Section 8 eligibility and income limits

Who decides and what they check

Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers are funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) but administered by more than 2,000 local and state public housing agencies (PHAs). The agency where you apply makes the official decision, using federal rules in 24 CFR parts 5 and 982 plus its own written administrative plan.

To receive a voucher, a household generally must meet all of the following when its name reaches the top of the waiting list:

Eligibility is checked twice in practice: a short screening when you apply and a full verification when you are selected. Being placed on a waiting list is not a finding that you are eligible.

Income limits: 30%, 50%, and 80% of area median

HUD publishes income limits every year for every metropolitan area and nonmetropolitan county, adjusted for household size. The FY 2026 limits took effect May 1, 2026, based on a national median family income estimate of $107,900. Local medians can be far above or below that figure, which is why the dollar thresholds vary so much.

Why the poverty guideline matters: in low-income areas, 30% of the local median can be very low. HUD therefore uses the higher of its 30% limit or the HHS poverty guideline, but caps the result at the very low-income limit. Use HUD’s published table rather than calculating a percentage yourself. For 2026, the poverty guideline is $33,000 for a family of four in the 48 contiguous states and D.C. (higher in Alaska and Hawaii).

How to look up your limit

1. Go to HUD USER’s income-limits page and open the current-year “Income Limits Documentation System.”
2. Choose the state and the county (or metro area) where the housing agency is located—not necessarily where you live now.
3. Read across the row for your household size. The “Very Low (50%) Income Limits” row is the usual voucher ceiling.

If your income is slightly over, apply anyway when a list is open and let the agency decide. Some income you might assume counts is excluded, and your income may be different when your name is reached.

What counts as income

HUD counts all amounts received by household members unless a rule specifically excludes them. At admission and at interim changes the agency generally estimates income for the next 12 months; under HOTMA rules, annual reexaminations usually start from the household’s income over the prior 12 months.

Generally counted:

• Wages, salaries, tips, overtime, commissions, and bonuses of adults
• Net income from self-employment or a business
• Social Security, SSI, SSDI, pensions, and annuities
• Unemployment and disability payments, workers’ compensation, and severance
• Periodic child support and alimony actually received
• Recurring cash contributions or gifts from people outside the household
• TANF and other ongoing cash assistance
• Income from assets (or “imputed” asset income—see below)

Generally excluded:

• Earnings of household members under 18
• Earned income of full-time students who are dependents, above the dependent-deduction amount
• Payments received for the care of foster children or foster adults
• SNAP (food stamp) benefits and most other in-kind assistance
• Lump sums such as inheritances, insurance settlements, and one-time lottery winnings (these can become assets)
• Reimbursements for medical expenses
• Income of a live-in aide
• Many kinds of student financial aid, and certain federal payments that statutes exclude

Excluded does not mean unreported. Report everything the agency asks about, and let it apply the exclusions. Leaving out a source of income is one of the most common reasons for later repayment demands or termination.

The asset limit and real-property rule

The Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016 (HOTMA) added two asset tests. HUD pushed the enforcement deadline for most agencies to January 1, 2027, so you may see agencies already using these rules while others still use the older ones.

• Net family asset limit: a household with net family assets above $105,574 (2026 figure, adjusted each year) is not eligible.
• Real-property rule: a household that owns real property suitable for occupancy as a residence is generally not eligible. Exceptions include property that is jointly owned with someone who does not live in the household, property that the household cannot legally live in, property owned by a survivor of domestic violence, and property receiving assistance under the Section 8 homeownership program.

Net family assets do not include retirement accounts (401(k), IRA, pensions), Coverdell and 529 education savings, ABLE accounts, “baby bond” accounts, the value of necessary personal property such as a car used for transportation, or federal tax refunds for 12 months after receipt.

If net family assets exceed $52,787 (2026), the agency counts either the actual income those assets earn or an imputed amount using HUD’s passbook rate, whichever applies under the rule. Below that threshold, you can often self-certify your assets instead of producing statements.

Deductions reduce rent, not eligibility

Eligibility compares annual (gross) income with the income limit. Deductions—such as the dependent deduction ($500 per dependent in 2026 under HOTMA rules), the elderly/disabled family deduction ($550), childcare, disability assistance, and medical expenses—come later, when the agency calculates your rent. Our guide to how Section 8 rent is calculated walks through that math.

