How Much Money Can You Have in the Bank on Section 8?
Quick answerIn the United States, as of October 2026, the federal rule lets a family have up to $105,574 in the bank and other countable assets while on Section 8, and $109,797 from January 1, 2027. Retirement accounts do not count. HUD enforces the limit at most housing agencies only for reviews effective January 1, 2027 or later, and an agency may choose not to apply it to families it already assists.
- $105,574net family asset limit for 2026
- $109,797the limit from January 1, 2027
- $52,7872026 line under which bank accounts are left out of the count
- 0.40 percentHUD's 2026 passbook rate, 0.38 percent for 2027
- 6 monthslongest delay before termination where an agency enforces
- January 1, 2027HUD enforcement begins at most agencies
General information, not legal advice. For how the agency checks accounts, see does Section 8 check your bank account.
The Rule
Federal rules bar Section 8 assistance, at admission or at a review of income, to a family whose net family assets exceed $100,000 as adjusted each year, or that owns a home it could live in and sell (24 CFR 5.618(a)).
| Calendar year | Net family asset limit | Line for self-certifying, imputed income and personal property | Passbook rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $105,574 | $52,787 | 0.40% |
| 2027 | $109,797 | $54,898 | 0.38% |
What it means: these are the numbers once an agency applies the rule, and the next section says when that is.
Source: HUD's inflation-adjusted values and passbook rate, effective January 1, 2026 and effective January 1, 2027. Both tables say an agency "not yet complying with Sections 102 and 104 of HOTMA" will not use them.
- The limit, 5.618(a)no assistance "either initially or upon reexamination" over the asset limit or with a suitable home the family can sell.
- Self-certification, 5.618(b)the agency may accept a family's signed statement that net family assets do not exceed $50,000, adjusted yearly, "without taking additional steps to verify". The statement must give the income expected from the assets, and all assets are verified every 3 years (982.516(a)(3) for vouchers, 5.659(e) for project-based owners, 960.259(c)(2) for public housing).
- Discretion, 5.618(c)when recertifying a family, the agency "may choose not to enforce such restrictions" or may set exceptions, only under a written policy.
- Delay, 5.618(d)the agency may wait "not more than 6 months" before starting termination.
At admission, HUD's guidance says agencies "do not have the discretion to not enforce" the limit (Notice PIH 2023-27, Revision 3, section A.2).
Who Is Subject to the Asset Limit Today
In October 2026 the limit is written into federal rules, but HUD does not yet enforce it, so whether it applies to a family today depends on whether its agency has started using the HOTMA rules.
- Most voucher and public housing agenciesHUD "will enforce compliance" for all transactions "with an effective date on or after January 1, 2027" (Notice PIH 2026-15, May 14, 2026).
- Moving to Work agencies and agencies using HUD's Family Reporting Softwareno date. The notice says "to be communicated by HUD".
- Project-based Section 8 ownersfull compliance "is mandatory effective January 1, 2027" (Notice PIH 2023-27, Revision 3, section 6.2).
- Agencies that started earlysome plans apply the limit to applicants now. Los Angeles's plan denies admission over the limit "effective January 1, 2024".
- Agencies that waitWaco's plan (effective October 1, 2026) says the limit "does not apply until the PHA's HOTMA compliance date".
No HUD list of agencies already applying the limit was found. Before 2027, the answer is in the agency's plan. The annual recertification guide covers the other HOTMA changes.
- January 1, 2024HUD's rule carrying out the 2016 HOTMA law, including 24 CFR 5.618, takes legal effect.
- December 17, 2024Notice PIH 2024-38 says HUD will not enforce the asset provisions by January 1, 2025.
- July 1, 2025HUD enforces the income exclusions. The asset limit is not on that list.
- January 1, 2026the 2026 figures apply at agencies already complying: $105,574 and $52,787.
- September 2026agencies that begin reviews 120 days ahead start using HOTMA policies for January 2027 reviews.
- January 1, 2027HUD enforcement begins at most agencies and for project-based owners. The limit becomes $109,797.
- No date yetMoving to Work and Family Reporting Software agencies.
What it means: a family whose review takes effect in 2027 is measured against $109,797, even if the paperwork starts in 2026.
Source: Notices PIH 2024-38, PIH 2026-15 and PIH 2023-27, Revision 3; HUD's 2026 and 2027 tables.
