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This article walks you through how to create your AMI records. HomeKeeper can automatically calculate the AMI percentage for a household. For this automation to work, you will need to create AMI records and connect them to the household's Service File. HomeKeeper will use median income information in the AMI record to automatically calculate AMI for varied household sizes.
For instructions on determining AMI percentage for a household, see Calculating Percent of AMI in HomeKeeper.
Step 1: Look up the Median Income
CAUTION: The instructions below are for finding and entering the median income provided by HUD. Your organization may utilize other sources for AMI calculations. These can be used in place of or in addition to HUD's.
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Look up the median income (4-person household) for each year and metropolitan statistical area (MSA). Go to: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il.html. Select the year and click to search the database.
- If your effective date for new AMIs follows HUD guidelines, then double-check the effective date which is located underneath the Query Tool.
- Select the State and County and click “View County Calculations”
- Choose the Median Family Income. This number represents 100% area median income for a household of four.
Step 2: Create a New AMI record
1. Click the AMI tab to access the AMI record, and click New to create an AMI record.
2. Complete the AMI record.
- AMI Name: Be sure to include the YEAR in the name. You can pick a name that makes sense for your program. If you only work in one MSA, you may only need to use the year. If you work in multiple MSAs or Counties, you will want to include the name of the County or MSA in your name.
- Median Income: Enter the published 4-person AMI value.
- Year: The HUD Year
- Effective Date: The year you started using this AMI to qualify applicants. It may be the date it was published by HUD, or the date your program adopted it.
- Click Save or Save and New (to enter another record).
NOTE: You can only see the AMI in action once you've entered in Income Sources for the Service File. When Income Sources and AMI record are entered and saved, the calculation appears on the Qualifying Calculations section of the Service File. See Calculating Percent of AMI for instructions on how to determine and view the percent AMI for a household's Service File.
How HomeKeeper Calculates AMI
HomeKeeper allows you to calculate the percentage of income a household makes, compared to the Median Income for their MSA in the fields Percent of AMI (Gross) and Percent of AMI (Eligibility).
Here's how HomeKeeper adjusts the published 4-person Median Family Income:
For household size less than 4
amiValue = amiValue - (10 percent of amiValue * (4 - householdSize))
rounded to the nearest half (so 2.3 rounds to 2.5, etc.)
For household size greater than 4
amiValue = amiValue + (8 percent of amiValue * (householdSize - 4))
rounded to the nearest half
See page 10 of the Affordable Data System document published by HUD, which describes this formula.
NOTE: For more information about how HomeKeeper calculates percent AMI, check out What's the formula for calculating 100% AMI adjusted for Household Size?
WARNING: If the median income decreases for several years, your calculated 50% of the MFI/AMI is not necessarily the same amount as the HUD Income cut-offs for 30%, 50% or 80%.
See the article, “HomeKeeper AMI Calculations Don't Match HUD Income Limits!” for instructions on how to adjust for this in HomeKeeper.