My Safe Florida Home income limits decide the single biggest variable in your grant: whether the state hands you up to $10,000 outright, matches your spending 2-to-1, or limits you to the free inspection. The two lines that matter are 80% and 120% of your county's median income, adjusted for the number of people in your household.
Those percentages sound simple. The details are where applications go sideways: which county figure applies, what counts as income, and how the program verifies it. This guide walks the math with real numbers for the counties we install in, so you can place your household before you apply.
The Two Lines and What They Buy
| Tier | Income test | What you get | Value cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low-income | At or below 80% of county median | Up to $10,000, no match | $700,000 cap waived |
| Moderate-income | Above 80%, up to 120% of county median | 2-to-1 state match, up to $10,000 | $700,000 cap applies |
| Above moderate | Above 120% of county median | Free inspection only | Not applicable |
The definitions trace to Florida Statutes section 215.5586, which borrows the low-income definition Florida uses across its housing programs: total household income at or below 80% of the area median, adjusted for household size.
Where the Lines Fall by County
The underlying figures come from the federal median family income data published annually by HUD, which updates each spring. The numbers below are approximate figures for a four-person household, drawn from the most recent published data, and rounded. Treat them as a placement guide, not a ruling. The program's portal chart controls, and your household size shifts the line up or down.
| County | Approx. 80% line (family of 4) | Approx. 120% line (family of 4) |
|---|---|---|
| Miami-Dade | ~$73,000 | ~$110,000 |
| Broward | ~$78,000 | ~$117,000 |
| Palm Beach | ~$81,000 | ~$121,000 |
| Lee (Fort Myers) | ~$75,000 | ~$112,000 |
| Collier (Naples) | ~$84,000 | ~$126,000 |
| Hillsborough (Tampa) | ~$76,000 | ~$115,000 |
Two patterns worth noticing. First, higher-cost counties have higher limits, so earning "too much" in one county can still qualify in the county next door. Second, the 120% line reaches well into what most people consider middle-class income. A Palm Beach County household earning $115,000 with four people qualifies for 2-to-1 matching. Many homeowners assume the program is only for low earners and never check. Check.
Smaller households face lower lines and larger households higher ones, typically moving several thousand dollars per person. A two-person retired couple in Broward faces a lower threshold than the four-person figure above, which matters because retirees make up a large share of applicants.
How Household Size Moves the Line
The published county figures anchor to a four-person household, and the program adjusts up or down from there using the same family-size factors HUD applies. The pattern: one person counts for roughly 70% of the four-person limit, each person added moves the line about 8 percentage points, and larger households keep climbing past the base figure.
Using the Miami-Dade 80% line near $73,000 for four people, the approximate ladder looks like this:
| Household size | Approx. 80% line | Approx. 120% line |
|---|---|---|
| 1 person | ~$51,000 | ~$77,000 |
| 2 people | ~$58,500 | ~$88,000 |
| 3 people | ~$65,500 | ~$99,000 |
| 4 people | ~$73,000 | ~$110,000 |
| 5 people | ~$79,000 | ~$118,500 |
| 6 people | ~$84,500 | ~$127,500 |
The two most consequential readings of that table: a single retiree faces a much lower bar than most people quote from headlines, and a large household can earn six figures in Miami-Dade and still reach the no-match tier. Neither case is rare. Run your own size before deciding you do not qualify.
Three Worked Examples
Single retiree, Broward, $44,000. Social Security plus a small pension. One person against Broward's ladder lands well under the 80% line. Low-income tier, no match, and over-60 priority. This is the program's center-of-mass applicant.
Two teachers in Palm Beach County, $118,000, two kids. Four people against Palm Beach's roughly $81,000/$121,000 lines: over 80%, under 120%. Moderate tier, 2-to-1 match. Their $5,000 becomes a $15,000 opening-protection budget.
Household of three in Lee County, $115,000. Against Lee's three-person lines (roughly $67,500 and $101,000), they sit above 120%. No grant this cycle, but the free inspection still documents credits, and at Lee County premiums the documented features alone are frequently worth several hundred dollars a year.
What Counts as Household Income
The program measures total household income, not just wages, and not just the applicant's income. Count:
- Wages, salaries, tips, and self-employment income for everyone living in the home
- Social Security benefits, pensions, and retirement account withdrawals
- Rental income, dividends, interest, and capital gains
- Alimony and support payments received
This trips up two groups in opposite directions. Retirees often qualify more easily than they expect, because a paid-off home and modest fixed income frequently lands under the 80% line even in expensive counties. Multi-generational households often qualify less easily than they expect, because an adult child's wages count toward the household total.
The Documents the Program Checks
Income verification happens during the grant application, after your free wind-mitigation inspection. Have these ready:
- Most recent federal tax return for each earner in the household
- Social Security or pension benefit statements, if applicable
- Recent pay stubs for wage earners
- Documentation for rental or investment income
Households that do not file taxes, common among retirees living on Social Security, can document income with benefit statements alone. Missing paperwork does not disqualify you, but it stalls the application while funding moves to the applicants behind you, so treat the document list like a pre-flight checklist.
