Colorado Section 8 income limits for FY 2026 start at $26,850 a year for a single person and $38,350 for a four-person household at the Extremely Low Income tier, measured against a statewide median family income of $127,800. Whether you qualify depends on three things: the tier you fall into, the county or metro area where you plan to use the voucher, and how many people live in your household. The statewide numbers are a baseline; a family that qualifies easily in Denver may be over the line in a rural county with a lower local median.
FY 2026 Dollar Amounts by Household Size
These are the statewide baseline figures at the Extremely Low Income level, which is where the majority of vouchers get awarded. Your local metro or county figures may run higher or lower.
- 1 person: $26,850
- 2 persons: $30,700
- 3 persons: $34,550
- 4 persons: $38,350
- 5 persons: $41,450
- 6 persons: $44,500
- 7 persons: $47,600
- 8 persons: $50,650
For a single-person household, the Very Low Income baseline is $44,750, and the Low Income threshold begins at $71,600.1Department of Housing and Urban Development. FY 2026 State Income Limits Report Each additional household member raises those figures. For households larger than eight, HUD adds 8% of the four-person limit per additional person.2HUD USER. Home Income Limits
The Three Income Tiers
HUD sorts eligible applicants into three bands, each defined as a percentage of the Area Median Income for the region where you’ll use the voucher:
- Extremely Low Income (ELI): at or below 30% of area median income.
- Very Low Income (VLI): at or below 50% of area median income.
- Low Income: at or below 80% of area median income.
The tier matters for more than just the yes-or-no answer. Federal law requires at least 75% of the new vouchers a housing authority issues each year to go to Extremely Low Income families.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 1437n – Eligibility for Assisted Housing That leaves a small share for the VLI and Low Income tiers, and waits are correspondingly longer the higher up you sit.
How Your Location Changes the Numbers
HUD calculates separate limits for every metropolitan statistical area and non-metropolitan county in Colorado, drawing on local median family income, Fair Market Rents, and American Community Survey data.4Department of Housing and Urban Development. Income Limits The Denver-Aurora-Lakewood metro has notably higher dollar thresholds than a rural county like Baca or Alamosa, because Denver’s median income runs higher.
To pull the exact figure for your area, HUD’s Income Limits Documentation System lets you select Colorado and then your county or MSA; it returns a grid of each tier by household size.5HUD User. FY 2026 Income Limits Documentation System HUD refreshes these annually, so confirm you’re looking at the current fiscal year. Your local housing authority can also provide the chart and explain any additional local criteria.
What Counts as Household Income
HUD’s definition of annual income at 24 CFR 5.609 is broad. It covers every dollar received by anyone in the household who is 18 or older, plus the head of household and spouse regardless of age.6eCFR. 24 CFR 5.609 – Annual Income The count includes wages, salaries, overtime, commissions, and tips before payroll deductions. Net self-employment income counts too, though you can deduct straight-line depreciation and legitimate business expenses.
Beyond earnings, the figure includes Social Security and disability benefits, pensions, annuities, and recurring cash contributions from anyone outside the household. Interest and dividends from bank accounts and investments go in as well. When net assets exceed $50,000 and the actual return on an asset can’t be documented, HUD imputes a return using a published passbook savings rate. The income number is forward-looking: your housing authority projects what you’ll earn over the next 12 months from current patterns, not simply what last year’s tax return shows.
Income That Does Not Count
The same regulation lists exclusions that often decide close cases. Earned income of children under 18 is excluded entirely. So are foster care payments, insurance settlements for personal or property losses, educational grants and scholarships used for tuition and books, and lump-sum Social Security or VA disability back-payments.6eCFR. 24 CFR 5.609 – Annual Income Distributions from 529 plans and Coverdell accounts are excluded. Combat pay for service members exposed to hostile fire is excluded.
These exclusions catch applicants off guard. A one-time insurance payout after a car accident doesn’t count, even though it may show up as a large deposit in your bank records. If you’re near a threshold, work through the exclusions carefully before deciding you’re over.
Deductions That Lower Your Countable Income
HUD then allows mandatory deductions from countable income, spelled out in 24 CFR 5.611 and adjusted for inflation:
- Dependent deduction of $500 per qualifying dependent for 2026.7eCFR. 24 CFR 5.611 – Adjusted Income
- Elderly or disabled family deduction of $550 per household, if the head, spouse, or sole member is 62 or older or has a disability.
- For elderly or disabled families, unreimbursed medical expenses above 10% of annual income.
- Reasonable childcare costs needed so a family member can work or attend school.
A household with three dependents and an elderly head picks up $2,050 in deductions before medical or childcare costs enter the picture. Document every eligible expense, since the adjusted income figure is what gets compared to the limits and later used to set your rent share.
The $100,000 Asset Cap
Income isn’t the only financial test. Under rules implemented through the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act, Housing Choice Voucher households cannot hold more than $100,000 in net family assets, with annual inflation adjustments.8HUD Exchange. HOTMA Resident Fact Sheet – Asset and Real Property Limitations Net family assets include bank accounts, stocks, retirement accounts, and real property, minus debts owed against those assets.
A separate rule generally bars you from owning a home that would be suitable for you to live in. Narrow exceptions apply if you’re receiving homeownership assistance through the voucher program, if you co-own with someone outside the household who lives there, if the home is actively being sold, or if you’re a survivor of domestic violence.
Non-Income Rules That Can Still Disqualify You
Meeting the income and asset tests isn’t the whole picture. A few other rules can end an application.
At least one household member must be a U.S. citizen or have eligible immigration status under Section 214 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980. Housing authorities verify status through the SAVE system run by USCIS.9U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD Orders Immediate Citizenship Verification for All Tenants in HUD-Funded Housing Nationwide Mixed-status households may have benefits prorated rather than denied outright.
Federal law imposes two lifetime bans from HUD-assisted housing: anyone required to register as a sex offender under SORNA, and anyone convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine on federally assisted property. Beyond those, local housing authorities have discretion over other criminal history, including drug-related or violent activity within a recent lookback period. Colorado agencies vary in how far they look back and what weight they give specific offenses, so a denial from one doesn’t guarantee the same result elsewhere.
Students enrolled in higher education face extra screening if they are under 24, unmarried, and have no dependent children. A student fitting that description generally must show that their parents would independently qualify for Section 8 by income. Veterans, students with disabilities who were already receiving assistance before November 30, 2005, and students living with parents who hold or are applying for a voucher are not subject to this restriction.