An area median income lookup takes about a minute on HUD’s free Income Limits Documentation System at huduser.gov. Pick the fiscal year, pick your state, pick your county or metro area, and the site returns a table of income limits by household size and income tier. The FY 2026 limits took effect May 1, 2026, and cover every county and metropolitan area in the country.
Using the HUD Income Limits Tool
Go to huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il.html. The page uses a short chain of dropdowns:
- Select the fiscal year. FY 2026 is current. Prior years remain available.
- Select a geography type: state, county, or HUD Metropolitan Fair Market Rent Area. For personal eligibility, county is usually what you want.
- Select your state, then pick your specific county or metro area from the second dropdown.
The results table shows dollar limits by household size (one through eight) across each income category. PDF and Excel versions of the same data are linked from the page, and HUD notes that the official PDFs should be used for formal purposes because the interactive tool’s calculated figures may differ slightly.1HUD USER. Income Limits
For households larger than eight people, HUD adds 8 percent of the four-person limit for each additional member.2HUD Exchange. CPD Income and Rent Limits
Reading the Income Categories
The table breaks limits into tiers pegged to a percentage of area median family income. Federal law defines three main categories under the United States Housing Act of 1937:3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 1437a – Rental Payments
- Extremely Low Income, set at 30 percent of AMI or the federal poverty guideline for that family size, whichever is higher. Housing Choice Voucher programs are required to direct a large share of vouchers to this tier.
- Very Low Income, at 50 percent of AMI. This is the standard ceiling for Section 8 project-based housing and many public housing programs.
- Low Income, at 80 percent of AMI. This broader category applies to Community Development Block Grants, HOME Investment Partnerships, and some local homebuyer assistance programs.
Find your household size along one axis and your program’s income tier along the other. The number at the intersection is the maximum gross annual income allowed. If your household income falls below that figure, you clear the income test for programs using that tier.
Tax Credit Housing Uses a Different Table
If you are applying to a Low-Income Housing Tax Credit property, sometimes marketed as “affordable” or “income-restricted” apartments, the standard HUD income limits table is not the right one. Under Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code, most LIHTC units use a 60 percent of AMI limitation, with maximum rents capped at 30 percent of that figure.
Since 2008, LIHTC and tax-exempt bond projects have used a separate set of income limits called Multifamily Tax Subsidy Project (MTSP) limits, published at huduser.gov/portal/datasets/mtsp.html.1HUD USER. Income Limits The MTSP numbers are often close to the standard limits but not identical. Using the wrong table can put you on the wrong side of a cutoff.
To estimate the 60 percent figure from published data, HUD recommends taking 120 percent of the Very Low-Income Limit rather than multiplying median income by 0.60. Statutory adjustments and caps break the simple percentage relationship with the raw median.
USDA Programs Use Their Own Portal
If you are applying for a USDA Rural Development loan or USDA rental assistance rather than a HUD program, use the USDA eligibility portal at eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov instead. It covers Single Family Housing programs, including USDA direct and guaranteed home loans, with its own thresholds. Section 8, public housing, and HOME-funded housing all use HUD’s tool; USDA programs do not.
What Counts as Household Income
Knowing the limit is only half the calculation. The other half is knowing what to compare against it, and HUD’s definition of annual income under 24 CFR 5.609 is broader than most people expect.
Countable income includes gross wages, salaries, overtime, tips, bonuses, and commissions for every household member age 18 or older, before taxes and deductions. It also includes net business income, interest and dividends, Social Security, pensions, annuities, disability benefits, unemployment compensation, workers’ compensation, alimony, child support, and regular cash gifts from people outside the household.4eCFR. 24 CFR 5.609 – Annual Income
Several common income sources are excluded:
- Earnings of children under 18.
- Foster care payments, including state kinship and guardianship payments.
- Insurance settlements for personal injury, property loss, health payouts, and workers’ compensation settlements.
- Medical reimbursements received for health care costs.
- Income of a live-in aide.
- Student financial assistance paid directly to the student or school.
- Lump-sum receipts such as inheritances, capital gains, and one-time insurance payouts, which are treated as assets rather than income.
- Distributions from education savings accounts such as 529 plans and Coverdell accounts.
The full list of exclusions in 24 CFR 5.609(b) is longer than what appears here, covering certain trust distributions and disability-related civil settlements among other items.4eCFR. 24 CFR 5.609 – Annual Income If your situation involves an unusual income source, read the regulation before you call your housing authority so you can spot errors in the intake worksheet.
Counting Household Members
Household size scales the limit, so an off-by-one error changes the dollar figure you compare against. Count every person who will live in the unit as their primary residence, at any age, in any relationship. A live-in aide is the exception: the aide occupies the unit but does not count toward household size, and the aide’s income is excluded.4eCFR. 24 CFR 5.609 – Annual Income
Joint custody deserves separate attention. Only one assisted household may claim a given child as a dependent, even when the child splits time between two homes. Public housing authorities set the policy for which household gets to count the child, and HUD’s system rejects submissions listing the same child in two assisted households at once.5HUD Exchange. If Two Assisted Families Have Joint Custody of the Same Child, How Can the PHA Determine Which Family Claims the Dependent Sort this out with your housing authority before you apply.
When the Numbers Change
HUD publishes new limits once per fiscal year. The FY 2026 limits were originally expected April 1, 2026, and were delayed to May 1, 2026, because the Census Bureau pushed back release of its 2024 American Community Survey five-year data.6U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Statement on FY 2026 Median Family Income Estimates and Income Limits Release Date Between an old set expiring and a new set taking effect, housing authorities generally continue using the prior year’s figures. If you are close to a cutoff and new limits are due soon, waiting can help or hurt: limits move in either direction depending on local income trends.
Pulling Limits From Prior Years
The HUD User portal archives income limits back to 1995. Select any past fiscal year from the Income Limits page to reach that year’s query tool, methodology documents, and PDF and Excel downloads.1HUD USER. Income Limits Historical lookups come up during recertification or audits, and when property managers verify tenant eligibility for a past certification date. Use the official PDF for the year in question rather than the interactive tool, because HUD warns that the tool’s calculated figures may differ slightly from the published limits.