If you work, Social Security may deduct your Impairment Related Work Expenses (IRWE) from the amount of earnings they use to figure your SSI benefit. This means that Social Security will not reduce your SSI benefit as much because they will not count all of your earnings.
IRWE may include out-of-pocket expenses for: (1) medical items – such as medicine, medical supplies, medical devices, service animals, bandages, and syringes; (2) medical services – such as counseling, doctors visits, and some attendant care services; and (3) transportation and modifications to your home, car, or van to allow you to work. Normally, public transportation is not an IRWE.
The expense must not be reimbursed by any other source (such as Medicare, Medicaid, or a private insurance carrier) and must be related to your disabling impairment(s) and needed in order for you to work. Generally, it does not matter if you also need the item or service for daily living. For example, the cost of a wheelchair usually can be deducted from the earnings Social Security might count even though the wheelchair is used for both daily living and work.
Generally, you must be working in the month you pay for an IRWE. However in certain situations, Social Security can deduct IRWE amounts for expenses you pay before you start or after you stop work.
Here’s a link to a table listing examples of deductible and non-deductible IRWE: http://www.ssa.gov/redbook/eng/ssdi-and-ssi-employments-supports.htm#3
