How the deeming math works
Social Security starts with your income, subtracts a living allocation for each non-disabled child, subtracts a parental living allowance, applies the standard $20 general and $65 earned-income exclusions, halves the remaining earned income, and "deems" what's left to your child. If the deemed amount is below the federal benefit rate, your child may qualify for a partial or full benefit.SSA deeming rules
Two things families miss: a child denied SSI for income can still get Medi-Cal through institutional deeming, which ignores parental income entirely — and SSI comes with Medi-Cal automatically in California.
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