1,401,176 HECM reverse mortgages insured by FHA since 1989.
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Reverse mortgage guide
The HECM lending limit is the highest home value FHA will use to figure a reverse mortgage. It is not the amount you can borrow. HUD sets it once a year at 150 percent of Freddie Mac's national conforming loan limit, and it's the same everywhere in the country, including Hawaii and Alaska. The limit that applies to you depends on the date your FHA case number is assigned. The current limit and the history by year are shown on this page.
$1,249,125
Up $39,375 (3.25%) from 2025.
The HECM lending limit is one of the most misunderstood numbers in reverse mortgages. So let me start with what it is not: it is not the amount you can borrow.
Nobody walks away with the full limit. Not even close. The limit is a ceiling on the home value HUD will count. What you can actually get is a percentage of that value, and it depends mostly on your age and interest rates.
Once that clicks, the rest of this page is easy.
HUD's term for the number used in the math is the maximum claim amount. It's the smallest of three things:
Your available money, called the principal limit, is a percentage of the maximum claim amount. HUD sets that percentage using:
Older ages and lower rates mean a bigger percentage. Then any existing mortgage and your closing costs come out of the principal limit first. What's left is what you can use.
The maximum claim amount also sets some costs. FHA's upfront mortgage insurance and the HUD-capped origination fee are both figured from it. See Reverse Mortgage Costs.
Picture two homeowners, both 72, borrowing on the same day.
If HUD raises the limit next year, Homeowner A's numbers don't change at all. Their home's value was already the lower number. Homeowner B's numbers go up, because the cap they were bumping into just moved.
That's the whole story of a limit increase. It helps people with higher-value homes. For everyone else, age and rates matter much more.
For your own figures, get your estimate.
The rule comes from the National Housing Act. HUD sets the HECM limit at 150 percent of Freddie Mac's national conforming loan limit.
The timing usually goes like this:
The limit applies to the whole country, including Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the Virgin Islands. A home in rural Montana and a home in San Francisco hit the same cap.
The limit that applies to your loan isn't based on when you close. It's based on when your FHA case number is assigned.
That creates a timing question near the end of the year. If your home is worth more than the current limit, and HUD has already announced a higher one for January:
For a high-value home, waiting a few weeks can mean more money available. You can usually take care of counseling in the meantime, so you lose very little time. I'll look at this with you if you're applying in the fall.
The reverse is also true. If your home is worth less than the limit, there's no reason to wait for the new year.
The table on this page shows the limit by year. A few things stand out:
The limit can rise or fall with the conforming limit. Over the last decade, it's only gone up.
You have two main paths.
You can still get a HECM on a home worth more than the limit. There's no maximum home value. HUD just counts the home at the limit. You keep the HECM's features: the growing line of credit, the payment options, and the HECM's federal protections.
Private lenders offer reverse mortgages that aren't capped by the HECM limit. On higher-value homes, a jumbo can provide more money. Jumbo programs generally don't charge FHA mortgage insurance, but their rates are usually higher, and each program has its own rules and state availability. See Proprietary (Jumbo) Reverse Mortgages.
When your home is near or above the limit, I run both side by side. Sometimes the HECM wins anyway. Sometimes the jumbo does by a lot. The only way to know is to price both.
If you took out a HECM years ago, your loan was set using the limit in effect then. If your home has gained value and the limit has gone up since, refinancing into a new HECM may give you access to more money. It has costs, so it only makes sense when the gain is worth it. See Reverse Mortgage Refinance.
People mix these up all the time, so here's how they fit together.
So if a neighbor tells you "FHA limits in our county went up," that may be true for their forward FHA loan and still have nothing to do with your reverse mortgage.
The maximum claim amount does double duty. It helps set how much money you can access, and it's also the base for two of the biggest upfront costs on a HECM:
That means two things. On a home worth well over the limit, those costs are capped too, because the limit caps the maximum claim amount. And when the limit rises, those costs can rise for higher-value homes along with the money available. Most of the time the extra money is worth it, but I'll show you both sides. Current figures are on Reverse Mortgage Costs.
It's shown on this page, from the HUD figure for the current year.
No. It's the most home value HUD will count. You receive a percentage of the lesser of your home's value or the limit, based mostly on your age and interest rates.
No. The HECM limit is the same everywhere in the country.
For loans with FHA case numbers assigned on or after January 1.
Yes. A HECM simply counts your home at the limit. A jumbo reverse mortgage may give you more.
Only if your home is worth more than the current limit and a higher limit has been announced. Otherwise, waiting doesn't help.
It can, if your home is worth more than the old limit. Upfront mortgage insurance and the origination fee are figured from the maximum claim amount. See Reverse Mortgage Costs.
Yes. The maximum claim amount is the smallest of the appraised value, the purchase price, or the limit. That affects how much your down payment needs to be.
Whether your home is well under the limit or well over it, the quickest answer is your own numbers. Get My Estimate, see today's rates, or call us at 530-888-6000. If you're near the limit, ask me to price a HECM and a jumbo side by side.
| Year | Limit | Increase ($) | Increase (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $1,249,125 | $39,375 | 3.25% |
| 2025 | $1,209,750 | $59,925 | 5.21% |
| 2024 | $1,149,825 | $60,525 | 5.56% |
| 2023 | $1,089,300 | $118,500 | 12.21% |
| 2022 | $970,800 | $148,425 | 18.05% |
| 2021 | $822,375 | $56,775 | 7.42% |
| 2020 | $765,600 | $39,075 | 5.38% |
| 2019 | $726,525 | $46,875 | 6.90% |
| 2018 | $679,650 | $43,500 | 6.84% |
| 2017 | $636,150 | $10,650 | 1.70% |
| 2009 to 2016 | $625,500 | $208,500 | 50.00% |
| 2006 to 2008 | $417,000 | Flat national limit established |
ZYNG Mortgage, Inc., NMLS #76801. A reverse mortgage has no required monthly mortgage payments and uses your home's equity. Fees, mortgage insurance and other costs can be added to the loan balance, and the balance grows over time as interest is added, so your equity typically decreases. When the loan becomes due, the home may need to be sold, or the loan repaid from other funds. Interest is not tax-deductible until it is paid, in part or in full. You keep title to your home and must keep paying property taxes, homeowners insurance and upkeep, and meet the other loan terms; not doing so can make the loan due and could lead to foreclosure.
This material is not from HUD or FHA and was not approved by HUD or a government agency.
HECM count at the top of this page: HUD data through September 2026 (source, opens in a new tab).
