Good News! HUD Guidance States ABLE Accounts Not to Be Used in Assets Calculations

ANCOR is sharing this guidance by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) because many of the people with disabilities that our members support have ABLE Accounts. Obtaining affordable housing is a key challenge for people with disabilities and this new HUD guidance will ideally make it easier for them to obtain housing.

As shared by HUD:

“Individuals have to be income eligible to receive assistance under HUD programs. Per 24 CFR 5.609,

annual income is defined as the anticipated total income from all sources received by every family

member which are not specifically excluded in 24 CFR 5.609(c). The exclusion found at 24 CFR

5.609(c)(17) instructs PHAs and owners to exclude from income all amounts that are specifically

excluded by other Federal statute when the statute is applicable to HUD programs. Given that the ABLE

Act creates a federally mandated exclusion for ABLE accounts applicable to HUD programs, in

determining a family’s income, HUD will exclude amounts in the individual’s ABLE account pursuant to

24 CFR 5.609(c)(17). The entire value of the individual’s ABLE account will be excluded from the

household’s assets. This means actual or imputed interest on the ABLE account balance will not be

counted as income. Distributions from the ABLE account are also not considered income. All wage

income received, regardless of which account the money is paid to, is included as income.”

“Applicability: This notice applies to the following programs:

1. Housing Choice Voucher Program, including all special voucher types

2. Public Housing

3. Project-based Section 8

• New Construction
• State Agency Financed
• Substantial Rehabilitation
• Section 202/8
• Rural Housing Services (RHS) Section 515/
• Loan Management Set-Aside (LMSA)
• Property Disposition Set-Aside (PDSA)
• Rental Assistance Demonstration Project Based Rental Assistance (RAD/PBRA)

4. Section 202/162 Project Assistance Contract (PAC)

5. Section 202 Project Rental Assistance Contract (PRAC)

6. Section 202 Senior Preservation Rental Assistance Contracts (SPRAC)

7. Section 811 PRAC

8. Section 811 Project Rental Assistance (PRA)

9. Section 236 (including RAP)

10. Section 221(d)(3)/(d)(5) Below Market Interest Rate (BMIR)”