What Is the Income Limit for Section 8 in Virginia?

The Section 8 income limit in Virginia is 50 percent of the area median family income where you live, and because median incomes differ sharply across the state, the dollar cutoff does too. A four-person household qualifies at roughly $53,250 a year in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News area, around $56,750 in metro Richmond, and about $81,950 in Northern Virginia.¹ Federal law also requires at least 75 percent of newly issued vouchers each year to go to families earning 30 percent of the local median or less, so the lowest-income applicants hold most of the available slots.²

Income Limits by Region

HUD updates these figures each spring. The numbers below are the FY 2025 limits for a four-person household in Virginia’s three largest metro areas.¹

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria (Northern Virginia)

Extremely Low Income (30% AMI): $49,150
Very Low Income (50% AMI): $81,950
Low Income (80% AMI): $106,800

Richmond Metro Area

Extremely Low Income (30% AMI): $34,050
Very Low Income (50% AMI): $56,750
Low Income (80% AMI): $90,800

Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News (Hampton Roads)

Extremely Low Income (30% AMI): $31,950
Very Low Income (50% AMI): $53,250
Low Income (80% AMI): $85,200

For the exact threshold in your county or city, use the lookup tool on the Virginia Housing income limits page or the HUD User site and select your jurisdiction.³

How Household Size Changes the Limit

The headline numbers assume four people. Limits rise with each additional member and fall for smaller households. In the Richmond metro area, for instance, a single person hits the Very Low Income ceiling at $39,750, while an eight-person household stays eligible up to $74,950.³ Count every adult who will live in the unit and every child, including children who split time between households if they live with you most of the year.

The Three Income Tiers and Your Realistic Odds

HUD sorts applicants into three bands by how their income compares with the local median.

The first, Extremely Low Income, covers households earning 30 percent or less of the area median.⁴ Federal law directs housing agencies to give at least 75 percent of newly issued vouchers to families in this band.²

The second, Very Low Income, extends to 50 percent of the median and is the standard eligibility ceiling for the Housing Choice Voucher program.⁵ If your household earns more than this, you generally will not qualify.

The third, Low Income, reaches 80 percent of the median. Vouchers at this level are uncommon and usually go to families who qualified at a lower tier and whose income later rose.

The practical consequence of the 75 percent targeting rule: a household just under the 50 percent ceiling faces much longer odds than one at or below 30 percent, even when both are technically eligible.

What the Agency Counts as Income

The housing agency looks at the gross annual income of every adult (18 and older) in the household, plus unearned income received on behalf of minors.⁶ Counted income includes:

Wages and salary before payroll deductions, including overtime, tips, bonuses, and commissions
Social Security, pensions, annuities, disability payments, and retirement fund distributions
Alimony, child support, unemployment compensation, and regular cash gifts from people outside the household
Interest, dividends, and net income from real or personal property

These come from HUD’s official list of income inclusions.⁷

Several categories are excluded. Earned income of children under 18 does not count. Neither do foster care payments, insurance settlements for personal or property losses, reimbursements for medical expenses, or most student financial aid used for tuition and school supplies.⁶ Income earned by a live-in aide is also excluded.⁷

To verify what you report, bring at least two current, consecutive pay stubs dated within 60 days of your interview, your most recent federal tax returns, W-2 forms, and bank statements.⁸

Deductions That Lower the Income the Agency Uses

After adding up gross income, the agency subtracts mandatory deductions to reach your adjusted income. That adjusted figure sets your rent portion, and for borderline households it can also matter at admission. For 2026, HUD allows:⁹

$500 for each dependent who is under 18, a full-time student, or a person with a disability, other than the head of household or spouse
A flat $550 if the head of household, spouse, or sole member is at least 62 or has a disability

Elderly or disabled households can also deduct unreimbursed medical expenses above a set threshold, and any household can deduct certain child care costs that let a family member work or attend school. Bring receipts or billing statements to your intake appointment so the agency can apply them.⁷

The Asset Limit and the Property Ownership Rule

Income is not the only financial test. Under rules updated by the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA), your household’s total net assets cannot exceed $105,574 as of 2026.⁹ Net assets include bank accounts, stocks, bonds, retirement accounts you can access, and equity in real property. If your assets exceed roughly $50,000 (adjusted annually for inflation) and the agency cannot calculate the actual return on a particular asset, it estimates the return using a HUD-set passbook savings rate and adds that figure to your income.⁶

HOTMA also bars assistance to any family that owns residential property suitable for them to live in and has the legal authority to sell it. A property is treated as unsuitable, and does not disqualify you, if it fails to meet the family’s accessibility needs, is too small, has a location that would create a hardship, or has serious condition problems. Exceptions also apply when jointly owned property is occupied by a co-owner outside the household, when the family is actively selling, or when the family receives voucher homeownership assistance for the property.

Non-Income Rules That Can Still Disqualify You

Even when your income and assets fit, other eligibility rules apply.

Full-Time Students

A full-time college student is ineligible if they are under 24, not a veteran, unmarried, have no dependent children, and either they or their parents would not independently meet the program’s income rules.¹⁰ Students who are 24 or older, married, veterans, or parents of a dependent child are evaluated like any other applicant.

Citizenship and Immigration Status

At least one household member must be a U.S. citizen or have eligible immigration status. In a mixed-status family, the subsidy is prorated: the full amount multiplied by the eligible members divided by total members.¹¹ The agency still counts income from every family member, including those without eligible status, when figuring the household’s rent portion.

Mandatory and Discretionary Denials

Your household will be denied if any member is subject to a lifetime sex offender registration requirement, has been convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine on the premises of federally assisted housing, was evicted from federally assisted housing within the last three years for drug-related activity, or is currently using illegal drugs. The agency has discretion to admit a family after a drug-related eviction if the circumstances no longer exist or the person completed an approved rehabilitation program.¹²

Outstanding debt owed to any housing agency from a prior tenancy can also block your application, and that debt information stays in HUD’s verification system for up to ten years.¹³ Local agencies set their own lookback periods for non-mandatory criminal history, often six months to five years. Each agency publishes its screening criteria in its Administrative Plan, so check with the agency serving your area for specifics.¹⁴

1
HUD User. Income Limits
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 US Code 1437n – Eligibility for Assisted Housing
3
Virginia Housing. Housing Choice Voucher Income Limits
4
eCFR. 24 CFR 93.2 – Definitions
5
Virginia Housing. Housing Choice Voucher Program
6
eCFR. 24 CFR 5.609 – Annual Income
7
HUD. Exhibit 5-1 – Income Inclusions and Exclusions
8
HUD. Notice PIH 2018-18 – EIV Administrative Notice
9
HUD User. 2026 HUD Inflation-Adjusted Values
10
HUD Exchange. Eligibility of Independent Students for Assisted Housing Under Section 8 of the US Housing Act of 1937
11
eCFR. 24 CFR 5.520 – Proration of Assistance
12
HUD. Eligibility Determination and Denial of Assistance
13
HUD. Debts Owed to Public Housing Agencies and Terminations
14
HUD. PHA Contact Report VA