HUD issued FY2022 income limits to determine eligibility for assisted housing programs including the Public Housing, Section 8 project-based, Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher, Section 202 housing for the elderly, and Section 811 housing for persons with disabilities programs. The Income Limits are effective on April 18, 2022, slightly delayed this year. 

HUD develops annual income limits based on Median Family Income estimates and Fair Market Rent area definitions. Both the FY22 Income Limits and the FY22 Median Family Income (MFI) for each county are available here. A complete set of the country’s Income Limits is available here. 

The most important statutory provisions relating to income limits are the following definitions of extremely low income, very low income, and low income: 

• “very low-income family” is defined as low-income families whose incomes do not exceed 50 percent of the median family income for the area; 
• “low-income family” is defined as those families whose incomes do not exceed 80 percent of the median family income for the area; and
• “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 percent of the median family income for the area.

The FY22 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 posted the Multifamily Tax Subsidy Projects (MTSP) Income Limits for FY2022, effective April 18. The MTSP income Limits are used to determine qualification levels, as well as set maximum rents, for projects funded with tax credits or financed with tax exempt housing bonds.

New since last year, HUD’s MTSP data set again includes the following disclaimer: “NOTE: The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program is administered by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Pursuant to an IRS revenue ruling, participating properties base their rents on the income limits that HUD is mandated to publish. However, HUD has no control over how LIHTC rents are set and has not required or suggested rent increases. HUD continues to encourage property owners to exercise compassion with respect to tenants affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and would be surprised that an owner would be so out of step with the moment in which we are living to raise rents at this time.”