If you’re retired or planning to retire soon and thinking about selling your home, you might be wondering if that could mess with your Social Security checks. It’s a fair question—and one that deserves a clear answer.
Selling Your Home Won’t Cancel Your Social Security Benefits
Let’s get straight to the point: if you’re receiving Social Security retirement or survivor benefits, selling your house won’t make those payments stop. The Social Security Administration (SSA) doesn’t care how much money you make from selling your home, how many assets you have, or where you decide to live after the sale. Your benefits won’t be taken away just because you made some money selling your house.
What might change, though, is how much of your Social Security income gets taxed. If the profit from your home sale bumps your total income high enough, you could owe more in taxes—but the actual benefit amount won’t be reduced or stopped.
Also worth knowing: home sale profits don’t count toward the SSA’s “earnings test.” That test only applies to people who start collecting Social Security before their full retirement age and keep working. If they earn too much from work, their monthly checks can get trimmed temporarily. But money from selling your home? That’s not considered “earned income,” so it doesn’t affect the earnings test at all.
If You’re on SSDI, You’re Safe Too
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is another part of the Social Security program, and many people under retirement age receive it. You can lose SSDI if you go back to work, your health improves enough that you’re no longer considered disabled, or you hit full retirement age and your benefits switch over to regular Social Security.
But selling your home? That won’t cause you to lose SSDI either.
In fact, this exact question came up on a website called Maximize My Social Security. A disabled homeowner asked if selling his house would affect his SSDI payments. The site’s founder, Laurence Kotlikoff, who also teaches economics at Boston University, said it clearly: if you’re receiving SSDI—not Supplemental Security Income (SSI)—then selling your house won’t change anything. There are no asset or income limits that would stop your benefits, as long as you’re not switching over to a needs-based program.
Watch Out If You’re Receiving SSI
Now, here’s where things are a little different. If you’re getting Supplemental Security Income (SSI), selling your home might cause a temporary loss of those benefits. SSI is meant for people with very limited income and assets, and the rules are stricter.
Right now, nearly 5 million people get SSI, and a few million more get both SSI and regular Social Security. Unlike SSDI or retirement benefits, SSI is based on financial need—not work history. That means the government looks closely at how much money and property you have.
Let’s say you sell your house and suddenly have a chunk of cash sitting in the bank. If that amount pushes you over the SSI asset limit (which is just $2,000 for individuals), your benefits could stop.
However, the SSA gives you a bit of breathing room. If you use the money from your home sale to buy another home within three months, and you’re left with less than $2,000 afterward, your benefits can keep going without interruption. But if you hang onto that money or still have more than $2,000 after buying your new place, your SSI payments could be suspended.
The good news? It’s not necessarily permanent. If your total assets fall back under the $2,000 limit within 12 months—by spending the excess on qualifying expenses like a new home or medical needs—you can reapply to have your benefits turned back on.
If you’re collecting regular Social Security or SSDI, selling your home won’t put those benefits at risk. But if you receive SSI, the cash from a home sale could temporarily stop your payments if you don’t follow the asset rules. So before making any big decisions, it’s a good idea to understand how the system works—and maybe even talk to a financial advisor who knows the ins and outs of Social Security.
