You asked about income eligibility requirements for the Section 8 housing choice voucher program. Specifically, you asked (1) if governmental energy assistance funds would be counted as income when utilities are included in the rent and (2) what a voucher recipient must list as income.

SUMMARY

Federal regulations establish what counts and is excluded as income when local public housing authorities (PHAs) determine a person's eligibility for the Section 8 housing choice voucher program. PHAs determine voucher eligibility based on a family's size and its total annual gross income. However, monetary benefits from certain sources, such as the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, do not count as income, irrespective of utilities.

The housing choice voucher program is the federal government's rent subsidy program to help low- and very low-income families and elderly and disabled people afford decent, safe housing, according to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). PHAs typically administer the vouchers and, in Connecticut, the Department of Social Services does as well. In general, the family's income (“family” includes a single person) may not exceed 50% of the area median income (AMI) for the county or metropolitan area where the family chooses to live, with a focus on supplying vouchers to applicants whose incomes do not exceed 30% of the AMI, according to HUD.

After applying for, qualifying for, and receiving a Section 8 housing choice voucher (most PHAs have waiting lists), a voucher holder must annually submit a list of his or her income so that the PHA can verify eligibility. The PHA verifies the information with other local agencies and any employers and the bank. It then uses the information to determine program eligibility and the amount of the housing assistance payment, according to HUD.

WHAT COUNTS AND IS EXCLUDED AS ANNUAL INCOME FOR VOUCHER ELIGIBILITY

Federal regulations define “annual income” for assistance programs, including for eligibility under the Section 8 housing choice voucher program, as all amounts, monetary or not, which (1) a family member receives or anticipates receiving from an outside source and (2) are not specifically excluded by law (24 CFR § 5. 609).

Federal law specifically excludes certain income. Some examples include federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance, food stamps, certain income derived from Native American claims settlements, the Earned Income Tax Credit refunds, and crime victim compensation, according to Carissa Riddle, Public Housing Program Coordinator at HUD's Hartford Field Office. HUD publishes notices in the Federal Register and distributes them to PHAs and housing owners as needed, identifying the benefits that qualify for this exclusion. A voucher holder could contact his or her PHA, if he or she is uncertain about what is excluded.

Annual Income

Annual income includes any amount derived (during the 12-month period) from assets to which any member of the family has access. Specifically, annual income includes:

1. the full amount, before any payroll deductions, of wages and salaries, overtime pay, commissions, fees, tips and bonuses, and other compensation for personal services;

2. net income from a business operation or profession;

3. interest, dividends, and other net income of any kind from real or personal property;

4. the full amount of periodic funds received from Social Security, annuities, insurance policies, retirement funds, pensions, disability or death benefits, and other similar periodic receipts, including a lump-sum amount or prospective monthly amounts for the delayed start of a periodic amount;

5. payments in lieu of earnings, such as unemployment and disability compensation, worker's compensation, and severance pay;

6. welfare assistance payments made under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, but only under certain circumstances;

7. periodic allowances, such as alimony and child support payments, and regular contributions or gifts received from organizations or from people not residing in the housing unit;

8. all regular pay, special pay, and allowances of a member of the Armed Forces (but not hazardous duty pay); and

9. any financial assistance, in excess of tuition, that an individual receives under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U. S. C. § 1001 et seq. ), from private sources, or from an institution of higher education (as defined under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U. S. C. § 1002)), except for people over age 23 with dependent children (“financial assistance” does not include loan proceeds for the purpose of determining income).

Annual income excludes:

1. income from the employment of children (including foster children) who are under age 18;

2. payments families receive for the care of foster children or foster adults (usually persons with disabilities, unrelated to the tenant family, who are unable to live alone);

3. lump-sum additions to family assets, such as inheritances, insurance payments (including payments under health and accident insurance and worker's compensation), capital gains and settlement for certain personal or property losses;

4. funds or benefits a family receives that are specifically for, or in reimbursement of, the cost of medical expenses for any family member;

5. a live-in aide's income;

6. student financial assistance paid directly to the student or to the educational institution, for people over the age of 23 with dependent children;

7. pay to a family member serving in the Armed Forces who is exposed to hostile fire;

8. funds from HUD funded training programs;

9. funds a disabled person receives that are disregarded for a limited time for purposes of Supplemental Security Income eligibility and benefits, because they are set aside for use under a Plan to Attain Self-Sufficiency (PASS);

10. funds and benefits a recipient receives from publicly assisted programs that are specifically for or in reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred (special equipment, clothing, transportation, child care, etc. ) and that are made solely to allow participation in a specific program;

11. funds and benefits received as a stipend for resident service duties - a resident service stipend is a “modest amount” (not to exceed $ 200 per month) that a resident receives for performing a service for the PHA or owner, on a part-time basis, that enhances the quality of life in the development (e. g. , fire patrol, hall monitoring, lawn maintenance, resident initiatives coordination, and serving as a member of the PHA's governing board);

12. incremental earnings and benefits any family member receives from participation in qualifying state or local employment training programs (including training programs not affiliated with a local government) and training of a family member as resident management staff;

13. temporary, nonrecurring or sporadic income (including gifts);

14. reparation payments that a foreign government pays due to claims filed under the laws of that government by people who were persecuted during the Nazi era;

15. earnings above $ 480 for each full-time student 18 years old or older (excluding the head of household and spouse);

16. adoption assistance payments above $ 480 per adopted child;

17. deferred supplemental security income and social security benefits that are received in a lump sum amount or in prospective monthly amounts;

18. funds and benefits the family receives as refunds or rebates under state or local law for property taxes paid on the dwelling unit; and

19. funds or benefits a state agency pays a family that has a member who has a developmental disability and is living at home to offset the cost of services and equipment needed to keep the developmentally disabled family member at home.

BACKGROUND: APPLYING AND ELIGIBILITY FOR THE VOUCHER PROGRAM

An interested family may apply for a housing choice voucher at a local PHA. During the voucher application process, a PHA collects information about applying family's income, assets, and composition. The PHA verifies the information with other local agencies, an applicant's employer, and his or her bank. It then uses the information to determine program eligibility and the amount of the housing assistance payment. PHAs use an applicant's annual gross income not only to determine income eligibility in general, but also for targeting people with very low income (the law requires a PHA to provide 75% of its vouchers to applicants whose incomes does not exceed 30% of the AMI, according to HUD).

If a PHA determines that a family is eligible, it places their name on a waiting list, unless it is has an opening. The PHA contacts the family and issues a voucher when it reaches the family's name on the list.

In general, the family's income (again, “family” includes a single person) may not exceed 50% of the median income for the county or metropolitan area where the family chooses to live. But, as stated, a PHA must provide 75% of its voucher to applicants whose incomes do not exceed 30% of the AMI, according to the HUD's website: http: //www. hud. gov/offices/pih/programs/hcv/about/fact_sheet. cfm.

The income limits for the Hartford/West Hartford/ East Hartford HUD Metro Fair Market Rent Area (HMFA) (which include East Granby, Windsor, and Suffield) for one person is $ 16,850 (30% of AMI), $ 28,050 (very low-income), and $ 41,700 (low-income). Current income limits by family size for this HMFA and information for the entire state is available at: http: //www. huduser. org/Datasets/IL/IL06/ct_fy2006. pdf

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