Massachusetts Section 8 Income Guidelines by Household Size

To qualify for Section 8 in Massachusetts, your household’s gross annual income generally cannot exceed 50% of the Area Median Income, and most new vouchers go to households at or below 30% of AMI. The state uses a quirk that works in applicants’ favor: for vouchers administered by the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC), Boston’s AMI is applied statewide, which lifts the eligibility ceiling for residents in lower-cost regions like Springfield or the Berkshires.¹ Your actual Section 8 Massachusetts income limit by household size depends on how many people live with you and which local housing authority processes your application, since authorities running their own voucher allocations may use area-specific AMI figures instead of Boston’s.

The Three Income Tiers That Decide Eligibility

HUD sorts applicants into three categories based on where their income falls relative to AMI:²

Extremely Low Income: at or below 30% of AMI.
Very Low Income: at or below 50% of AMI.
Low Income: at or below 80% of AMI.

The practical cutoff is tighter than the paperwork suggests. Federal law requires housing authorities to reserve at least 75% of newly issued vouchers for extremely low income families.³ Households between 30% and 50% of AMI remain eligible, but they compete for the remaining 25% of vouchers. Those in the 50% to 80% band technically qualify but rarely receive assistance in practice.

Current Dollar Limits by Household Size

Because EOHLC applies the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy metro figures statewide, these are the numbers that drive eligibility for most Massachusetts applicants. The FY 2025 extremely low income (30% AMI) limits are:⁴

1 person: $34,750
2 persons: $39,700
3 persons: $44,650
4 persons: $49,600
5 persons: $53,600
6 persons: $57,550
7 persons: $61,550
8 persons: $65,500

The very low income (50% AMI) ceilings sit considerably higher. A one-person household qualifies at $57,900, and a four-person household qualifies at $82,700.⁴ FY 2026 numbers rose modestly; the four-person 50% AMI figure for Boston climbed to roughly $85,700.⁵ You can pull the exact FY 2026 figure for any Massachusetts area and household size through HUD’s income limits lookup tool at huduser.gov.⁶

The limits move every year. A household that was just over the ceiling last cycle may fall under the new threshold after HUD updates its figures, so checking current numbers is worth the two minutes before assuming you don’t qualify.

What Counts as Household Income

Housing authorities use gross annual income (before taxes and payroll deductions) from essentially every source, for every household member age 18 or older, plus unearned income received on behalf of minors.⁷ The authority projects what you expect to receive over the next twelve months rather than looking only at last year’s tax return.

Common sources that count:

Wages and salaries.
Social Security and SSI payments.
Pensions and retirement distributions in pay status.
Alimony and child support.
Unemployment benefits.
Net self-employment income after allowable business expenses.
Investment returns including bank interest and stock dividends.

One trap catches applicants with modest savings. If total household assets exceed $52,787 (the 2026 threshold) and the actual return on a given asset can’t be calculated, HUD imputes income from it at a passbook rate of 0.40%.⁸ Cash sitting in a savings account at near-zero interest can still bump your income figure if your assets cross that line.

Income That Doesn’t Count

Several categories of money coming into the household are excluded from the eligibility calculation:⁷

Earnings of children under 18, including a teenager’s part-time job.
Foster care and kinship care payments.
Insurance settlements for personal injury or property loss, including health insurance payouts and workers’ compensation.
Income earned by a live-in aide providing medical or disability-related care.⁹
Scholarships and grants used for tuition, books, and supplies.
Income from 529 plans, Coverdell accounts, and government-funded baby bond accounts.
Reimbursements specifically for a family member’s medical expenses.

A household with a disabled member receiving insurance proceeds and a college student on financial aid can look wealthier on bank statements than HUD treats them for voucher purposes.

Who Counts as a Household Member

Household size does two things at once: it sets which income ceiling applies, and it determines the bedroom size of the voucher. Everyone living in the unit must be disclosed, including spouses, partners, dependent children, and other permanent residents. A live-in aide is counted toward unit size but their income is excluded from the household total.

Accuracy cuts both ways. Failing to report a household member can cost you your benefits. Overstating household size to reach a higher income limit or a larger unit carries the same risk. Housing authorities verify composition through birth certificates, identification, and other records, and once you hold a voucher any change in who lives with you has to be reported promptly because it shifts both the income math and the unit size you’re authorized for.

The Asset Cap Can Disqualify You Even If Your Income Fits

The Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act added a hard ceiling on assets that didn’t exist under the older rules. For 2026, net household assets cannot exceed $105,574 at the time of application, or you’re ineligible regardless of income.⁸ The figure adjusts annually for inflation.

Two exclusions soften the rule. Retirement accounts and education savings accounts don’t count toward net family assets, so a 401(k) balance doesn’t push you over. And if your total assets sit at or below $52,787, you can self-certify their value instead of producing bank statements for every account.

The cap bites hardest at initial eligibility. Housing authorities have discretion to waive it at periodic or interim reviews for current voucher holders, so it’s largely a barrier for new applicants rather than a reason existing recipients lose assistance.

Citizenship and Immigration Status

Income limits aren’t the only threshold. Under 42 U.S.C. § 1436a, Section 8 is restricted to U.S. citizens and specific categories of lawfully present noncitizens, including permanent residents, refugees, and asylees.¹⁰ Every applicant signs a declaration under penalty of perjury stating their status.

Mixed-status households, where at least one member qualifies and others don’t, can still receive assistance on a prorated basis, with the subsidy reduced in proportion to ineligible members. A HUD rule proposed in February 2026 would end prorated assistance and require all household members to verify status through the Department of Homeland Security’s SAVE system, but that rule has not been finalized. The prorated system remains in effect until it does.

Where to Check Current Numbers and Apply

HUD publishes new income limits every fiscal year using American Community Survey data and local wage trends,⁶ so verify the current figures for your household size before ruling yourself out. Massachusetts offers two main application paths: contacting a local housing authority directly, or applying through MassNAHRO’s centralized Section 8 waiting list, which covers multiple authorities at once.¹ Many applicants pursue both at the same time because wait times differ by authority and lists open at different intervals.

Wait times run long, often several years, and most authorities can’t give applicants a specific timeline or ranking. Lists close periodically when they grow too large, then reopen for brief windows, so checking multiple authorities regularly gives you the best shot at landing on an open list. When your name comes up, the housing authority verifies your income, assets, household composition, and immigration status before issuing a voucher, which usually means producing birth certificates, pay stubs, bank statements, and identification at that stage.

1
Mass.gov. Apply for the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP)
2
eCFR. 24 CFR 5.603 – Definitions
3
eCFR. 24 CFR 982.201 – Eligibility and Targeting
4
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. FY2025 Adjusted HOME Income Limits – Massachusetts
5
City of Cambridge. FY2026 Housing Program Income Limits
6
HUD USER. Income Limits Dataset
7
eCFR. 24 CFR 5.609 – Annual Income
8
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. 2026 HUD Inflation-Adjusted Values and Passbook Rate
9
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD Occupancy Handbook 4350.3 REV-1 Chapter 5 – Determining Income and Calculating Rent
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 1436a – Restriction on Use of Assisted Housing by Noncitizens