What Counts Toward the Limit
Net family assets are "the net cash value of all assets owned by the family, after deducting reasonable costs that would be incurred in disposing" of them, minus a list of exclusions (24 CFR 5.603).
| Asset | Counted? | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Checking, savings, CDs, stocks and bonds | Only when all non-necessary personal property totals more than $52,787 (2026). Then all of it counts | (3)(ii); PIH 2023-27, Table F1 |
| Boat, camper, collectibles, costly jewelry | Same test, added to the bank accounts | (3)(ii); Table F1 |
| Real estate the family can sell | Yes, at any value, after selling costs | (1) |
| Cash value of whole life insurance | Yes, at surrender value. Term life has none | PIH 2023-27, Example F5 |
| Assets given away or sold under value in the last two years | Yes, the shortfall | (2) |
| Revocable trust a family member controls | Yes | (4); PIH 2023-27, F.4.d |
| Car relied on for transportation, furniture, clothing, phones, computers, wedding ring | No: necessary personal property | (3), first exclusion; Table F1 |
| IRA, 401(k), 403(b) and other IRS-recognized retirement accounts | No | (3)(iii) |
| Real property the family has no legal authority to sell | No | (3)(iv) |
| Malpractice or negligence recovery that resulted in a member's disability | No | (3)(v) |
| Coverdell and 529 accounts, ABLE accounts, government "baby bond" accounts | No | (3)(vi) |
| Interests in Indian trust land | No | (3)(vii) |
| Equity in a manufactured home or a homeownership-option home assisted by a voucher | No | (3)(viii), (ix) |
| Family Self-Sufficiency accounts | No | (3)(x) |
| Federal tax refunds and refundable credits | No, for 12 months after receipt | (3)(xi) |
| Irrevocable trust, or a trust no family member controls | No | (4) |
What it means: HUD classes bank accounts as "non-necessary personal property", so under the HOTMA rules a family whose accounts and other such property total $52,787 or less has them counted as $0.
Source: 24 CFR 5.603(b), definition of net family assets, paragraphs (1) to (4); Notice PIH 2023-27, Revision 3, sections F.4.b to F.4.f.
Watch outPassing the $52,787 asset line pulls in personal property too.The $52,787 line is a cliff. In HUD's own example, a family with $65,000 in savings, $20,000 in stocks and a $5,000 recreational vehicle has net family assets of $90,000, because once the total passes the line "all non-necessary personal property is included" (Notice PIH 2026-15, Appendix B, Example 2).
How much money can you have in the bank for low income housing?
Public housing and project-based Section 8 use the same limit and the same definition as vouchers. Section 5.618(e) applies the rule to "the Section 8 (tenant-based and project-based) and public housing programs", and 24 CFR 960.201 makes it an eligibility test for public housing.
- Housing Choice Voucherassistance can end, but "there is no requirement that the unit owner initiate eviction".
- Project-based voucherthe agency and owner may take the unit off the contract and the owner may let the family stay at market rent.
- Project-based Section 8 (PBRA)the family "must either pay the contract rent for the unit or vacate" after assistance ends. The owner's Tenant Selection Plan holds the policy.
- Public housingthe family is subject to termination and eviction, with "no general provision that allows such families to remain and pay an alternative rent".
- Not coveredSection 202 and 811 properties with a Project Rental Assistance Contract have no asset limit.
What it means: the dollar limit is the same, and what differs is whether a family can stay by paying full rent. Section 8 vs. public housing explains the three programs.
Source: Notice PIH 2023-27, Revision 3, section A.5 and the program table in Attachment A.
Imputed income and the passbook rate
Interest and dividends count as income at any balance. Imputed income is added only when net family assets exceed $52,787 (2026) and an asset's actual return "cannot be calculated", at HUD's passbook rate of 0.40 percent for 2026 and 0.38 percent for 2027 (24 CFR 5.609(a)(2)).
A bank account paying nothing has an actual return of $0, so nothing is imputed on it. Actual and imputed income are never both counted on one asset (Notice PIH 2026-15, Appendix B).
A Worked Example
In this VoucherMatch example, with made-up figures and the 2026 numbers, a family holds $90,000 in countable assets, stays under the limit, and has $498 a year of asset income counted.
| Asset (example) | Value | Counted toward the limit | Income counted per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Savings paying 0.5 percent | $60,000 | $60,000 | $300 actual interest |
| Checking paying 0 percent | $8,000 | $8,000 | $0 actual |
| Stocks paying dividends | $10,000 | $10,000 | $150 actual dividends |
| Recreational boat | $12,000 | $12,000 | $48 imputed ($12,000 x 0.40 percent) |
| IRA | $40,000 | $0 | $0 while it stays in the account |
| Car used to get to work | $9,000 | $0 | $0 |
| Total | $139,000 | $90,000 | $498 |
What it means: $90,000 is under the $105,574 limit. It is over $52,787, so the boat, whose return cannot be calculated, gets an imputed one.
