2026 tax year
SSDI and long-term disability together
Two benefits, two completely different tax rules, one tax bill.
Receiving both is common, because most long-term disability policies require you to apply for SSDI and then reduce their own payment by whatever SSDI pays. What surprises people is that the two halves are taxed under rules that have nothing in common.
The SSDI half is taxed on the combined-income formula: half the benefit plus everything else, tested against a threshold, capped at 85% taxable. The policy half is taxed on the premium question: fully taxable if your employer paid, entirely tax-free if you did.
They interact in one direction that matters. A taxable policy benefit counts as other income in the SSDI formula, so an employer-paid policy can drag your SSDI into being taxable as well. A policy you paid for yourself does not, because tax-free income stays out of the formula. Change the premium answer below and watch both lines move.
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Where this comes from
The rules on this page that are specific rather than general are cited below. Follow a link to read the provision itself rather than taking our word for it:
- Social Security and SSDI are taxed on a combined-income formula counting half the benefit plus other income, to a maximum of 85%IRC 86(a)-(b)
- A disability benefit is excluded from income where the recipient paid the premium with money already taxedIRC 104(a)(3); IRC 105(a)
Related
- All benefit calculators
- How much of your SSDI is taxable
- Is your short-term disability benefit taxable?
- Is your long-term disability benefit taxable?
- Is workers’ compensation taxable?
- Tax on Social Security and a 401(k)
- Household calculator
General information about how these benefits are taxed, not tax advice. Disability and benefit taxation turns on facts about your policy and your household that this page does not have, check with a tax professional before relying on a figure here.