AMI is published per MSA per year and broken down by household size (1-person, 2-person, etc.). Affordable housing programs use percentages of AMI to define eligibility: 30% AMI is deeply subsidized, 50-60% AMI is typical LIHTC, 80% AMI is workforce housing, 120% AMI is moderate-income.
Multifamily brokers working in deals with affordability components — LIHTC, Section 8, workforce housing, inclusionary zoning units — need to know the current AMI table for the MSA, because every rent restriction, qualification threshold, and lender covenant is defined as a percentage of it. AMI updates each year, which means a rent that is in compliance in January can drift out of compliance after the new AMI publishes.
