Updated as of September 14, 2024.
Only for Students Who Receive SSI
Exclusions from income
For more detailed information, check out the Student Earned Income Exclusion (SEIE) entry in the Bridges Resource Library
NOTE: The SEIE is taken off BEFORE any other exclusions. This means that expenses like transportation, meals at work, taxes withheld, etc. are NOT excludable in a month unless the student’s income that month exceeds the allowable SEIE. For more information about expenses that may be excluded from the income of blind individuals who receive SSI, please check out the Blind Work Expense (BWE) Exclusions entry in the Bridges Resource Library.
Here is a One-month 2024 SEIE calculation spreadsheet. Download and explore it to get a feel for how the SEIE works.
For more information, please check out the following:
- SSI (Supplemental Security Income) – Fast Financial Facts entry in the Bridges Resource Library
- Blind Work Expense (BWE) Exclusions entry in the Bridges Resource Library
- BWE Calculation Spreadsheet (two worksheets: SSI Calculation & BWE Calculation) in the Bridges Resource Library
Reporting to the SSA
Please note that students must report their income to the SSA. You may do so via your “my Social Security account” online or via paper submission (mail or hand delivery to their local SSA office).
Please feel free to reach out to us at the Bridges Helpdesk anytime. We are eager to support you, including providing training in using “my Social Security.” This will be a skill everyone will likely need for a lifetime – even after securing full-time competitive employment.
Students Who Receive only SSDI
Exclusions from income
There is NO SEIE to exclude income for SSDI purposes However, the SSDI monthly earnings limit in 2024 is $2,590 — $300 greater than the maximum monthly SEIE.
SSDI recipients may only deduct Impairment-related work expenses (which exclude certain deductions for blind work expenses for SSI recipients (like meals consumed at work and taxes withheld).
For more information, please check out the following:
- SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance) – Fast Financial Facts entry in the Bridges Resource Library
- IRWE (Impairment Related Work Expense) Exclusions entry in the Bridges Resource Library
- IRWE Calculation Spreadsheet (two worksheets: SSDI Calculation & IRWE Calculation) in the Bridges Resource Library
Contact the Bridges Helpdesk for More Information
Email: Helpdesk@imagemd.org
Text: Send to: (410) 357-1546
Voice mail: Call (410) 357-1546, leave a voice mail message, and we will return your call
This unique project is being coordinated through The IMAGE Center of Maryland, a center for independent living in Towson, and it is funded by a grant from the Maryland Department of Education Division of Special Education/Early Intervention Services.