How to Fill Out and Submit the NYCHA Section 8 Recertification Form

The NYCHA Section 8 recertification form, officially called the Affidavit of Income (AOI), is the annual packet every Housing Choice Voucher participant must complete to keep the subsidy active. You list every household member, every source of income, your assets, and any deductible expenses, then submit the completed forms with supporting documents through NYCHA’s Self-Service Portal at selfserve.nycha.info or by mail to a dedicated PO Box in Long Island City. NYCHA uses what you report to recalculate your rent share and the agency’s payment to your landlord for the coming year. Miss the deadline and the agency starts termination proceedings, so treat the packet like a bill with a hard due date.

Documents to Gather Before You Open the Form

Federal rules require housing authorities to verify your income, assets, and household composition at least once a year before setting your subsidy.¹ An incomplete package is the single most common reason a recertification stalls, so pull everything together before you start writing.

NYCHA’s documentation checklist breaks the requirements into categories:²

Employment income: at least two consecutive pay stubs for every working household member. Self-employed members bring profit-and-loss statements or tax returns.
Benefits: award letters for Social Security, SSI, SSP (state disability), veteran’s benefits, unemployment, or public assistance.
Assets: current statements for all checking, savings, and investment accounts. If your total net family assets are at or below the HUD self-certification threshold (approximately $52,787 for 2026), you can self-certify their value instead of producing third-party verification.³
Household composition: birth certificates for new children, Social Security cards for any new members, and marriage or divorce records if your status changed.
Student status: proof of full-time enrollment for any household member 18 or older who is a student. Full-time students other than the head or spouse qualify as dependents, and most of their earned income is excluded from rent calculation.⁴
Childcare expenses: receipts or signed provider statements for children under 13, if the care allows a household member to work or attend school.⁵
Medical expenses (elderly or disabled households): if the head, co-head, or spouse is 62 or older or has a disability, collect documentation of unreimbursed medical costs and any attendant care or assistive device expenses.

Two pay stubs is the minimum. Bringing more doesn’t hurt. The point is handing the caseworker exactly what the checklist asks for in one clean package.

Filling Out the Affidavit of Income

The AOI is the core form. A separate Third Party Verification form authorizes NYCHA to confirm what you reported directly with employers, banks, and government agencies. Work through the AOI in this order.

Household Composition

List every person living in the unit. No exceptions. Each person needs a name, date of birth, Social Security number, and relationship to the head of household. Any gap between who you list and who actually lives there can trigger a fraud investigation, so this is the section where accuracy matters most. If someone moved in or out since the last recertification, attach the supporting document: birth certificate, lease amendment request, or a written statement explaining the departure.

Income

Report gross income for each earner 18 or older, drawn from the pay stubs and award letters you gathered. Gross means before taxes and payroll deductions, not take-home pay. Annual income under federal rules includes wages, Social Security and SSI, pensions, and most recurring payments to adult household members. Some categories are excluded, including foster care payments, insurance settlements for personal losses, earned income of children under 18, and most student financial aid.⁶

Assets

Report bank accounts, retirement funds, real property, and similar holdings. If your net family assets fall at or below the self-certification threshold (roughly $52,787 for 2026), you can declare their value without submitting statements.³ Above that threshold, third-party documentation is required and NYCHA will calculate imputed income on your assets using HUD’s published passbook savings rate.

Also note a HOTMA restriction: Housing Choice Voucher participants generally cannot own a home suitable for occupancy. Exceptions apply if the property is unsafe, doesn’t meet disability-related needs, would cause a hardship due to location, or you’re in the process of selling it.⁷

Review Before Signing

A blank field reads as a zero to the caseworker, and NYCHA cross-checks everything you report against employer wage records, Social Security data, public assistance files, and bank information authorized through the Third Party Verification form. If the database check turns up income you left blank, that becomes a discrepancy, and discrepancies escalate quickly. Honest mistakes and fraud start on the same form; the difference comes down to pattern and documentation. Underreporting income or hiding household members can be grounds for termination of voucher assistance and, in serious cases, criminal referrals.⁸

Deductions That Lower Your Rent Share

Your rent portion is based on adjusted income, not gross income. For most families, 30 percent of adjusted monthly income is the figure that controls the rent calculation, so every legitimate deduction has a real monthly effect.⁹ The main deductions available during recertification:

Dependent deduction: a set amount for each dependent, meaning anyone under 18, a disabled household member, or a full-time student 18 or older who is not the head or spouse.
Childcare deduction: unreimbursed costs for children under 13, if the care enables a family member to work or attend school. HOTMA added a hardship exemption for families who still need childcare but are temporarily unable to work or study, such as a parent who left a job to care for a sick relative.¹⁰
Elderly or disabled family deduction: households where the head, co-head, or spouse is elderly or has a disability receive a standard deduction of $550 for 2026, adjusted annually for inflation. These households can also deduct unreimbursed medical expenses and disability-related attendant care, but only the portion exceeding 10 percent of annual family income qualifies.¹⁰

Document every deduction. If you claim childcare without provider receipts, NYCHA calculates your rent as if the expense didn’t exist. You can submit missing proof later and request an interim recertification, but that adds months.

