I am receiving SSDI. I called SSDI and asked if Air bnb income was a conflict and was told no, but I am still concerned because I found out it must be claimed on schedule C (active income), rather than schedule E (passive income). I was told by SSDI that I didn’t need to disclose that income on my forms to them, but not sure I got the right info.

Hi,

I'm not an expert on tax regulations, but if the IRS defines your Airbnb income as self-employment earnings and requires you to report the income on a Schedule C, those earnings could create problems for you with regard to your Social Security disability (SSDI) benefits. People on SSDI are allowed to work and earn any amount for 9 months, which is referred to as a trial work period (TWP). Once your TWP is completed, though, if you earn more than the amount defined as substantial gainful activity (SGA) then your SSDI benefits can be suspended or terminated. The current 2019 SGA earnings level is $1220.

Therefore, if you have net earnings from self-employment that average in excess of the SGA level you could eventually lose your SSDI benefits depending on how long your earnings continue. For more details on working while receiving SSDI, refer to the following Social Security publication: https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10095.pdf.

Best, Jerry