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Property Essential to Self-Support (PESS)

The SSA excludes certain resources or property that an individual or eligible couple needs for self-support. Property Essential to Self-Support (PESS) can include property used in a trade or business, non-business income-producing property and property used to produce goods or services essential to an individual’s daily activities. There are different rules for considering property essential to self-support depending on whether it is income producing or not. Resources excluded under this provision generally fall into three categories as described below:

Category #1: Business Property, or Property of an Employee

Effective May 1, 1990, all property used in the operation of a trade or business is excluded as property essential to self-support. For self-employed individuals, this includes inventory, the building where the business is housed, and cash used in operating the business, regardless of their value. The property must be in current use as defined by SSA.

Personal property used by an employee for work such as tools, safety equipment, or uniforms is also excluded. These items are excluded whether or not the employer requires that the employee have them, provided that the SSI recipient or applicant is currently using them.

Category #2: Non-Business Property Used to Produce Goods or Services Essential to Daily Activities

Up to $6,000 of the equity value of non-business property used to produce goods or services essential to daily activities is also excluded from resources. An example might be a plot of land that the family uses to produce vegetables for their own use. Another example might be livestock intended for the family’s dinner table.

Category #3: Non-Business Income-Producing Property

Finally, up to $6,000 of the equity value of non-business income producing property can be excluded from resources if a net annual income of at least 6% of the excluded equity is produced. If the equity is greater than $6000, SSA will count only the amount over $6000 toward the allowable resource limit. An example of this type of property is rental property.

POMS Resources:

FAQ Disclaimer: The VCU-BARC FAQ Pages are general information provided as a public service. The contents do not necessarily represent the policy, interpretations or opinion of the Social Security Administration (SSA). The information contained here is intended to inform readers of issues that may affect Social Security and/or other public assistance benefits. Because individual circumstances differ, the reader should not rely on any information here as being specifically applicable to an individual's situation.