Does Your Income Fit the MHDC Limit?
Program and regulatory figures verified September 26, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
Pick the row that matches where you are buying and which program you are on. The second choice is usually worth more than people expect.
The check
| MHDC limit for this row | |
|---|---|
| Your income | |
| Result | |
| Room left, or amount over | |
| If you switched program |
Household income for MHDC purposes is calculated by an underwriter from your documents, and non-occupying co-signer income is excluded. Four areas carry county exclusions that fall to the all-other-areas row; check yours on the income limits page.
The last row is the useful one
It tells you what happens if you switch program. A household over the First Place limit is frequently under the Next Step limit, because Next Step reads the targeted column: $116,520 instead of $97,100 in most of Missouri, $136,080 instead of $113,400 in Kansas City.
And Next Step takes repeat buyers as well, so for a lot of households the switch solves two problems at once. Next Step.
Check the exclusions before you trust a metro row
Four of MHDC's five areas carve out named counties, which then read the all-other-areas floor.
- Kansas City excludes Bates.
- Jefferson City excludes Callaway and Moniteau.
- Columbia excludes Cooper and Howard.
- St. Louis excludes the Sullivan City part of Crawford County.
Buying in one of those and reading the metro row overstates your limit by up to $19,200. The full table.
What counts as income
MHDC requires an income calculation worksheet covering all income for all included household members, with documentation no older than 30 days at closing. Self-employment comes off returns to a formula, overtime and bonus need a history, and rental income is calculated rather than taken at face value.
Two helpful exclusions: non-occupying co-signer income does not count, and neither does anticipated rental income from the second unit of a two-unit property on First Place. One unhelpful rule: where the credit-underwriting income figure is higher than the projected household income, the lender must use the higher one. The exclusions.
So this check is directional. Within a few thousand of the line, the only number that settles it comes from an underwriter reading your documents. Send us two pay stubs and last year's return.
Frequently asked questions
What is the MHDC income limit for my household?
It depends on three things: the area, whether your household is one to two people or three or more, and which program you are on. The range runs from $97,100 for a one to two person household in most of Missouri on First Place, up to $162,820 for three or more in the Columbia MSA on Next Step or in a targeted tract.
I am over the First Place income limit. What now?
Check Next Step, which is what it exists for. Next Step reads MHDC's targeted column, so the limit for a one to two person household rises from $97,100 to $116,520 in most of Missouri, and from $113,400 to $136,080 in Kansas City. Next Step also accepts repeat buyers, so for many households the switch solves two problems at once.
Does household size change the MHDC income limit?
Once. MHDC uses two brackets, one to two people and three or more, so the limit steps up at the third person and then stays flat: three, four or six people read the same figure. Non-occupying co-signers are excluded from the household size composition entirely, as well as from the income calculation.
Which Missouri counties fall outside their nearest metro's MHDC limits?
Bates, excluded from Kansas City; Callaway and Moniteau, excluded from Jefferson City; Cooper and Howard, excluded from Columbia; and the Sullivan City part of Crawford County, excluded from St. Louis. All of them read the all-other-areas row instead, which is $97,100 and $111,665, so reading the metro row can overstate the limit by up to $19,200.
Does MHDC use gross income or qualifying income?
An underwriter's calculation from your documents, which can differ from gross in either direction. MHDC requires an income calculation worksheet covering all household members with documentation no older than 30 days at closing, and where the credit-underwriting figure is higher than the projected household income, the lender must use the higher one. Non-occupying co-signer income is excluded entirely.
Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about financing, not a loan commitment and not legal or tax advice. MHDC program terms, income limits and purchase price limits are set by the Missouri Housing Development Commission and change; figures here carry the date we verified them against MHDC's published documents. MHDC down payment assistance is a forgivable second loan, not a grant, and selling or refinancing inside ten years can require repaying all or part of it. Loans are subject to borrower and property qualification.