Note: BWE items do not have to be related to your blindness.
Note: The worker must have paid the expense in order for it to be a BWE deduction.
Categories
- Transportation to and from work
- Federal, State, and Local income taxes and Social Security and Medicare taxes
- Meals consumed during work hours (purchased or prepared at home)
- Job-related fees, such as licenses, professional dues, union dues
- Mandatory work contributions, such as pension contributions
- Other work-related equipment/services, such as braille materials, accessible technology
- Dog Guide expenses
- Drugs and medicines
- Medical devices, supplies, and services/therapies
- Non-medical equipment/services, such as tools used on the job, uniforms, etc.
- Training to use an impairment-related item or an item that is reasonably attributable to work, such as instruction in braille, cane use, use of technology, etc.
- Structural modifications to the individual’s home to create a workspace or to allow the individual to get to and from work
- Vehicle modification
- Prosthesis
- Attendant care services (restrictions apply)
References
- Page 33 of The Red Book – A Guide to Work Incentives (2023)
- Program Operations Manual System (POMS) SI 00820.535; POMS SI 00820.555
Download available
BEAR’s SSI Exclusions Calculation Spreadsheet (two worksheets: SSI Calculation & BWE Calculation)