Citizenship and immigration status

Assistance is available to U.S. citizens and nationals and to noncitizens in specific eligible categories, including lawful permanent residents, refugees, asylees, people granted withholding of removal, and certain others listed in 24 CFR 5.506. Each member declares their status; noncitizens who claim eligibility provide immigration documents the agency verifies through the federal SAVE system.

A mixed family—some members eligible, some not—currently may receive prorated assistance, meaning the subsidy is reduced to reflect only the eligible members. In February 2026, HUD proposed a rule that would end prorated assistance for new mixed-status families and require all members of a new household to have eligible status. As of late September 2026 that rule is still a proposal and has not taken effect. Anyone in a mixed-status household should get individual advice from legal aid or an immigration attorney before making decisions, and should not remove a member from a lease or application without advice.

Members who do not claim eligible status can simply decline to contend eligibility; they are not required to disclose a Social Security number or immigration documents, and the family’s assistance is prorated.

Students in higher education

A special rule applies to Housing Choice Vouchers (not to public housing). A student enrolled at an institution of higher education who is:

• under 24,
• not married,
• not a veteran,
• without a dependent child, and
• not a person with a disability who was receiving assistance on November 30, 2005,

must be income-eligible and, unless the student is independent of their parents, the student’s parents must also be income-eligible. Financial aid above tuition and required fees can count as the student’s income in this situation. The rule does not apply to a student living in a parent’s voucher household.

Criminal history and other screening

Federal law requires denial in only a few situations:

• Any household member subject to a lifetime sex-offender registration requirement in any state
• Any member ever convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine on the premises of federally assisted housing
• Eviction from federally assisted housing for drug-related criminal activity within the past three years (the agency may admit the household if the member completed rehabilitation or the circumstances no longer exist)
• A member currently using illegal drugs, or whose drug or alcohol use the agency reasonably believes threatens other residents

Beyond those, housing agencies may deny for drug-related or violent criminal activity, or other criminal activity that threatens the health, safety, or peaceful enjoyment of others, if it occurred within a “reasonable time” before admission as defined in the agency’s written policy. In November 2025 HUD rescinded its earlier guidance that discouraged reliance on arrest records (Notice PIH 2015-19) and withdrew related fair-housing memos, and told agencies to follow the regulations and state and local law directly. Some states and cities limit the use of arrest records or older convictions in housing decisions, so local rules can still protect you. Agencies may also deny for past fraud in a housing program, an unpaid debt to any PHA, or violence or threats toward agency staff.

The regulations still let an agency consider all relevant circumstances, including rehabilitation, before denying. If you have a record, gather proof: completion of treatment or classes, employment, letters from case managers or probation officers, and time without new offenses. Before an agency denies you based on a criminal record, it must give you a copy of the record and a chance to dispute its accuracy and relevance (24 CFR 5.903 and 982.553).

Preferences change order, not eligibility

Agencies can adopt local preferences that move some applicants ahead on the list. Common examples:

• Living or working in the jurisdiction (residency preferences must also cover people hired to work there)
• Homelessness or involuntary displacement
• Veterans and their families
• Elderly households or people with disabilities
• Victims of domestic violence
• Families referred by a partner agency, such as child welfare or a homeless services system

Claim only preferences you can document. A preference you cannot verify at selection can send you back to the list or result in denial.

If the agency says you are not eligible

The denial notice must explain the reason and tell you how to request an informal review within the deadline the agency sets (often 10–14 days). At the review you can bring documents, correct errors, and explain mitigating circumstances. If a disability is connected to the reason—for example, a missed appointment—ask in writing for a reasonable accommodation. Local legal aid can often help at no cost.

A quick self-check

1. Identify each housing agency you might apply to using HUD’s PHA directory.
2. Look up the very low-income (50%) limit for each agency’s area and your household size.
3. Add up the gross income every adult in the household expects over the next 12 months.
4. Check whether your assets are under $105,574 and whether anyone owns a home you could live in.
5. Read each agency’s waiting-list notice for preferences, residency rules, and required documents.
6. Apply when a list opens—online estimates cannot substitute for the agency’s determination.

Found a changed rule or a broken link? Report a correction for this guide.