(a) General. The HTF program has income-targeting requirements. Therefore, the grantee must determine that each family occupying an HTF-assisted unit is income-eligible by determining the family's annual income.

(b) Definition of “annual income.”

(1) When determining whether a family is income-eligible, the grantee must use one of the following two definitions of “annual income”:

(i) “Annual income” as defined at 24 CFR 5.609; or

(ii) “Adjusted gross income” as defined for purposes of reporting under the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 1040 series for individual federal annual income tax purposes.

(2) The grantee may use only one definition for each HTF-assisted program (e.g., down payment assistance program) that it administers and for each rental housing project.

(c) Determining annual income—

(1) Tenants in HTF-assisted housing. For families who are tenants in HTF-assisted housing, the grantee must initially determine annual income using the method in paragraph (d)(1) of this section. For subsequent income determinations during the period of affordability, the grantee may use any one of the methods described in paragraph (d) of this section, in accordance with §93.302(e).

(2) HTF-assisted homebuyers. For families who are HTF-assisted homebuyers, the grantee must determine annual income using the method described in paragraph (d)(1) of this section.

(d) Methods of determining annual income.

(1) Examine at least 2 months of source documents evidencing annual income (e.g., wage statement, interest statement, unemployment compensation statement) for the family.

(2) Obtain from the family a written statement of the amount of the family's annual income and family size, along with a certification that the information is complete and accurate. The certification must state that the family will provide source documents upon request.

(3) Obtain a written statement from the administrator of a government program under which the family receives benefits and which examines each year the annual income of the family. The statement must indicate the tenant's family size and state the amount of the family's annual income; or alternatively, the statement must indicate the current dollar limit for very low- or low-income families for the family size of the tenant and state that the tenant's annual income does not exceed this limit.