SSA Requests Feedback on Self-Employment Income Forms
Published Date: 9/24/2026
Notice
Summary
The Social Security Administration wants your feedback on some forms they use to check self-employment income for benefits. They’re updating and extending these forms and want to make sure they’re easy to use and not too much work. If you have thoughts, send them by November 23, 2026, so they can keep things running smoothly without extra costs or hassle.
Analyzed Economic Effects
10 provisions identified: 8 benefits, 2 costs, 0 mixed.
Prove Self‑Employment to Get Benefits
If you are self-employed and apply for Social Security insured status, SSA will use Form SSA-766 (Statement of Self-Employment Income) to decide if you earned the minimum self-employment income for quarters of coverage. SSA may credit extra quarters of coverage based on the form and can expedite benefit payments for the year you submit the information. The agency estimates 833 respondents annually with a total annual burden of 278 hours and a theoretical opportunity cost of $10,297.
One Combined Form for Medical Evidence
SSA will revise Form HA-4631 to combine medical treatment information and medication lists (currently on Form HA-4632) so claimants requesting a hearing can submit one streamlined form with recent treatments, current medications, providers, visit dates, and hospitalizations. After the change, SSA will discontinue Form HA-4632; claimants may submit HA-4631 by mail or SSA upload portals. SSA estimates 760,420 respondents annually with a total annual burden of 506,947 hours and a theoretical opportunity cost of $22,658,906.
Disability Report Required to Qualify
SSA and State Disability Determination Services use Form SSA-3368 (Disability Report—Adult) to decide whether an adult's impairments are severe enough for SSDI or SSI. Applicants must complete the form when they apply; SSA estimates 1,745,348 respondents annually with a total annual burden of 2,327,131 hours and a theoretical opportunity cost of $35,545,344.
Document Farm Work to Count Earnings
If you rent farmland but still work on the farm and want to count that work as earnings for Social Security, SSA will use Form SSA-7157 (Farm Arrangement Questionnaire) to document "material participation." The form is for workers who rent land to others but perform duties, management, or capital investment and want that work counted. SSA estimates 710 respondents annually, a total annual burden of 710 hours, and a theoretical opportunity cost of $35,273.
Forms to Prove Child’s Claim to Benefits
SSA uses Form SSA-2519 (Child Relationship Statement) to decide whether a child qualifies for benefits based on their relationship to an insured parent, including living arrangements, court decrees, support orders, or written acknowledgements. SSA estimates 4,787 respondents annually with a total annual burden of 1,197 hours and a theoretical opportunity cost of $69,596.
Help for Inmates Getting Replacement Cards
Under agreements with correctional facilities, prison officials can certify the identity of incarcerated U.S. citizens so SSA can issue replacement Social Security cards when inmates lack identity documents. SSA calls for verification statements from prison officials; the notice estimates 200,000 responses annually, a total annual burden of 10,000 hours, and a theoretical opportunity cost of $305,900.
Ticket to Work Reporting and Payments
SSA is renewing and revising multiple information collections used in the Ticket to Work program. Employment Networks (ENs), state vocational rehabilitation agencies, and ticketholders use portal forms and reports for assignments, unassignments, payment requests, performance reports, and other program tasks. SSA estimates 65,095 respondents with a total annual burden of 302,745 hours and a theoretical opportunity cost of $1,519,695.
Claiming Survivor Benefits After Long Absence
When an insured worker has been absent from home for at least seven years with no evidence they are alive, SSA can presume death. SSA uses Form SSA-723 to collect information to decide on a presumed date of death for survivor benefits. SSA estimates 806 respondents annually with a total annual burden of 403 hours and a theoretical opportunity cost of $22,975.
Time and Cost to Request SSA Data Exchanges
Organizations, State/local/tribal governments, and foreign governments that request electronic data exchanges with SSA must submit Form SSA-157 or use the electronic Data Exchange Request Form (DXRF). SSA reports 262 respondents with a total annual burden of 2,144 hours and a theoretical opportunity cost of $105,442; the average response time listed is 480 minutes per request.
Public Feedback Surveys to Improve Service
SSA is renewing a generic clearance to collect voluntary qualitative feedback (surveys, focus groups, usability testing) about SSA service delivery. Each year SSA plans for 1,818,404 respondents with an average 13 minutes per response; the three-year triennial renewal totals 1,181,964 burden hours. SSA says the feedback is voluntary, low-burden, and used to improve services internally.
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