SSA Five-Step Sequential Evaluation
Five-step process / Step 1
Step 1: Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA)
Are you currently working and earning above a certain amount?
Generally Not disabled; evaluation stops.
Continue to Step 2.
SSA first looks at your work activity. If your work is substantial gainful activity (SGA), SSA generally finds you not disabled at Step 1 without evaluating your medical condition. Earnings are an important guide, but SSA also considers the work you perform and applicable deductions or supports.
The 2026 SGA amounts
For 2026, the monthly SGA guideline is $1,690 for people who are not statutorily blind and $2,830 for people who are statutorily blind. Work above the applicable amount generally indicates SGA, but SSA determines countable earnings and evaluates the full work situation. These are SGA guidelines, not the amount of a benefit payment.
SSA may consider items such as impairment-related work expenses, subsidies, special conditions, and whether earnings should be averaged across a work period. A paycheck above the guideline does not by itself answer every SGA question.
- Nonblind disability claims: $1,690 per month in 2026.
- Statutory blindness: $2,830 per month in 2026.
Work attempts and earnings
An unsuccessful work attempt may not show that you can sustain SGA. In general, the work must have ended or dropped below SGA within six months because of your impairment, and other regulatory conditions must also be met. It is not an automatic exception for every short job.
Self-employment is evaluated differently from employee wages. For an initial claim, SSA may apply three tests: whether you provide significant services and receive substantial income; whether your work is comparable to that of unimpaired people in a similar business; and whether the work is clearly worth the SGA amount or the value of an employee doing it. The test depends on the claim and work period.
SSA-821 Work Activity Report (Employee)SSA-820 Work Activity Report (Self-Employed)
The Trial Work Period is a separate SSDI rule
If you already receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), a trial work period can let you test your ability to work. It includes up to nine service months, which do not have to be consecutive; after the trial work period ends, SSA applies additional work and benefit rules. The 2026 earnings guideline for a trial-work service month is $1,210; self-employment hours can also count.
The trial work period is not a way for a new applicant to work above SGA and still qualify at Step 1. It generally applies to people entitled to certain Social Security disability benefits, not SSI recipients.
Related site resources
Browse SSA disability formsAll five evaluation stepsCan I work while waiting for disability?