Income limits are used to determine whether an applicant family is income-eligible for the specific subsidy program. Based on the median income for a specific geographical area, income limits are scaled for family sizes of one to eight persons. In order to qualify for the specific housing program, the family’s income must be at or below the specified income limit for that program.
On an annual basis, HUD publishes the Extremely Low Income limit (ELI) set at 30% of median family income, the Very Low Income Limit (VLI) set at 50% of median family income, and the Low Income Limit (LI) set at 80% of median family income.
In addition, HUD publishes the Multifamily Tax Subsidy Projects (MTSP) income limits that are used for the Tax Credit and Tax Exempt Housing Bond programs. These limits are set at 50% and 60% of median family income.
FY 2016 Income Limits were released on March 28, 2016. HUD advises that the income limits are effective immediately for all HUD programs, whereas the IRS allows 45 days from the date of publication to implement the new limits. For tax credit purposes, the new limits must be in place by May 12, 2016.
The new limits can be found at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il.html. (For the tax credit limits, scroll down the page to the section on Multifamily Tax Subsidy Projects (MTSP) Income Limits.)
Depending on which software provider you use at your community, the income limits may be updated by the software company or you may have to update them yourself. Please check with your software provider if you are unsure.
If you have blended subsidies at your community, remember you must always stay in compliance with the most restrictive requirement, including income limits!