HUD 223(f) loan sizer: max loan by LTV, DSCR and limits

Every sizing test
Test	Supports
Loan to valueCriterion 3: 87% of $40,000,000 value	$34,800,000
Statutory limitCriterion 4: 2026 Section 207 per-unit limits x 270%	$55,964,358
Debt service coverageCriterion 5: NOI / 1.15x, P&I plus 0.25% MIP	$32,859,536
Cost to refinance bindingCriterion 10: payoff + repairs + reserve deposit + costs	$29,400,000

Every sizing test

Test

Supports

Loan to valueCriterion 3: 87% of $40,000,000 value

$34,800,000

Statutory limitCriterion 4: 2026 Section 207 per-unit limits x 270%

$55,964,358

Debt service coverageCriterion 5: NOI / 1.15x, P&I plus 0.25% MIP

$32,859,536

Cost to refinance bindingCriterion 10: payoff + repairs + reserve deposit + costs

$29,400,000

Reading the results

Largest 223(f) loan: The lowest amount any sizing test allows. HUD does not average the tests; the most restrictive one wins, so it is the only number a lender can take to HUD.
Set by: The binding test, highlighted in the table. It tells you what would move the number: more NOI or a lower rate if it is debt service coverage, a higher appraisal if it is value, cash-out if it is the cost to refinance.
Monthly payment: Level principal and interest over the term you entered, plus one-twelfth of the 0.25% annual MIP on the opening balance. HUD loans fully amortize, so there is no balloon.
Debt service coverage and loan to value: The ratios at the loan shown. They equal HUD's limits only when that test binds; otherwise they show the cushion left.
Cash to close, or cash out: For a purchase, the price plus repairs and closing costs minus the loan, before any costs you entered elsewhere. For a refinance, how far the loan exceeds or falls short of the payoff, repairs, reserve deposit and closing costs.
HUD fees: HUD's application fee is $3 per $1,000 of loan. The upfront MIP is the first year's 0.25% premium, paid at closing and usually financed. The inspection fee depends on the repair budget. The 3.5% line is the cap on lender financing and placement fees, not a fee estimate.

The worked example

A 200-unit elevator property (80 one-bedrooms, 100 two-bedrooms, 20 three-bedrooms), market rate, valued at $40,000,000 with $2,500,000 of NOI, refinancing $28,000,000 of debt with $400,000 of repairs, a $100,000 reserve deposit and $900,000 of closing costs, at 5.4% over 35 years. Without cash out the binding test is cost to refinance, and the loan is $29,400,000 (1.29x coverage, 73.5% of value). Switch to cash-out and the loan becomes $32,000,000, set by cash-out limit.

How the calculator works

HUD sizes a 223(f) loan on form HUD-92264-A, and the lowest criterion controls (MAP Guide 3.7.11.1; Mortgagee Letter 2025-03, section III). This calculator runs the same criteria with the ratios in force on October 30, 2026:

Test	Market rate	Affordable	90%+ assisted
Criterion 3: % of value	87%	90%	90%
Criterion 5: minimum DSCR (P&I + MIP)	1.15x	1.11x	1.11x
Criterion 7: % of acquisition cost (purchase)	87%	90%	90%
Criterion 10: cash-out cap	Greater of 80% of value or the cost to refinance
Large loans ($130M and up), DSCR / value	1.30x / 75% (70% cash-out)	1.25x / 80% (70%)	1.15x / 87% (80%)

Debt service coverage. Loan = NOI ÷ required DSCR ÷ (12 × the monthly payment per dollar at your rate and term + 0.25% MIP).
Statutory limit. Units by bedroom × HUD's CY2026 Section 207 per-unit limit (elevator or non-elevator) × the high cost percentage: 270% everywhere HUD lists, up to 315% project by project, 405% in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands (ML 2026-05). Commercial space and other costs not attributable to dwelling use can adjust this test; the calculator does not.
Acquisition cost is the price plus borrower-paid repairs and closing costs (MAP Guide 8.11.1). Cost to refinance is the eligible payoff plus the initial reserve deposit, repairs and closing costs.
Large loans. A loan of $130,000,000 or more is sized at Mortgagee Letter 2023-14's ratios. ML 2025-03 did not mention large loans, so we read the 2023 table as still in force.
Building NOI from rents. Vacancy is never below HUD's floor for the tier (7%, 5% or 3%, MAP Guide Appendix 3).

What it leaves out: the appraisal and HUD's review of income and expenses (the underwritten NOI is the lender's and HUD's, not the trailing figure), secondary financing (allowed to 92.5% combined LTV), commercial income limits (25% of area, 20% of income), and the 75%-of-remaining-life cap on the term. The default rate is the median note rate on 223(f) loans HUD endorsed between 2025-09-28 and September 30, 2026, from HUD's active loan file (325 loans). It describes past loans, not a rate on offer.

Short answers

How is a HUD 223(f) loan sized?

The loan is the lowest of several tests on HUD form 92264-A: the amount requested, 87% of value (90% for affordable or 90%+ assisted properties), the per-unit statutory limit, the amount NOI supports at a 1.15x debt service coverage (1.11x affordable) including 0.25% MIP, and for a purchase 87% or 90% of the acquisition cost or for a refinance the cost to refinance. Cash-out refinances are capped at the greater of 80% of value or the cost to refinance.

Which test usually limits a 223(f) loan?

Debt service coverage, in most rate environments. At a note rate in the mid-5% range with a 35-year amortization and 0.25% MIP, an NOI covers a loan well below 87% of value at typical cap rates. A no-cash-out refinance is also often capped by the cost to refinance.

Does the MIP count in the debt service coverage test?

Yes. HUD sizes on principal, interest and the annual mortgage insurance premium. Since October 1, 2025 that premium is 0.25% for every FHA multifamily program, down from 0.60% for most market-rate 223(f) loans, which raised what the same NOI supports.

What changes above $130 million?

HUD treats loans of $130 million and more (the CY2026 threshold) as large loans and sizes them at stricter ratios: for a market-rate 223(f), 1.30x and 75% of value (70% with cash out), plus larger reserves and sponsor net worth of 20% and liquidity of 7.5% of the loan.

HUD 223(f) loan sizer