LIHEAP Income Limits 2026-27: Check Your State

LIHEAP has no single national income limit. Each state picks its own line, inside a ceiling the federal government sets every year, and the line moves with the number of people in your home. That is why the same paycheck can qualify in one state and miss by a few dollars in the next.

The checker below uses the federal tables for the program year that started on October 1, 2026, and the rule each state reported, to show the monthly limit where you live, whether a crisis limit applies, and the phone number and site to apply.

How your state draws the income line

Federal law gives every state the same ceiling: the higher of two numbers, 150% of the federal poverty guidelines or 60% of the state’s median income. Neither number is pulled out of the air. HHS publishes the poverty guidelines each January, and the Administration for Children and Families converts the Census Bureau’s state median income into a table by household size each spring. For the program year that runs from October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027, both tables were released in April 2026.

Inside that ceiling, each state chooses. More than half the states, including California, New York, Florida and Georgia, use 60% of state median income, which in high-income states is far above the poverty line. States such as Texas, Kentucky and Pennsylvania use 150% of the poverty guidelines. A few go lower for regular heating help and keep a higher line for emergencies, and none can go below 110% of the poverty guidelines.

The practical effect is large. For a family of four, 60% of state median income is about $56,800 a year in Arkansas and about $98,600 in New Jersey, while 150% of the poverty guidelines is $49,500 everywhere in the lower 48 states.

What counts as income, and who counts as household

Programs look at gross income, before taxes and deductions, for everyone in the household. For LIHEAP, a household is usually everyone who lives together and shares the energy bill, related or not. A roommate who pays part of the electric bill is typically part of your household; a tenant renting a separate unit with its own meter is not.

Wages, self-employment earnings, Social Security, SSI, pensions, unemployment, workers’ compensation and child support you receive almost always count. What changes from state to state is the window: some states look at the last 30 days and multiply by twelve, others at the last three months or the past year. If your pay was unusually low last month, a state that looks at 30 days may count you in where a 12-month look would not.

Getting SNAP, SSI or TANF can skip the income test

The LIHEAP statute lets states treat households that already receive certain benefits as income-eligible without counting their income again. Many states do this for SNAP, SSI or TANF, and a few for some veterans’ benefits. Some require only one person in the home to receive the benefit; others require everyone. When this rule applies in your state, the checker says so in the result.

What LIHEAP actually pays

LIHEAP almost never sends cash to the household. The benefit is usually a one-time credit paid directly to your utility or fuel dealer, applied to your account or to a delivery of oil, propane or wood. The amount depends on your income, the number of people in the home, the fuel you heat with and how much energy costs where you live. Lower incomes and higher bills get larger benefits, and many states add priority for homes with an older adult, a person with a disability or a young child.

The ranges are wide. In FY2026, the state profiles published by the LIHEAP Clearinghouse show maximum heating benefits from a few hundred dollars in some states to several thousand in cold states that heat with delivered fuel. The checker shows the range your state reported.

Regular help, crisis help, cooling and weatherization

Most states run LIHEAP as several separate pieces. Regular heating help is the benefit most people mean, applied once per season. Crisis help is a separate request for an emergency, and some states set a different income line for it. Cooling help exists mainly in hot states, often in summer. Weatherization pays for insulation, sealing and furnace repairs, has its own waiting list and sometimes a higher income limit.

You can usually receive regular and crisis help in the same season. Ask the office whether one application covers both, or whether crisis has to be requested separately.

Renters can qualify too

LIHEAP is not only for homeowners or for people whose name is on the utility account. Renters qualify on the same income rules. If your heat is included in your rent, many states still provide a benefit, often smaller, so say so on the application instead of assuming you are not eligible. If the bill is in a landlord’s or relative’s name, bring a copy of it and explain who pays.

Common questions

Does the checker send my information anywhere? No. The tables are loaded with the page and the comparison runs in your browser. Nothing you type is transmitted or stored.

Why does the checker show a federal maximum? It is the ceiling no state can pass. If your income is under your state’s limit, you meet the income test. If you are over it but under the federal maximum, your state chose a lower line, and only a change in its rule would bring you in.

The office gave me a different number. Trust the office. The checker uses the federal tables for this program year with the rule each state last reported to the Clearinghouse; a state can change its rule for the new season, and some round or define income differently. Use the result as a guide to decide whether to apply, not as a decision.

I applied last year. Do I have to apply again? Usually yes, once per program year. Some states mail returning households a short form or start the season with them, so check your mail before the season opens.

This page is an independent guide. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, any state agency or any utility. Figures come from the federal FY2027 LIHEAP tables (HHS/ACF, LIHEAP-IM-2026-01) and from the state profiles of the LIHEAP Clearinghouse, and are provided for orientation. Your state or local office makes the final decision. Applying for LIHEAP is always free.