October 2 – TWP and Self-Employment
Question: I am assisting a Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) beneficiary who has been working as a real estate agent for the past year. She gets paid a commission for each house she sells. She works many hours over several months to sell a house and earn a commission. How will Trial Work Period (TWP) months be counted?
Answer: A self-employed individual uses a TWP month if the Net Earnings from Self-Employment (NESE) is over the TWP amount, OR if the individual works more than 80 hours in the business. Either factor will cause Social Security to count that month toward the nine months of the TWP.
- Hours worked: If the beneficiary spends more than 80 hours per month in work activity, that month will count as a TWP month, regardless of NESE. Beneficiaries should keep track of the hours worked in the business. Hours that count are hours they spent on the ongoing business duties for pay or profit. The beneficiary shouldn’t count hours he or she spent simply planning the business
- NESE: If the beneficiary has a month of NESE that exceeds the TWP threshold, that month will count as a TWP month, regardless of hours worked. Social Security will divide the net earnings for the particular work period when it is not possible to determine the total net earnings for each particular month or when a person is paid commissions and it is not possible to isolate the earnings for a particular month of work.
Reference:
SSI Spotlight on SSIMWR application and SSITWR system
https://www.ssa.gov/ssi/spotlights/spot-telephone-wage.htm
Would you like to find out more about WIPA and your benefits? Contact your statewide WIPA Program-Project 20/20 if you have questions like our Daily Tips or want to learn more about working while receiving social security disability benefits. Call our North Augusta office at 803-279-9611 or the Ticket to Work Helpline at 1-866-968-7842. You can also complete a Contact Us or Self-referral Form.