Section 8 Eligibility Requirements

HUD calculates the Area Median Income for every county and metropolitan area in the United States each year. This number represents the midpoint household income — half of households earn more, half earn less. Housing program eligibility is then set as a percentage of that figure.

For the Section 8 HCV program, your household's gross annual income must generally fall at or below 50% of AMI (categorized as "Very Low Income"). However, by federal law, PHAs must allocate at least 75% of their newly issued vouchers to households at or below 30% of AMI (categorized as "Extremely Low Income"). This means in practice, the vast majority of Section 8 recipients have incomes at the Extremely Low Income level.

Income includes wages, salaries, self-employment income, Social Security, pensions, unemployment benefits, child support received, and most other recurring sources of money. It does not include one-time lump sums, foster care payments, or income earned by full-time students under 18.

Beyond income, Section 8 eligibility requires that you meet a few additional criteria. These are federal minimums — individual PHAs may have additional requirements or preferences, but they cannot make the rules more restrictive than what HUD mandates.

Even if you meet the basic eligibility requirements, your position on the waiting list is heavily influenced by "preferences" — priority categories set by each PHA. These preferences do not affect whether you qualify, but they determine how quickly you move through the list. Common preferences include:

Having one or more preferences can dramatically reduce your wait time — in some cases, from years to months. Check the specific PHA's Administrative Plan (available on their website or by request) to understand which preferences they offer and how to document your eligibility for them.

Your eligibility is based on gross income, but your actual rent calculation uses adjusted income — which accounts for several mandatory deductions. Understanding these deductions is important because they effectively raise the income threshold for the program.

Standard deductions include $480 per year for each dependent, $400 per year for elderly or disabled families, unreimbursed medical expenses exceeding 3% of annual income (for elderly/disabled households), and childcare expenses necessary for a household member to work, attend school, or search for employment. Disability assistance expenses are also deductible.

Assets are counted differently. If your household's net assets (bank accounts, investments, real estate other than your primary home) exceed $50,000, the PHA may impute income from those assets at the current passbook savings rate, even if the assets are not generating actual income. However, most Section 8 applicants have minimal assets and this does not affect their eligibility.