Disability Attorney Fee Calculator

Under the standard fee agreement, 25% of your back pay, capped at $9,200, whichever is less. That is it. Nothing up front, nothing monthly, nothing out of your pocket, and nothing at all if you lose. The fee only exists if you win and only comes out of past-due benefits.

You owe no attorney fee. A contingency fee means the risk sits with the lawyer, not with you. That is also why a disability attorney's willingness to take your case is a signal, we get paid only when we win, so we take cases we believe in.

You never write a check. Social Security approves the fee, withholds it from your back pay award, and pays the attorney directly. Your award letter shows the math in black and white: your past-due amount, the fee withheld, and what is deposited to you.

In limited situations. If a case requires going beyond the fee agreement process, multiple hearings, an Appeals Council remand, or federal court, an attorney can file a fee petition asking SSA to approve a higher fee based on the work performed, and federal court work is compensated separately by statute. For the large majority of claims, the standard capped fee agreement is what applies, and you approve any arrangement in writing before it exists.

No. The fee comes out of past-due benefits one time. Every monthly check after that is 100% yours, for as long as you receive benefits. Over a lifetime of benefits, the fee is a one-time cost against years of income.

They can be. Some firms bill costs like medical record copies separately from the attorney fee. Ask any firm you talk to how they handle expenses before you sign, and get it in writing. We walk through our fee agreement line by line during your free evaluation, no surprises.

You can absolutely apply on your own, and some people win. But representation is usually about whether you win at all, and with what onset date, which drives your back pay. In my practice, clients age 50 and over win 89.2% of the time. A correct onset date alone can be worth more than the entire fee.

Yes, the same fee agreement structure, 25% of past-due benefits up to the cap, applies to SSI and concurrent SSDI/SSI claims. The mechanics of withholding differ slightly because SSI back pay is often paid in installments, but the fee math works the same way.

The cap was $6,000 from 2009 to 2022, rose to $7,200 in late 2022, and became $9,200 on November 30, 2024. SSA originally announced the cap would adjust annually with the cost-of-living adjustment, then withdrew that plan in May 2025, so it stays $9,200 until SSA raises it again. This page reflects the current cap.