The Disability with the Best Benefits

Blind people receive higher income-tax deductions than wheelchair users like me. They can also earn 40% more money while receiving disability benefits. As a disabled American and taxpayer, I can’t help but ask—what gives?

There’s a box to check on your tax return if you are legally blind. The 32 million Americans who qualify can receive an automatic tax deduction of $2,000 if single and $1,600 if married. With Social Security, there’s a monthly income ceiling above which people can’t receive disability benefits. In 2026 a blind person could receive disability benefits while making up to $2,830 a month. For any other disabled person, the limit is $1,690—40% less.

There seem to be four reasons for the differential treatment. The first is historical oddity. The earliest blindness-related tax deductions had to do with 1940s-era carveouts for readers and guides that evolved into a personal exemption.

Second, there’s an assumption that blind people have certain unique expenses. They may need specialized equipment (including modernized reading devices and trained guide dogs), personal assistance with household tasks, alternative means of transportation and so on.

Third, there are economic disparities. Only half of blind American adults are employed, while those with jobs make 82 cents for every dollar earned by the working population at large.

The fourth explanation for discrimination in favor of blind people is the best: They had better lobbyists. The National Federation of the Blind has been a political force since 1940—decades before much of the rest of the modern disability rights movement exploded onto the scene in the 1970s. It has fought hard for economic benefits and a say in government affairs to this day, as has the American Council of the Blind.

I’ve used a wheelchair my entire life due to a disability I was born with. I rely on help from others for everything from laundry to housecleaning. I buy equipment ranging from shower benches to portable ramps. And that’s just me. Other disabled Americans pay for everything from ventilators to speaking devices to surgeries without receiving the tax deduction reserved for blind people.

As for economic disparities, blind people actually fare better than disabled Americans as a whole. Their employment rate is higher, and though full-time blind employees make a bit less than the average full-time disabled worker, earning rates tip back when part-timers are included.

I’m certainly grateful to disability rights organizations for their role in advancing opportunities for disabled Americans. But I’m frustrated by the persistence of special preferences in tax and disability benefits. They’re not for all of us, but only those who are the beneficiaries of that legacy of extra political access.

Squaring things up will require broader conversations about the costs of being disabled in America. Most disabled people have to pay our taxes, then search for public benefits separately. Most disabled people have to make hard trade-offs between employment and disability checks. There’s no reason “benefits cliffs” should imperil everyone with a disability except the blind.

Fair policy, rather than privileges for a few, should be disabled Americans’ common goal.