Self-employed applicants carry the heaviest documentation load. The program reads business income from the tax return (Schedule C net profit, not gross receipts), and a year of strong invoices with a low reported net can cut both ways: it may qualify you for a better tier than you expected, or it may draw a request for supplemental records like a current profit-and-loss statement. Bring the full return with schedules, not just the 1040 summary page, and expect the reviewer to use the net figure the IRS saw.
The Grant Math at Each Tier
Here is what the tiers mean in installed-project terms, using South Florida pricing.
Low-income, no match. The state funds up to $10,000 with nothing out of pocket, and the program pays your contractor directly, so you never front the money. At typical installed prices of $1,000-$2,000 per opening, that covers impact protection for 5-7 windows, a full hurricane shutter package for a small home, or an impact garage door plus entry door. It rarely covers a whole home, which is why spending it well matters. Our guide to using the grant for impact windows covers the prioritization strategy.
Moderate-income, 2-to-1 match. The statutory formula in section 215.5586 is $2 of state money for every $1 of yours, computed on total project cost (product, labor, permit fees, disposal), with the state's share capped at $10,000. The cap lands at a $15,000 project: you put in $5,000, the state reimburses $10,000, and 8-12 impact openings come into reach on most homes. Below the cap the same thirds apply, so a $9,000 project draws $6,000 of state money against your $3,000. Above it, every dollar past $15,000 is yours. One mechanical note: this tier is reimbursement, so you pay the contractor in full first and the state's share comes back to you by mailed check afterward, typically about 4-6 weeks after the program's final inspection on a clean file.
Above 120%. No grant, but the free inspection documents every credit-eligible feature your home already has. Program participants report insurance discounts at a 49% rate, averaging near $981 per year. Pair the inspection findings with our insurance savings guide and the OIR-B1-1802 form explainer to make sure your insurer applies every credit you earn.
Timing: Why Your Tier Also Sets Your Wait
Income tier does more than set the match. It sets your place in the processing queue. The program works applications in this order: low-income 60+, low-income under 60, moderate-income 60+, moderate-income under 60. With the June 2026 budget carrying forward more than $405 million to fund the inspection backlog, the queue is moving again, and applicants nearest the front will see grant offers first. The full program guide covers the funding history and what the reappropriation means for wait times.
Why the Lines Move Every Spring
HUD publishes new median-income figures each spring, usually in April, and the program's charts follow. Year over year the lines have mostly moved up, tracking wage growth: a few thousand dollars per year at the four-person tier in the large coastal counties. Three practical consequences follow.
If you were just over a line last year, check again this year. A household that missed the moderate cutoff by $3,000 in an earlier cycle may be under it now without any change in earnings.
If you are near a line when you apply, the chart in force at income verification is the one that matters, and verification happens at the grant-application stage, months after your questionnaire. A spring update can move you across a line mid-wait, in either direction.
And if you are budgeting a project around the match, do not cut it close: the safest read of the numbers in this guide is directional, with the portal chart as the authority on decision day.
The Value Cap Interaction Worth Knowing
The income tiers do not just set the match; they interact with the program's $700,000 insured-value cap. Moderate-income applicants must sit under the cap. Low-income applicants are exempt from it entirely. That exemption sounds academic until you map it onto coastal property values: a retiree couple on $52,000 of fixed income in a Keys or waterfront home carrying $800,000 in dwelling coverage is fully eligible at the low-income tier, while a higher-earning household in the same house would be excluded. Insurance-driven dwelling values have climbed faster than incomes across South Florida, so this pairing (modest income, high insured value) describes more homes every year. If it describes yours, the value cap is not your problem; only the home requirements are.
If You Are Just Over a Line
A household $2,000 over the 80% line is not stuck: the moderate tier still delivers a 2-to-1 match, which is the strongest home-improvement subsidy most Florida homeowners will ever see. A household just over 120% has no grant path this cycle, but should still take the free inspection and then compare financing options against the insurance savings the inspection documents. Retrofits that pay back through premium reductions in 7-10 years do not need a grant to make sense, though the grant certainly shortens the math.
Timing also matters more than most applicants realize. One-time events like a large retirement-account withdrawal or the sale of a property can inflate a single year's documented income well past your normal level. The program reads the year your documents cover, so an application filed the year after an unusual spike can land a tier lower, honestly and by the book.
One thing not to do: understate income. The program cross-checks against tax records, and a discrepancy voids the application outright, which costs you a queue position you cannot get back this cycle.
Next Steps
- Add up total household income for everyone in the home, including benefits and investment income.
- Compare against your county's chart on the program portal using your household size.
- Confirm the rest of your eligibility with our MSFH eligibility checklist.
- Create your portal account and complete the questionnaire; the application walkthrough shows each step.
- Get a free estimate now so that when your grant offer arrives you already know what the money buys, and whether financing should cover the rest.
