Income Limits

• Hawaii refers individuals to the SSA website for additional information. As of January 2011, the SSA cites the 'countable' income limits as $2,000 for an individual or child and $3,000 for a couple. However, some payments or earnings are deducted, and not included in the 'countable' income, so actual income may be higher.
  
  

Excluded Income

• The SSA notes that other benefits such as food stamps, income tax refunds or money spent by another to pay bills of the household may be excluded. The first $20 of monthly income is excluded, so is the first $65 after that. Then, one-half of the earnings over that first $65 is also excluded. As of January 2010, a students earnings up to $1,640 per month are also excluded from countable income.
  
  

Online Screening

• Since not all income is considered countable, it can be awkward for a person to know whether or not they quality for SSI in Hawaii. The state recommends pre-screening by using the Benefit Eligibility Screening Tool (BEST) found online. The simple interface guides users through a series of questions to determine their eligibility.