What Are the Income Limits for Low-Income Housing in Wisconsin?

Income limits for low-income housing in Wisconsin depend on the county you live in, the size of your household, and which program you’re applying to. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development sets three thresholds each year — 30%, 50%, and 80% of the Area Median Income — and the dollar figures shift with local AMI. Under the FY 2025 limits, a family of four qualifies as “very low-income” at $64,900 in the Madison area and $55,750 in the Appleton area. FY 2026 limits had not been released at the time of this writing, so the figures below reflect FY 2025.

The Three Income Categories HUD Uses

Every eligibility decision starts with where your household income falls against the local AMI. HUD publishes three tiers:

Extremely low-income: at or below 30% of AMI, or the federal poverty level, whichever is higher.
Very low-income: at or below 50% of AMI.
Low-income: at or below 80% of AMI.

Which tier you need to hit depends on the program. The Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program must direct at least 75% of new admissions each year to extremely low-income families, and public housing must make at least 40% of newly available units accessible to that same group.¹ So even if your household technically qualifies as “low-income” at 80% of AMI, the most in-demand rental assistance programs prioritize applicants well below that ceiling.

Wisconsin Dollar Figures by Area and Household Size

Because AMI varies from county to county, the same income can qualify a household in one metro area and disqualify it in another. HUD publishes separate limits for each Wisconsin metropolitan statistical area and for rural counties outside any MSA.

Here are the FY 2025 very low-income limits (50% of AMI) for two Wisconsin metros at different household sizes:²

Appleton, WI MSA: $39,050 (1 person), $44,600 (2), $50,200 (3), $55,750 (4), $60,250 (5).
Madison, WI HUD Metro FMR Area: $45,450 (1 person), $51,950 (2), $58,450 (3), $64,900 (4), $70,100 (5).

The extremely low-income cutoffs (30% of AMI) are considerably tighter. A single person hits that threshold at $23,450 in Appleton and $27,300 in Madison.² Every additional household member raises the limit. For the exact number tied to your county and household size, HUD’s Income Limits page lets you select any Wisconsin county and pull all three thresholds.³

LIHTC Properties Use a Different Cutoff

If you’re looking at a Low-Income Housing Tax Credit property, the math changes. LIHTC buildings in Wisconsin, administered by the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority, typically set eligibility at 60% of county median income rather than the 30% or 50% figures used by Section 8 and public housing.⁴ HUD publishes a separate set of income limits for multifamily tax subsidy projects, so the LIHTC dollar figures for a given county may not match the standard limits exactly.³ Ask the property manager at the specific building for its current ceiling.

What HUD Counts as Household Income

HUD’s definition of annual income is broad. It captures anticipated gross income over the next 12 months from every household member 18 or older, plus the head of household and spouse regardless of age, plus unearned income received on behalf of anyone under 18.⁵ Wages, salaries, tips, self-employment earnings, Social Security, pensions, annuities, disability payments, unemployment, child support, and alimony all count.

Some money is excluded. Foster care payments, insurance settlements for personal injury or property damage, earned income of children under 18, medical reimbursements, and distributions from Coverdell or 529 education savings accounts fall outside the definition.⁵ Student financial assistance gets special treatment and is largely excluded. When you’re not sure how a particular income source is treated, the housing authority reviewing your application will walk through it during the eligibility interview.

Deductions That Lower Your Countable Income

The number that matters for eligibility and rent calculations is “adjusted income,” which is your annual income minus HUD’s mandatory deductions. Recent updates under the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA) changed several of these amounts:

Dependent deduction: $480 per dependent, adjusted annually for inflation.⁶
Elderly or disabled family deduction: $525 per household, up from $400 under the old rules, also inflation-adjusted.⁶
Medical expenses: for elderly or disabled families, unreimbursed medical costs above 10% of annual income are deductible. The old threshold was 3%. Existing tenants who qualified under the old rule move up in phases, from 5% to 7.5% before reaching 10%.⁶
Childcare expenses: reasonable costs needed for a family member to work or attend school, capped at the working member’s earnings.⁸

A household with two dependents starts with $960 already subtracted before the eligibility comparison happens. Add an elderly or disabled family deduction and qualifying childcare, and the gap between gross and adjusted income widens further.

Asset Limits Under HOTMA

Income isn’t the only financial test. Under HOTMA, families are ineligible for public housing or Housing Choice Vouchers if their net family assets exceed $100,000 (adjusted annually for inflation), or if the family owns residential property suitable for them to live in.7HUD Exchange. Assets, Asset Exclusions, and Limitation on Assets Resource Sheet Limited exceptions exist; property lost through foreclosure or bankruptcy, for example, doesn’t count against you.

Below the $100,000 cap, assets can still affect the income calculation. When net family assets exceed $50,000, HUD requires that any asset without a calculable return be assigned “imputed income” based on a passbook savings rate HUD publishes each year.⁵ At or below $50,000, no imputed income is added. If you gave away or sold assets for less than fair market value within the past two years, HUD treats the lost value as though you still hold it, which prevents families from shedding wealth to qualify.

Finding Your County’s Exact Limit

Because the qualifying number changes with each county and each household size, the only way to know where you stand is to pull the figures for your specific location. HUD’s Income Limits page lets you select any Wisconsin county and see the 30%, 50%, and 80% thresholds side by side.³ For LIHTC buildings, contact the property manager directly, since those limits are published separately and set at 60% of county median income. And when you apply through a local Public Housing Authority, expect to document income and assets in detail through pay stubs, tax returns, bank statements, and benefit award letters so the PHA can verify where your household actually lands against these thresholds.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 1437n – Eligibility for Assisted Housing
2
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. FY2025 Adjusted HOME Income Limits – Wisconsin
3
HUD USER. Income Limits
4
WHEDA. HTC Allocating
5
eCFR. 24 CFR 5.609 – Annual Income
6
eCFR. 24 CFR 5.611 – Adjusted Income
7
8
eCFR. 24 CFR 5.611 – Adjusted Income