1,470 |
| 2024 | $2,590 | $1,550 |
| 2025 | $2,700 | $1,620 |
| 2026 | $2,830 | $1,690 |
Source: SSA Office of the Chief Actuary, Substantial Gainful Activity Amounts.
How SGA applies at different points in an SSDI claim
At initial application
If you are working at the time you apply for SSDI and your countable earnings are above SGA, SSA usually denies the claim at step one of the five-step sequential evaluation. There are exceptions for impairment-related work expenses and subsidized employment, but as a baseline, monthly earnings above SGA are presumed to mean you are not disabled under SSA's definition. Earnings below SGA let the medical evaluation proceed to step 3, where SSA checks your records against the Blue Book of disability listings grouped by body system.
During the trial work period
Once you are approved and start receiving benefits, you can test work activity through the trial work period. SSDI gives you nine months of trial work in a rolling 60-month window. In a TWP month your earnings can exceed SGA and benefits still continue. The TWP threshold for $2026 is $1,160 (indexed separately from SGA), so any month with earnings at or above that counts toward your nine.
During the extended period of eligibility
After TWP, you enter a 36-month extended period of eligibility (EPE). SSA looks at each month individually: if earnings are above SGA in that month, no benefit is paid for that month. If earnings drop below SGA, the benefit resumes automatically without a new application. This phase is where IRWE adjustments matter most because they can keep month-by-month countable earnings under the SGA threshold.
SGA amount FAQ
The questions that come up most often about Substantial Gainful Activity in SSDI.