Buy A Home With A Housing Voucher
The homeownership assistance from a Housing Choice Voucher can count as qualifying income. FHA and Fannie Mae allow it, and so do at least one Freddie Mac Home Possible program and at least one VA program.
What the lender needs to see
Each item below is a requirement of Fannie Mae, FHA, or at least one program we offer.
- Fannie Mae needs evidence of your assistance amount from the public agency that issues the voucher.
- Fannie Mae also needs evidence that you will receive at least one assistance payment on or before your first mortgage payment due date.
- FHA requires the lender to verify and document that you receive the voucher’s homeownership subsidies.
- Under FHA, the voucher counts as income only if it is not also used to offset the monthly mortgage payment.
- FHA uses the current subsidy rate to figure how much voucher income counts.
- The assistance must come through the Housing Choice Voucher homeownership option from a Public Housing Agency.
Your voucher counts as income
No minimum history required
Grossed up as nontaxable income
FHA may treat it as ongoing
Conventional and FHA options
At least one VA program
How Voucher Income Counts
Fannie Mae calls the Housing Choice Voucher Homeownership Program an acceptable source of qualifying income, and FHA lets the lender use it as effective income.
The Housing Choice Voucher program has a homeownership option, issued through a Public Housing Agency. Fannie Mae refers to it as the program more commonly known as Section 8 and treats the assistance as qualifying income. The lender gets the assistance amount from the public agency that issues the voucher.
Fannie Mae requires no minimum history for this income. The lender does not have to verify that it will continue unless there is reason to believe it may stop. Because the income is nontaxable, the full documented amount may be grossed up. See our non-taxable income gross-up page.
FHA handles it a little differently. The lender verifies that you receive the subsidies and may consider the income reasonably likely to continue for three years. If the voucher is paid directly to the loan servicer, the lender may deduct it from the mortgage payment instead of counting it as income. The same FHA rules apply under automated and manual underwriting.
Why choose Saxton for a housing voucher home loan
This page is for buyers who hold a Housing Choice Voucher and want to use its homeownership assistance to qualify for a home.
Your Voucher Is Income
Fannie Mae calls the Housing Choice Voucher Homeownership Program an acceptable source of qualifying income. FHA lets the lender use the subsidies as effective income.
No Track Record Needed
Fannie Mae requires no minimum history for this income. You still need evidence of the amount and of when assistance starts.
It Is Nontaxable Income
Fannie Mae treats the full documented amount as nontaxable, so it may be grossed up. FHA also lists Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers as nontaxable income.
FHA Looks Three Years Out
Under FHA rules, the lender may consider voucher income reasonably likely to continue for three years. The lender uses the current subsidy rate to figure the amount.
Count It Or Deduct It
FHA lets the lender count the voucher as income, or deduct it from the mortgage payment when it is paid directly to the servicer. It cannot be counted as income and used as an offset at the same time.
We Match The Right Program
At least one VA program and at least one Freddie Mac Home Possible program accept voucher income. At least one VA program does not, so we place you with one that does.
Hear From Homeowners Like You
Frequently Asked Questions
Straight answers about buying a home with a Housing Choice Voucher.
Yes, if it is homeownership assistance. FHA defines it as subsidies received under the Housing Choice Voucher homeownership option from a Public Housing Agency. Fannie Mae and FHA both allow it as qualifying income, and at least one Freddie Mac Home Possible program and at least one VA program do too.
Not under Fannie Mae rules, which require no minimum history. Fannie Mae does require evidence that you will receive at least one assistance payment on or before your first mortgage payment due date.
Fannie Mae needs evidence of the assistance amount from the public agency that issues the voucher. FHA requires the lender to verify and document that you receive the homeownership subsidies.
Fannie Mae does not require the lender to verify continuance unless there is reason to believe the income may not continue. FHA lets the lender consider it reasonably likely to continue for three years.
Yes. Fannie Mae says the full documented amount is nontaxable and may be grossed up, and FHA lists Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers as nontaxable income.
On an FHA loan, the lender may deduct the voucher amount from your mortgage payment when it is paid directly to the servicer. In that case it is not also counted as income.
At least one VA program accepts Housing Choice Voucher homeownership income. At least one other VA program does not permit it, so the program choice matters.
Find out what you qualify for
Tell us about your voucher and the home you want, and we will show you the options that fit.
Get Pre-Qualified- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, FHA and housing resources
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, FHA mortgage insurance premiums
Loan amounts, rates, terms, and eligibility are subject to credit approval, asset and income verification, appraisal, and program guidelines. Draw requirements and variable rate terms apply. Program availability varies by state. Not all applicants will qualify. Saxton Mortgage, LLC is an Equal Housing Lender.