20 C.F.R. § 416.972
What we mean by substantial gainful activity
Substantial gainful activity is work activity that is both substantial and gainful:
(a) Substantial work activity. Substantial work activity is work activity that involves doing significant physical or mental activities. Your work may be substantial even if it is done on a part-time basis or if you do less, get paid less, or have less responsibility than when you worked before.
(b) Gainful work activity. Gainful work activity is work activity that you do for pay or profit. Work activity is gainful if it is the kind of work usually done for pay or profit, whether or not a profit is realized.
(c) Some other activities. Generally, we do not consider activities like taking care of yourself, household tasks, hobbies, therapy, school attendance, club activities, or social programs to be substantial gainful activity.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 233
cases (142 in the last 5 years), 1982–2026 · leading case: Raymond CORRAO, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Donna E. SHALALA, Sec'y of Health & Human Servs., Defendant-Appellee, 20 F.3d 943 (9th Cir. 1994).
Raymond CORRAO, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Donna E. SHALALA, Sec'y of Health & Human Servs., Defendant-Appellee, 20 F.3d 943 (9th Cir. 1994). “” See 20 C.F.R. § 416.972 (1993). Work activity is “substantial” if it “involves doing significant physical or mental activities.”
Ralph E. Dukes v. Jo Anne B. Barnhart, Comm'r, Soc. Sec. Admin., 436 F.3d 923 (8th Cir. 2006). “3d at 1145 ; 20 C.F.R. § 416.972 . Substantial activity is significant physical or mental work that is done on a full- or part-time basis.”
Ellen Melville v. Kenneth S. Apfel, Comm'r of Soc. Sec., 198 F.3d 45 (2d Cir. 1999). “” 20 C.F.R. § 416.972 (b). Here, the types of duties performed by Melville at her DSS jobs clearly involved the kind of work that is usually done for pay or profit, and therefore qualify as “gainful.”
Cruz v. Barnhart, 343 F. Supp. 2d 218 (S.D.N.Y. 2004). “"Substantial gainful activity” is defined in 20 C.F.R. § 416.972 as “work activity that is both substantial and gainful'': (a)Substantial work activity.”
Jerry P. COMSTOCK, Appellant, v. Shirley S. CHATER, Comm'r of Soc. Sec. Admin., Appellee, 91 F.3d 1143 (8th Cir. 1996). “20 C.F.R. § 416.972 . Substantial work includes physical or mental work, even if done on a part-time basis.”
James C. Cooper, Appellant, v. Sec'y of Health & Human Servs., Louis W. Sullivan, M.d., Appellee, 919 F.2d 1317 (8th Cir. 1990). “20 C.F.R. § 416.972 . Substantial work involves activity, even on a part-time basis, which is significantly physical or mental.”
Lehman v. Astrue, 931 F. Supp. 2d 682 (D. Maryland 2013). “” 20 C.F.R. § 416.972 . Work activity is substantial if it involves doing significant physical or mental activities and even if it is part-time or if plaintiff is doing less, being paid less, or has fewer responsibilities than when he worked before.”
Melinda BELL, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Comm'r OF Soc. Sec., Defendant-Appellee, 105 F.3d 244 (6th Cir. 1996). “” 20 C.F.R. §§ 416.972 (a),(b). Earnings in excess of $500 per month (for years after 1989) create a rebuttable presumption of substantial gainful activity.”
Williams v. Colvin, 575 F. App'x 350 (5th Cir. 2014). “920 (b); 20 C.F.R. § 416.972 (a). . 20 C.F.R. § 404.”
Taylor Ex Rel. Mckinnies v. Barnhart, 333 F. Supp. 2d 846 (E.D. Mo. 2004). “The child has not engaged in substantial gainful activity since the alleged onset of disability ( 20 CFR § 416.972 ); 2. The child has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, a depressive disorder, a learning disorder and a conduct disorder, which are severe impairments ( 20…”
Dennis TERRELL, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Kenneth S. APFEL, Comm'r of Soc. Sec., Defendant-Appellee, 147 F.3d 659 (8th Cir. 1998). “910 ; see also 20 C.F.R. § 416.972 . Other regulations provide that “work may be substantial even if it is done on a part-time basis or if you do less, get paid less, or have less responsibility than when you worked before.”
Stemple v. Astrue, 475 F. Supp. 2d 527 (D. Maryland 2007). “” 20 C.F.R. § 416.972 . Work activity is substantial if it involves doing significant physical or mental activities and even if it is part time or if plaintiff is doing less, being paid less, or has fewer responsibilities than when she worked before.”
— 20 C.F.R. § 416.972(a) — 3 cases
Chacon v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec. (M.D. Fla. 2020).
Randolph v. Kijakazi (S.D. Ind. 2023).
Mitchell v. SHHS (1st Cir. 1994).
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