Perna - I'm all about low-balling things so as to be surprised, rather than disappointed.

I have some idea on the tax thing. Your social security is just ordinary income, and is treated as such. They can withhold, possibly to the extent that you ask them to. There may be a minimum percentage they withhold anyhow, like race track winnings. But I think I'm wrong on the last thing. I know someone who's gets only social security and it's a low amount and nothing is withheld. It would all have to be given back due to how low this person's income is.

I am confused about one thing. When, and if. I get my SSDI, it will be backdated to the onset of my disability. So there will be a first time large payout to cover many months, possibly months in 2011 and 2010, if it's backdated to that. I don't know how they determine the tax on the part that is for a previous year. Ideally, or theoretically, it should be based on my overall income for 2011 and 2010.

Besides tax, they withhold something toward medicare, if I understand rightly.

An agency in my town that helps advocate for the disabled (including on matters of social security) told me that if I applied on my own, initially, to tell social security that I do not have access to a computer. She said there are reasons why it is not good to let SSA be able to contact me via computer. I didn't ask why.

Any how, instead of using that agency, I went with a law firm. I'm going to ask them if there is any downside to being in touch with SSA via computer. I doubt there is, for me, at this point. My application is already in. If they quiet my phobias, then I will register an on-line access to the SSA, at the link you provided above (which, again, I'm very glad to know about.)

One scrap of info: every thing I do in "long hand" and mail to SSA goes first to a company in Illinois (a private "vendor".) That company is contracted by SSA to scan every piece of paper and send the results to SSA via compute/internet. So the deal is that when the disabilities examiner is looking at forms I filled out, he is viewing them, as scanned, on a computer monitor screen. I guess SSA doesn't want to have paperwork to file and deal with. I know SSA encourages claimants to file on-line, rather than on paper. Of course, no one in the world seems to want to deal with paper anymore.