Calculating the Percentage of Your Income You Spend on Housing
The shelter allowance is based on:
- your family income
- your family situation
- the percentage of your income you spend on housing
To be eligible for the shelter allowance, your housing costs must be 30% or more of your family income.
The percentage is calculated as follows:
| Annual housing costs | ÷ | Family income for 2024 | x | 100 |
To calculate the percentage, you must first determine your annual housing costs. You will need to know all your housing-related expenses.
Click on the tab below that best describes your situation to find out how to calculate your annual housing costs.
Renter
You rent a house or an apartment
Take the following into account when calculating your annual housing costs:
- your annual rent
- the cost of any meal, personal hygiene or housekeeping services included in your rent (27% of your annual rent)1
- a fixed amount of $1,3011 a year for heating and electricity, if not included in your rent
- a fixed amount of $4341 a year for home insurance
- any amounts paid by anyone who shares housing costs with you
Example 1
Chen is single and lives in an apartment that costs $1,000 a month. His rent does not include heating, electricity or any meal, personal hygiene or housekeeping services. His brother gives him $100 a month to help pay his rent.
Calculation of annual housing costs
| Description | Calculation |
|---|---|
| Annual rent ($1,000 × 12 months) | $12,000 |
| Meal, personal hygiene and housekeeping services (27% × annual rent) | Not applicable2 |
| Fixed amount for heating and electricity | + $1,3013 |
| Fixed amount for home insurance | + $4343 |
| Annual amount paid by anyone who shares housing costs with Chen ($100 × 12 months) | - $1,200 |
| Total (annual housing costs) | $12,535 |
- This is not necessarily the actual amount paid. It is a fixed amount for the purposes of the shelter allowance.
- However, if Chen had to pay for meal, personal hygiene and housekeeping services, the corresponding amount would have to be subtracted from the annual rent.
- This is not necessarily the actual amount paid. It is a fixed amount for the purposes of the shelter allowance.
Example 2
Lisa and Roger form a couple and pay $1,800 a month in rent for their home. Housekeeping services, heating and electricity are included in their rent.
Calculation of annual housing costs
| Description | Calculation |
|---|---|
| Annual rent ($1,800 x 12 months) | $21,600 |
| Meal, personal hygiene and housekeeping services (27% × $21,600) | - $5,8321 |
| Fixed amount for heating and electricity | Not applicable2 |
| Fixed amount for home insurance | + $4343 |
| Annual amount paid by anyone who shares housing costs with Lisa and Roger (monthly amount × 12 months) | Not applicable4 |
| Total (annual housing costs) | $16,202 |
- This is not necessarily the actual amount paid. It is a fixed amount for the purposes of the shelter allowance.
- However, if Lisa and Roger had to pay for heating and electricity, the corresponding amount would have to be added to the preceding amounts.
- This is not necessarily the actual amount paid. It is a fixed amount for the purposes of the shelter allowance.
- However, if an annual amount were paid by someone who shares housing costs with Lisa and Roger, the corresponding amount would have to be subtracted from the preceding amounts.
You rent a room
Take the following into account when calculating your annual housing costs:
- your annual rent
- the cost of any meal, personal hygiene or housekeeping services included in your rent (27% of your annual rent)1
- a fixed amount of $6501 a year for heating and electricity, if not included in your rent
- a fixed amount of $1441 a year for home insurance
- any amounts paid by anyone who shares housing costs with you
Example
Sarah rents a room in a retirement home for $2,800 a month. Her rent does not include heating or electricity, but it does include meal services.
Calculation of annual housing costs
| Description | Calculation |
|---|---|
| Annual rent ($2,800 × 12 months) | $33,600 |
| Meal, personal hygiene and housekeeping services (27% × $33,600) | - $9,072 |
| Fixed amount for heating and electricity | + $6501 |
| Fixed amount for home insurance | + $1441 |
| Annual amount paid by anyone who shares housing costs with Sarah (monthly amount × 12 months) | Not applicable2 |
| Total (annual housing costs) | $25,322 |
- This is not necessarily the actual amount paid. It is a fixed amount for the purposes of the shelter allowance.
- However, if an annual amount were paid by someone who shares housing costs with Sarah, the corresponding amount would have to be subtracted from the preceding amounts.
You own your home
Take the following into account when calculating your annual housing costs:
- your municipal taxes for 2024 (or an estimate for 2025 if your home is a new build)
- your school taxes for 2024 (or an estimate for 2025)
- a fixed amount of $5,9971 a year for heating, electricity, maintenance and home insurance
- your mortgage interest for 2024 (or an estimate for 2025)
- any amounts paid by anyone who shares housing costs with you
Example
Meena and her spouse, Sanjay, own their home. For 2024, they paid $2,572.45 in municipal taxes and $318.13 in school taxes. They paid $3,899.12 in mortgage interest in 2024. Meena's sister rents a room in their house for $100 a month.
Calculation of annual housing costs
| Description | Calculation |
|---|---|
| Municipal taxes | $2,572.45 |
| School taxes | + $318.13 |
| Fixed amount for heating, electricity, maintenance and home insurance | + $5,997.001 |
| Mortgage interest | + $3,899.12 |
| Annual amount paid by anyone who shares housing costs with Meena and Sanjay ($100 × 12 months) | - $1,200.00 |
| Total (annual housing costs) | $11,586.70 |
- This is not necessarily the actual amount paid. It is a fixed amount for the purposes of the shelter allowance.
You own a mobile home on rented land
Take the following into account when calculating your annual housing costs:
- your municipal taxes for 2024 (or an estimate for 2025 if your home is a new build)
- your school taxes for 2024 (or an estimate for 2025 if your home is a new build)
- a fixed amount of $5,9971 a year for heating, electricity, maintenance and home insurance
- your mortgage interest for 2024 (or an estimate for 2025)
- your annual rent for the land your mobile home is on
- amounts paid by anyone who shares housing costs with you, if applicable
Example
Lucretia and her spouse, Irene, own a mobile home and rent the land it sits on. For 2024, they paid $987.14 in municipal taxes and $74.04 in school taxes. They paid $1,300.28 in mortgage interest in 2024. Rent for the land is $172 a month.
Calculation of annual housing costs
| Description | Calculation |
|---|---|
| Municipal taxes | $987.14 |
| School taxes | + $74.04 |
| Fixed amount for heating, electricity, maintenance and home insurance | + $5,997.001 |
| Mortgage interest | + $1,300.28 |
| Annual rent for land the mobile home is on ($172 × 12 months) | + $2,064.00 |
| Annual amount paid by anyone who shares housing costs with Lucretia and Irene (monthly amount × 12 months) | Not applicable2 |
| Total (annual housing costs) | $10,422.46 |
- This is not necessarily the actual amount paid. It is a fixed amount for the purposes of the shelter allowance.
- However, if an annual amount were paid by someone who shares housing costs with Lucretia and Irene, the corresponding amount would have to be subtracted from the preceding amounts.
How to calculate the percentage of your 2024 family income you spend on housing
Once you have determined your annual housing costs for 2024, you can calculate the percentage of your family income you spend on housing. See the example below.
Calculation of the percentage of your family income you spend on housing
| Description | Calculation |
|---|---|
| Your annual housing costs | $16,500 |
| Divided by | ÷ |
| Your family income | $39,500 |
| Result | 0.418 |
| Multiply by | × 100 |
| Percentage of your 2024 family income you spend on housing | 41.8% |