
Originally Posted by
Melonie
^^^ however, if you ARE receiving SSI Disability checks, you need to be aware of the 'flip side'. Using the same example of $580 per month in disability payments, if you wind up earning say $250 per week ~ $ 1,000 per month from dancing, your monthly disability payment will be reduced from $580 to just $80 ( a 50 cent reduction for every dollar earned ). And, of course, you will wind up owing at least $153 per month in social security taxes on your $1000 in dancing income.
So earning an additional 'gross' $1000 per month from dancing will in fact 'net' you $80 in reduced SSI disability check plus $847 in after-tax dancing income, or $927 per month. Put another way, dancing enough to earn you $1000 per month will in fact only increase your present income by $927 - $580 = $347 per month. Actually, things might be a little better than this, since SSI 'ignores' the first $65 in monthly earnings, but not much. Obviously, if dancing also involves additional expenses that would not have to be incurred if sitting at home ( transportation, fast food, etc. ) those expenses will subtract from the $347 in additional 'net' monthly earnings ... to the point where it may not be 'worth it' to dance vs collecting full SSI disability benefits !!!
Obviously, if you start talking about $1000 per WEEK in dancing earnings versus $1000 per month, the 'total' loss of SSI disability payments becomes a relatively small factor in terms of 'net' earnings increase !!! And just as obviously, if there a dancer 'forgets' to report her dancing income, and her club does not issue a 1099 reflecting her dancing earnings to the IRS, then she will continue to receive the 'full' $580 monthly disability checks as well as the $1000 in 'tax free' unreported cash dancing earnings ... well, up to the point where 'something' happens that reveals her previously unreported dancing income to the IRS and SSI, who will in turn come looking for repayment of SSI checks plus taxes due on that income !!!
Bookmarks