The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released the official 2024 HUD median family income limits on April 1, which determine eligibility for HUD-assisted programs and low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) properties for the year.

Applicable programs include Public Housing, project-based Section 8, Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers, Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly, and Section 811 Housing for Persons with Disabilities.

HUD develops annual income limits based on Median Family Income estimates and Fair Market Rent area definitions. Income limits are also adjusted according to family size and in areas with unusually high or low incomes relative to housing costs.

Income limits are percentages of median family income, which varies on geography and household size. Revised income limits do not impact the eligibility of in-place residents, but certain HUD-assisted properties must use the new limits with new move-ins (and initial certifications) of residents, effective April 1, 2024.

The most important statutory provisions relating to income limits are as follows:

• “Extremely low-income family” is defined as a very-low income family whose income does not exceed the higher of the poverty guidelines or 30% of the median family income for the area;
• “Very low-income family” is defined as low-income families whose incomes do not exceed 50% of the median family income for the area; and
• “Low-income family” is defined as those families whose incomes do not exceed 80% of the median family income for the area.

The Fiscal Year 2024 income limits are also used in programs run by agencies such as the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Agriculture (rural housing), and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). Community planning and development programs, as well as HOME investments, also rely on HUD income limits in their administration. HUD also develops Multifamily Tax Subsidy Project income limits that determine eligibility for Low Income Housing Tax Credit-financed properties.

New 10% Cap on Increases
Also on April 1, HUD implemented its new 10% ceiling on the annual cap. Since FY 2010, HUD has limited all annual increases to the greater of 5% or twice the change in the national median family income. Starting in 2024, HUD is specifying that the increase is subject to an absolute cap of 10%.

HUD first announced this methodology on January 10, 2024, in a Federal Register Notice. For 2024, the annual change is measured by the American Community Survey from 2021 to 2022. Twice this change is approximately 14.8%, which is greater than the 10% absolute cap. So, for FY 2024, the income limits “cap” is 10%.

LeadingAge supports the rent increase cap as a way to help protect the housing stability of households with low incomes.