{
  "slug": "ssi-resource-limit-check",
  "title": "SSI Resource Limit Checker",
  "heading": "SSI Asset & Resource Limit Checker",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/ssi-resource-limit-check",
  "summary": "Check if your countable resources are under SSI's asset limit.",
  "description": "SSI has one of the strictest asset tests in federal benefits programs: $2,000 in countable resources for an individual and $3,000 for a couple, limits that have not been adjusted for inflation since 1989, making them increasingly restrictive over time. Countable resources include cash, bank accounts, stocks, bonds, and a second vehicle, but exclude your primary home, one vehicle, household goods, a burial plot, and up to $1,500 in designated burial funds per person. ABLE accounts for people who became disabled before age 26 (raised from an earlier stricter cutoff) allow additional savings up to $100,000 without counting against the SSI limit. This calculator totals your countable resources against exclusions and tells you whether you're under, at, or over the applicable limit, and by how much, since going even $1 over on a redetermination date can suspend your SSI payment entirely.",
  "formula": "Countable resources = total assets − excluded assets (home, one vehicle, burial funds up to limit, ABLE balance up to $100k); compare to $2,000/$3,000 limit.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=ssi-resource-limit-check",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "cash",
      "label": "Cash, checking, savings",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 1500,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "investments",
      "label": "Stocks, bonds, other investments",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 0,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "secondVehicleValue",
      "label": "Value of any 2nd+ vehicle",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 0,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "ableBalance",
      "label": "ABLE account balance",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 0,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "burialFund",
      "label": "Designated burial funds",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 0,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "status",
      "label": "Individual or couple",
      "kind": "select",
      "hint": null,
      "default": "individual",
      "options": [
        {
          "value": "individual",
          "label": "Individual"
        },
        {
          "value": "couple",
          "label": "Couple"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "countable",
      "label": "Total countable resources",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "limit",
      "label": "Applicable resource limit",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "overBy",
      "label": "Amount over the limit (if any)",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "roomLeft",
      "label": "Room remaining under the limit",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "isOver",
      "label": "Over the limit? (1 = yes)",
      "format": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Cash, checking, savings: 1500 $",
      "Stocks, bonds, other investments: 0 $",
      "Value of any 2nd+ vehicle: 0 $",
      "ABLE account balance: 0 $",
      "Designated burial funds: 0 $",
      "Individual or couple: Individual"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Total countable resources: $1,500",
      "Applicable resource limit: $2,000",
      "Amount over the limit (if any): $0",
      "Room remaining under the limit: $500",
      "Over the limit? (1 = yes): 0"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter cash, checking, savings ($).",
      "Enter stocks, bonds, other investments ($).",
      "Enter value of any 2nd+ vehicle ($).",
      "Enter able account balance ($).",
      "Enter designated burial funds ($).",
      "Enter individual or couple.",
      "Read your total countable resources on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "cash": 900,
        "investments": 0,
        "secondVehicleValue": 0,
        "ableBalance": 0,
        "burialFund": 0,
        "status": "individual"
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "cash": 1500,
        "investments": 0,
        "secondVehicleValue": 0,
        "ableBalance": 0,
        "burialFund": 0,
        "status": "individual"
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "cash": 2400,
        "investments": 0,
        "secondVehicleValue": 0,
        "ableBalance": 0,
        "burialFund": 0,
        "status": "individual"
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "Why hasn't the SSI resource limit changed since 1989?",
      "a": "The $2,000/$3,000 limits are set in statute, not indexed to inflation like the benefit amount itself, so Congress must pass a law to change them. Advocacy groups have pushed for updates for years since $2,000 in 1989 would be roughly $5,000 today in real terms, but no change has been enacted as of now."
    },
    {
      "q": "Does my house or car count against the limit?",
      "a": "Your primary residence is completely excluded regardless of value, and one vehicle is excluded regardless of value as well, as long as it's used for transportation. A second vehicle, however, counts at its equity value unless it also meets a specific exclusion like being needed for a specific medical or employment purpose."
    },
    {
      "q": "What is an ABLE account and why does it help?",
      "a": "ABLE accounts are tax-advantaged savings accounts for people who became disabled before age 26, allowing them to save up to $100,000 without it counting against SSI's resource limit — a major exception designed to let disabled individuals build savings without losing benefits, addressing a long-standing criticism of the asset test."
    },
    {
      "q": "What happens if my resources go over the limit even briefly?",
      "a": "SSA can suspend your SSI payment for any month your countable resources exceed the limit as of the first moment of that month, and you're required to report resource changes. Spending down excess resources before the end of the month or moving money into an excluded category can prevent a suspension if caught early."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/ssdi-vs-ssi-comparison",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/snap-allotment-estimate"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — SSI Resource Limit Checker (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/ssi-resource-limit-check)"
}