How your share is calculated
With a Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) you pay roughly 30% of your adjusted income toward rent and utilities, and the voucher pays the rest up to a cap called the payment standard. The calculator follows the federal formula step by step.
- 1
Adjusted income
Start with gross annual income. Subtract a deduction per dependent, a flat deduction if the head, spouse or co-head is 62+ or has a disability, unreimbursed medical costs of such a family above a threshold, and child care that lets someone work or study (24 CFR 5.611). - 2
Total tenant payment (TTP)
The highest of 30% of monthly adjusted income, 10% of monthly gross income, or the agency’s minimum rent (24 CFR 5.628). Agencies may set a minimum rent of up to $50. - 3
Gross rent
Contract rent plus a utility allowance for any utilities you pay yourself. - 4
Voucher payment
The lower of (payment standard − TTP) or (gross rent − TTP) (24 CFR 982.505). Your share is gross rent minus that payment. - 5
40% check
At first lease-up, if gross rent is above the payment standard, your share can’t exceed 40% of adjusted monthly income (24 CFR 982.508).
Which deduction amounts apply in 2026
A 2016 law, HOTMA, raised the elderly/disabled deduction, indexed both deductions to inflation and raised the medical threshold from 3% to 10% of income. HUD has delayed full enforcement: Notice PIH 2026-15 says it will enforce HOTMA for all public housing agencies from January 1, 2027, with some agencies on a later timetable. In 2026 your agency may be using either set, so the calculator lets you pick. Families hit by the higher medical threshold can get phased-in hardship relief.
| Deduction | HOTMA, 2026 | Pre-HOTMA |
|---|---|---|
| Per dependent | $500 | $480 |
| Elderly or disabled family | $550 | $400 |
| Medical costs counted above | 10% of income | 3% of income |
| Child care | Reasonable cost | Reasonable cost |
Worked example
A family of three with a NYCHA two-bedroom voucher earns $30,000 a year and has two children. Under the 2026 HOTMA amounts their adjusted income is $30,000 − (2 × $500) = $29,000. Thirty percent of that per month is $725, which beats 10% of gross ($250), so the TTP is $725.
They find a two-bedroom for $2,600 a month where they pay electricity with a gas stove. NYCHA’s 2026 allowance for that is $39 + $142 = $181, so gross rent is $2,781. That is under NYCHA’s $2,997 new-rental payment standard, so the voucher pays $2,781 − $725 = $2,056. Their share is $725, of which $181 is assumed to go to utilities, so they pay the landlord about $544.
If the contract rent were $3,000 instead, gross rent would be $3,181, above the payment standard. The voucher would pay $2,997 − $725 = $2,272, and the family’s share would rise to $909. Forty percent of adjusted monthly income is $967, so the unit still passes the move-in test.
NYCHA vs HPD vouchers
NYC has two agencies that issue Section 8 vouchers, and each publishes its own payment standards and utility allowances. NYCHA’s schedule effective January 1, 2026 has one table for new rentals and transfers and a slightly higher one for annual recertifications, and it dropped Exception Payment Standard ZIP codes for new rentals on July 1, 2026. HPD still posts its 2024 schedule, with higher exception amounts in listed ZIP codes; choose “Enter my own” if your unit is in one.
Next steps
In most NYC rentals a landlord or broker can’t refuse you because you pay with a voucher (small owner-occupied buildings are an exception); see source-of-income discrimination. Read renting with a housing voucher for the search process, and check affordable lotteries with the Housing Connect income checker.