Section 8 Income Limits in Indiana by Household Size

Section 8 income limits in Indiana by household size for FY 2026 run from $20,050 for a one-person extremely low income household up to $100,500 for an eight-person low income household, with the exact ceiling depending on which county or metro area you live in. HUD published these figures for the fiscal year, and they took effect on or after May 1, 2026.¹ Because Indiana mixes larger metro economies with rural counties, the limits for Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, or Evansville look different from the statewide nonmetro numbers.

The Three Income Tiers

Federal law sorts Section 8 applicants into three tiers based on the area median family income where you live:²

Extremely low income: at or below 30% of area median (or the federal poverty guideline, whichever is higher).
Very low income: at or below 50% of area median.
Low income: at or below 80% of area median.

Which tier matters to you depends on how vouchers are allocated. Federal law requires every housing agency to direct at least 75% of the vouchers it issues each year to extremely low income families.³ Low income applicants can qualify only in narrow situations, such as being continuously assisted under another HUD program.⁴ In practice, most new vouchers go to households in the 30% tier.

Statewide (Nonmetro) Limits by Household Size

Indiana’s statewide median family income for FY 2026 is $95,300. If you live in a nonmetropolitan county that is not part of a named metro area, these are your limits:⁵

Extremely Low Income (30%)

1 person: $20,050
2 people: $22,900
3 people: $25,750
4 people: $28,600
5 people: $30,900
6 people: $33,200
7 people: $35,500
8 people: $37,800

Very Low Income (50%)

1 person: $33,400
2 people: $38,150
3 people: $42,900
4 people: $47,650
5 people: $51,500
6 people: $55,300
7 people: $59,100
8 people: $62,900

Fort Wayne Metro Limits by Household Size

The Fort Wayne MSA has a median family income of $95,100 for FY 2026. The numbers are close to the statewide baseline at the 50% tier but diverge sharply at the 30% tier for larger households:⁶

Extremely Low Income

1 person: $20,000
2 people: $22,850
3 people: $27,320
4 people: $33,000
5 people: $38,680
6 people: $44,360
7 people: $50,040
8 people: $55,720

Very Low Income

1 person: $33,300
2 people: $38,050
3 people: $42,800
4 people: $47,550
5 people: $51,400
6 people: $55,200
7 people: $59,000
8 people: $62,800

Low Income

1 person: $53,300
2 people: $60,900
3 people: $68,500
4 people: $76,100
5 people: $82,200
6 people: $88,300
7 people: $94,400
8 people: $100,500

Why Your County Matters

HUD calculates each area’s limits from American Community Survey median family income data and then adjusts for local housing costs reflected in Fair Market Rents.⁷ That is why Fort Wayne’s four-person very low income ceiling of $47,550 differs from the statewide figure, and why limits inside a single metro area can split further. Within the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood MSA, for example, the Anderson sub-area has a median family income of only $83,400, pulling its limits below what you might expect for a metro region.⁶

To confirm the exact dollar figures for your county, use HUD’s Income Limits Documentation System, which lets you select Indiana, pick your county, and see every household-size and tier combination.⁸ HUD also publishes a single downloadable PDF covering every Indiana county and metro area for FY 2026.⁶

How Household Size Is Counted

Each additional person in the home raises the income limit, because HUD assumes a larger family needs more to cover basic expenses. One wrinkle catches people off guard: a live-in aide who assists a household member with a disability counts toward household size for the voucher’s bedroom calculation, but the aide’s income is excluded from your household income.⁹ That exclusion can be the difference between qualifying and being over the limit.

What Counts as Household Income

Your housing agency looks at gross income, meaning everything before taxes and payroll deductions. Under federal rules, that includes wages, overtime, commissions, tips, bonuses, Social Security payments, pensions, interest, dividends, net business income, unemployment benefits, and workers’ compensation.⁹ Every adult household member’s income gets counted, along with unearned income received on behalf of children under 18.

The agency projects your income forward 12 months from the date it reviews your application. For irregular earnings like freelance work, it looks at recent pay history to estimate the annual figure. The gross number is what matters, not take-home pay.

Income That Does Not Count

Several categories are excluded by federal rule, and families sometimes disqualify themselves by including money they do not actually have to report:⁹

Foster care and kinship payments for the care of foster children, foster adults, or children under state guardianship programs.
Earnings of any household member under 18.
Student financial aid used for tuition, books, and required fees at a college or university.
Income and distributions from 529 plans and Coverdell education savings accounts.
Insurance settlements for personal injury or property loss, including health and auto payouts.
Medical reimbursements received to cover a family member’s health or medical expenses.
Income earned by a live-in aide.
Military hostile fire pay for a family member serving in a combat zone.

If you are not sure whether a particular source counts, ask the housing agency before you submit anything. A teenager’s part-time wages or a monthly foster care payment should never push you over the limit on paper.

The Asset Test

Income is not the only financial check. Under rules updated by the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act, your household’s net assets cannot exceed $105,574 in 2026.¹⁰ Net assets include bank accounts, investment accounts, and real property, minus debts secured against those assets. HUD adjusts this ceiling every year.

If your net assets are $52,787 or less, you can self-certify their value without producing bank statements. Above that threshold, expect the agency to ask for documentation. Exceeding $105,574 disqualifies the household.¹⁰

If You Qualify: Rent Is Based on Adjusted Income

Meeting the income limit gets you on the waiting list. Your actual monthly rent share, once you receive a voucher, is roughly 30% of your monthly adjusted income, not your gross.¹¹ Adjusted income is gross income minus a set of mandatory deductions:¹⁰

$500 per dependent (any household member under 18, a full-time student, or a person with a disability, other than the head of household or spouse).
$550 for elderly or disabled families, if the head, co-head, or spouse is 62 or older or has a disability.
Unreimbursed medical expenses above 10% of annual income, for elderly or disabled families only.¹²
Reasonable childcare costs needed for a family member to work or attend school.¹²

A single parent earning $28,000 with two dependent children and $400 per month in childcare would subtract $1,000 for dependents and $4,800 for childcare, bringing adjusted income down to $22,200. Rent would be based on that lower figure. Missing a deduction you qualify for means overpaying every month until it is corrected.

Where to Apply

Applications are handled by local Public Housing Agencies, not through a single statewide portal. The Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority runs a statewide program, and cities including Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Gary, South Bend, and Evansville operate their own agencies.¹³ 14 IHCDA has warned that sites such as “govassistance.org” are not legitimate application portals; never pay a fee or enter personal information on a third-party site claiming to process vouchers.

1
HUD USER. FY 2026 Section 8 Income Limits
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 U.S. Code 1437a – Rental Payments
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 1437n – Eligibility for Assisted Housing
4
Government Publishing Office. 24 CFR 982.201 – Eligibility and Targeting
5
HUD USER. FY 2026 State Income Limits Report
6
HUD USER. FY 2026 Section 8 Income Limits
7
HUD USER. Methodology for Determining FY 2026 Section 8 Income Limits
8
HUD USER. Income Limits
9
eCFR. 24 CFR 5.609 – Annual Income
10
HUD USER. 2026 HUD Inflation-Adjusted Values
11
HUD Exchange. Payment Standards and Fair Market Rents FAQs
12
eCFR. 24 CFR 5.611 – Adjusted Income
13
Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority. Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV)
14
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. PHA Contact Report – Indiana