Can You Have Money in the Bank and Get Low Income Housing?

Yes, you can have money in the bank and still get low-income housing. Federal rules set a ceiling on how much a household can hold in countable assets, but that ceiling is high and many common savings do not count against it. For 2026, a family’s net countable assets must stay at or below $105,574 to receive public housing, a Housing Choice Voucher, or project-based Section 8 assistance.¹ A checking account with a few thousand dollars, or even a retirement account with a much larger balance, will not by itself put you over.

Income is a separate test. Housing authorities first check your household income against limits tied to your area’s median income before assets come into the picture.² Everything below is about the money side.

The 2026 Asset Limit

The Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA) set a hard ceiling on net family assets for households in HUD-assisted housing. The base figure in the regulation is $100,000, and HUD adjusts it each year using the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. For 2026, the operative number is $105,574.¹ If your countable assets exceed that amount, you are not eligible.³ The check happens when you apply and again at every income recertification while you are in the program.

What Counts as an Asset

HUD looks at the cash value of your financial holdings after subtracting the costs of converting them to cash. The main things that count:

Cash and bank accounts. Checking accounts are measured by the average balance over the prior six months; savings accounts by the current balance. Cash kept at home or in a safe deposit box counts too.
Investment accounts, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and certificates of deposit.
Equity in real property you own, such as a rental. Take the fair market value, subtract outstanding loans and reasonable selling costs.
Money owed to you on a mortgage or deed of trust you hold.

What Doesn’t Count

The exclusions are broad, and this is where most people misjudge their own situation.⁴

Retirement accounts recognized by the IRS are fully excluded. Your 401(k), your IRA, and self-employed retirement plans do not count toward the asset limit at all, no matter the balance. A family with $200,000 in a 401(k) and $30,000 in a checking account is well under the limit, because only the $30,000 counts.

Also excluded:

Education and disability savings vehicles: 529 college savings plans, Coverdell education accounts, ABLE (529A) accounts, and state or federally funded “baby bond” accounts.
Irrevocable trusts that no family member controls or can revoke, including trusts that release to a minor at age 21.
Necessary personal property, such as medical equipment and a vehicle used to commute.
Non-necessary personal property (collectibles, recreational items, and similar belongings) as long as the combined value stays at or below $52,787 for 2026. Above it, the full amount is added in.¹
Federal tax refunds and refundable credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit, for 12 months after you receive them.
Cash from a settlement for an injury that caused a disability.
Family Self-Sufficiency escrow accounts, because participants cannot access the funds while in the program.

Savings Can Still Nudge Your Rent Up

Even below the disqualification ceiling, savings can affect what you pay. When a family’s net assets exceed $52,787 for 2026, the housing authority calculates “imputed income” by multiplying total net assets by HUD’s passbook savings rate, which is 0.40% for 2026.¹ The authority compares that number to the actual income you earn from those assets (interest, dividends) and adds the greater of the two to your annual income for rent purposes.⁵

The dollar effect is small in most cases. A family with $70,000 in countable assets picks up $280 in imputed income for the year. With rent set at roughly 30% of adjusted income, that works out to about $7 a month. If your net assets stay at or below $52,787, imputed income does not apply at all.

Owning a Home Is a Separate Problem

The bank-account rule and the home-ownership rule are different. HOTMA also bars families from receiving public housing or Housing Choice Voucher assistance if they own real property that is suitable for the family to live in. Exceptions apply, including co-ownership with a non-household member who lives there, survivors of domestic violence, and property actively for sale. You can also show the property is not suitable for your family, for example if it does not meet a member’s disability needs, is too small, is physically unsafe, or is not legally usable as a residence.³

Don’t Give the Money Away Before Applying

Transferring cash to a relative or selling property below market value to get under the limit does not work. Housing authorities count any asset you disposed of for less than fair market value during the two years before your application or recertification, adding back the difference between what it was worth and what you received.⁵ Foreclosure, bankruptcy, and property divided in a divorce or separation are exempt. Handing $20,000 to a sibling “for safekeeping” six months before you apply is not. The authority will treat that $20,000 as still yours.

The six-month average for checking accounts works the same way. Moving money out of your account the week before an application will not hide it.

How You Report Assets

If your net family assets are at or below $52,787 for 2026, the housing authority may accept self-certification: a signed statement of your total assets and expected income from them, without bank statements or appraisals.³ Full third-party verification still happens every three years.

Above $52,787, expect to provide documentation: bank statements, brokerage summaries, property records, and paperwork for any assets you disposed of in the past two years. Assets held abroad count, as do cash at home and anything in a safe deposit box.⁵

Penalties for Hiding Assets

Leaving assets off a housing application is federal fraud. Making false statements to HUD is punishable by a fine, up to one year in prison, or both.⁶ HUD’s Office of Inspector General warns that consequences for housing assistance fraud can include eviction, repayment of overpaid rental assistance, fines up to $10,000, imprisonment for up to five years, and a permanent ban from future housing assistance.⁷ HUD cross-checks application data against federal, state, and local databases, so an undisclosed account or property tends to surface. Given how many ordinary savings are excluded anyway, the risk rarely serves any purpose.

Which Programs These Rules Cover

The $105,574 asset limit and the real property restriction apply to HUD’s public housing, Housing Choice Voucher, and project-based Section 8 programs.³ Other affordable housing programs, including many Low-Income Housing Tax Credit properties, may use different rules or no asset test at all. If one program’s rules block you, another program in your area may not.

A last practical point: the thresholds update every year for inflation. A family slightly over the limit one year may qualify the next, and applicants can appeal determinations and provide documentation showing that an apparent asset falls into an excluded category. If you have savings and have been avoiding an application because you assumed savings disqualify you, run the numbers against the actual rules before writing yourself off.

1
HUD User. 2026 HUD Inflation-Adjusted Values
2
HUD Exchange. HOME Income Limits
3
eCFR. 24 CFR 5.618 – Restriction on Assistance to Families Based on Assets
4
HUD Exchange. HOTMA Assets, Asset Exclusions, and Limitation on Assets Resource Sheet
5
HUD. Exhibit 5-2: Assets
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1012 – Department of Housing and Urban Development Transactions
7
HUD OIG. Applying for HUD Housing Assistance? Do You Realize?