Source: VoucherMatch's arithmetic under 24 CFR 5.603 and 5.609(a)(2), following the method of Notice PIH 2026-15, Appendix B.
View the data table
| Asset (example) | Income counted per year ($) |
|---|---|
| Savings, actual interest | 300 |
| Stocks, actual dividends | 150 |
| Boat, imputed | 48 |
| Checking, actual | 0 |
What it means: at 30 percent of adjusted income (24 CFR 5.628), $498 a year adds about $12 a month to this family's share of rent. What happens if your income goes up shows how the subsidy moves.
Source: the example table above.
ExamplePut $30,000 more into the savings account and countable assets reach $120,000. As an applicant the family is denied. As a participant, the result depends on the agency's policy in the next section.
What Housing Authorities Do With It
For families already assisted, HUD's guidance gives an agency four written choices: total non-enforcement, enforcement, limited enforcement with a chance to cure, or exceptions for some families (Notice PIH 2023-27, Revision 3, section A.3).
| Agency | Applicants | Families already assisted | Plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maricopa County, Arizona | Must qualify under the limit | Enforced at annual and interim reviews: termination proceedings "within six (6) months" | Plan, June 24, 2026, sections 5.1, 6.5 and 11.1 |
| Bowling Green, Kentucky | Limit applies | Applied at annual review, with time to cure "for a maximum of 6 months". Labelled "pending HUD approval" | Plan, April 2024 |
| New York City (NYCHA) | "Will impose an asset limit for new applicants' eligibility" | "Will not impose an asset limit for current residents" | Plan, May 2026, Appendix D |
| Los Angeles (HACLA) | Denied over the limit, "effective January 1, 2024" | Restrictions "would not be enforced" for continued occupancy | Plan, January 2026, section 5.12 |
| Miami-Dade | Denied over the limit, once HUD's date arrives | "Will not apply to participants in the program" | Plan, undated copy, Attachment E |
| Snohomish County, Washington | Limit applies | "Total nonenforcement of the asset limitation for all program participants" | Plan, September 1, 2026, chapters 3 and 12 |
| Chicago (CHA) | "HUD requires CHA to deny" applicants over $100,000 | No enforcement, cure or exception policy for participants was found in the plan | Plan, October 1, 2025, section 3-II.A |
What it means: four of the seven plans exempt current families, one gives up to six months to cure, one enforces, and one is silent.
Source: the plans linked in each row. Chicago is a Moving to Work agency. NYCHA's appendix says it will tell participants the date its HOTMA policies take effect.
Where an agency enforces, the six months run from the income review that found the family over the limit. A reasonable accommodation for a disability can extend them (section A.3).
What About Owning a Home?
Owning a home is a separate bar from the dollar limit: a family is ineligible if it has an ownership interest in, a legal right to live in, and the legal authority to sell real property "suitable for occupancy by the family as a residence" (5.618(a)(1)(ii)).
- Exempta home bought with the voucher homeownership option, or a manufactured home on a voucher-assisted lot.
- Exemptproperty owned jointly with someone outside the household who lives there.
- Exempta family that includes a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault or stalking. The agency must accept self-certification.
- Exempta property the family is offering for sale.
- Not suitableit does not meet a member's disability-related needs, is too small, is a geographic hardship, is unsafe and not easily fixed, or cannot legally be lived in.
What it means: an exemption removes the home-ownership bar only. HUD's guidance says the equity still counts toward the dollar limit unless section 5.603 excludes it (Notice PIH 2023-27, Revision 3, section A.1). Owning a house, a car or a business on Section 8 goes further.
Source: 24 CFR 5.618(a)(1)(ii), (a)(2) and (b)(3).
If You Are Over the Limit
An applicant over the limit must be denied where the agency applies the rule, and a participant's outcome depends on the agency's written policy (24 CFR 982.552(b)(6)).
- 1Check the counttake out retirement accounts, the car used for transportation, a federal tax refund from the last 12 months and the other exclusions in the table above.
- 2Read the planfind whether the agency applies the limit yet and what it does at reviews. The housing authority directory lists every agency.
- 3Ask about exceptionsthe rule allows them by "age, disability, income, the ability of the family to find suitable alternative housing, and whether supportive services are being provided".