How to Submit the Package

You have two submission paths.

Self-Service Portal. Go to selfserve.nycha.info and log in with the credentials tied to your voucher. Locate the pending recertification task, scan each supporting document as a separate file, and upload them with the completed forms. Save the confirmation number the system generates. That number is your proof of timely filing if a dispute comes up later.

Mail. Send the completed packet to NYCHA’s designated address for annual review documents:¹¹

NYCHA — Annual Review (AOI) Documents
PO Box 19196
Long Island City, NY 11101-9196

Use certified mail with return receipt requested. The receipt creates a legal record of when NYCHA actually received the package. Do not send recertification documents to a different NYCHA PO Box; the agency uses separate boxes for landlord documents, rental transfers, portability, and general correspondence, and a package sent to the wrong one may not reach your caseworker in time.

Need a paper copy of the forms or have a question about what to include? Call NYCHA’s Customer Contact Center at (718) 707-7771, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

What Happens After You Submit

Caseworkers verify what you reported against the independent databases authorized by your Third Party Verification form. If everything checks out, NYCHA issues a Voucher Change Notice detailing your updated rent share and the agency’s subsidy. Changes generally take effect on the first day of the month following your voucher anniversary date.

If something is missing, NYCHA sends a request for additional information specifying which documents it still needs. Respond promptly. An unanswered request is what starts the clock on termination. For interim recertifications (mid-year changes), NYCHA has stated it aims to resolve requests within 60 days of receiving all documents. Annual recertifications can take longer depending on caseload, so submitting early gives you a buffer.

When your recertification shows income went up and the increase happened months earlier without being reported, NYCHA may calculate retroactive rent, meaning the difference between what you should have paid and what you actually paid. Repayment options include a lump sum, a repayment agreement with monthly installments, or a combination. Monthly repayment amounts are generally set so the repayment plus your current rent together don’t exceed 40 percent of your monthly adjusted income.

You don’t have to wait for annual recertification to report a change. If income drops, a household member moves in or out, or expenses shift significantly, request an interim recertification through the portal or by calling (718) 707-7771.¹² Reporting a drop promptly can lower your rent sooner; failing to report an increase creates the retroactive liability described above. When in doubt, report within 30 days.

Zero-Income Households

If no one in the household has income, there’s an extra form. NYCHA requires zero-income households to complete a Zero Income Questionnaire quarterly, not just at annual recertification.⁸ The form asks how you pay for food, phone service, transportation, clothing, and cleaning supplies, and whether anyone in the household expects income within the next 12 months and from what source.

Failing to submit the quarterly questionnaire by its due date can trigger termination.⁸ Answer honestly and completely. Leaving blank how you afford groceries while reporting zero income is exactly the kind of gap that generates follow-up scrutiny.

If You Miss the Deadline

Missing recertification doesn’t cancel your voucher overnight. NYCHA follows a structured termination process with multiple notices, each carrying its own response window:¹³

TW-1 warning notice: tells you NYCHA has begun the termination process and gives you 15 days to submit outstanding documents.
T-1 notice: formally states NYCHA intends to terminate your subsidy. You have 20 days from the date on the notice to submit missing documents or request an informal conference or impartial hearing.
T-3 notice: a default termination notice stating the subsidy will end within 45 days. You can still request an impartial hearing, but the request must reach NYCHA before that window closes.

Federal regulations guarantee your right to an informal hearing before NYCHA can actually terminate housing assistance payments.¹⁴ If you request the hearing on time, NYCHA must keep paying your landlord while the hearing is pending.¹³

Even after termination, NYCHA may consider reinstating your assistance if you submit a restoration request with all required documentation within 30 days.¹³ Reinstatement is discretionary, not guaranteed, and losing a Section 8 voucher in New York City means landing back on a waitlist that stretches for years. If the paperwork is overwhelming, call (718) 707-7771 before the deadline passes, not after.

1
eCFR. 24 CFR 982.516 – Family Income and Composition: Annual and Interim Examinations
2
New York City Housing Authority. Documentation Checklist for NYCHA Section 8 Recertification
3
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HOTMA Net Family Assets
4
HUD Exchange. Does the Student Income Exclusion Apply for an Adult Family Member Who Is a Full-Time Student
5
HUD Exchange. CoC Rent Calculation – Step 3: Determine the Childcare Deduction
6
eCFR. 24 CFR 5.609 – Annual Income
7
HUD Exchange. HOTMA Resident Fact Sheet: Asset and Real Property Limitations
8
New York City Housing Authority. Zero Income Questionnaire
9
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Calculating Rent and Housing Assistance Payments
10
HUD Exchange. HOTMA Resident Fact Sheet: Health, Medical, and Childcare Deductions
11
New York City Housing Authority. Contact – NYCHA
12
New York City Housing Authority. Reporting Changes to Income and Family Composition
13
New York City Housing Authority. Emergency Housing Voucher Recertification Termination Intervention Guide
14
eCFR. 24 CFR 982.555 – Informal Hearing for Participant