- 4Cure within the windowHUD's guidance names buying necessary personal property, such as a car for everyday transportation, or, in some circumstances, moving money into a family member's IRS-recognized retirement account.
- 5Do not give it awayassets disposed of for less than fair market value still count for two years.
- 6Ask for a review or hearingwhat disqualifies you from Section 8 covers denials, and what can make you lose your voucher covers terminations.
What it means: spending on ordinary needs and moving money into an excluded account are allowed ways to come under the limit, and a gift to a relative is not.
Source: Notice PIH 2023-27, Revision 3, sections A.3.c and F.4.a; 24 CFR 5.603 and 5.618(c)(3).
What Landlords Should Know
The asset rules run between the family and the housing agency and do not change the lease or the HAP contract.
- Vouchers: the owner is not required to evict a family that loses assistance over assets.
- Project-based voucher units: if the owner will not agree to take the unit off the contract, the owner must evict a family that does not leave.
- Timing: an enforcing agency may wait up to six months before starting termination (section A.5).
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Section 8 asset limit for 2026?
$105,574 in net family assets, rising to $109,797 on January 1, 2027. In 2026 it applies only where the agency already uses the HOTMA rules.
Is there a Section 8 bank account limit?
No rule caps a bank account by itself. The limit is on net family assets: bank accounts plus other countable property. Under the HOTMA rules, accounts and other non-necessary property totaling $52,787 or less (2026) are not counted at all.
Can I have $50,000 in the bank on Section 8?
Yes. $50,000 is under the 2026 line of $52,787, so with no other non-necessary property the accounts count as $0. Interest still counts as income.
Does my 401(k) or IRA count toward the Section 8 asset limit?
No. Retirement accounts recognized by the IRS are excluded from net family assets. Periodic payments taken from one count as income when received (24 CFR 5.609(b)(26)).
Do current Section 8 families have to meet the asset limit?
It depends on the agency's written policy. NYCHA, Los Angeles, Miami-Dade and Snohomish County do not apply it to current families. Maricopa County enforces it.
Does a car count as an asset for Section 8?
A car the family relies on for transportation is necessary personal property and is excluded. A recreational vehicle counts only when all non-necessary property, bank accounts included, totals more than $52,787 in 2026.
Can I give money to family to get under the limit?
No. Assets given away or sold for less than fair market value in the two years before an application or review still count.
Does an inheritance or lottery win make me lose Section 8?
Not by itself. A lump sum added to assets is not income (24 CFR 5.609(b)(24)(vii)), but what is held afterward is an asset.
Sources
- The regulations, HUD notices, HUD tables and agency plans are linked beside each claim above. All were read on October 7, 2026.
- Regulation text: Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, title 24.
Next step: open the agency's administrative plan from the housing authority directory and search it for "asset limitation". The national Section 8 guide explains the rest of the program.
Looking for a place that takes your voucher? Browse voucher-friendly listings on VoucherMatch.
Have a unit to rent? List your property and reach tenants who already have a voucher in hand.
How this article was checked
Last checked: October 7, 2026, against 24 CFR 5.603, 5.609, 5.618, 5.628, 5.659, 960.201, 960.259, 982.516 and 982.552; HUD Notices PIH 2023-27 (Revision 3), PIH 2024-38 and PIH 2026-15; HUD's 2026 and 2027 inflation tables; and the current Housing Choice Voucher administrative plans of Maricopa County (Arizona), Bowling Green (Kentucky), New York City (NYCHA), Los Angeles (HACLA), Miami-Dade, Snohomish County (Washington), Chicago and Waco.
Sources for this article (19)
- 24 CFR 5.618(a) (ecfr.gov)
- effective January 1, 2026 (huduser.gov)
- effective January 1, 2027 (huduser.gov)
- Notice PIH 2023-27, Revision 3 (hud.gov)
- Notice PIH 2026-15 (hud.gov)
- Waco's plan (wacopha.org)
- 24 CFR 5.603 (ecfr.gov)
- 24 CFR 960.201 (ecfr.gov)
- 24 CFR 5.609(a)(2) (ecfr.gov)
- 24 CFR 5.628 (ecfr.gov)
- Plan (maricopahousing.org)
- Plan (bgky.org)
- Plan (nyc.gov)
- Plan (hacla.org)
- Plan (miamidade.gov)
- Plan (hasco.org)
- Plan (thecha.org)
- 24 CFR 982.552(b)(6) (ecfr.gov)
- Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, title 24 (ecfr.gov)
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