Individual Development Accounts

What they are

Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) are matched savings accounts that help low-income families move towards self-sufficiency and long-term prosperity. Account holders take money management and asset training classes while saving to buy a first home, start a small business, or pay for postsecondary education or job training. Similar to 401(k)s, IDAs make it easier for low-income families to build the financial assets that they need to achieve the American Dream.

Who qualifies

To qualify for a CAAB IDA you must have earned income yourself and your total household income (adjusted gross income) cannot exceed the limit identified below. Your household includes all adults and children who live together and share expenses—related or unrelated. Child support payments should not be included in your household income. For more information about CAAB IDAs, e-mail ida@caab.org.

Note: Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) recipients automatically qualify for the CAAB IDA program.

CAAB Income Guidelines for Participating in an IDA Program:

Household Size	Maximum Household Income
1	$36,200
2	$41,350
3	$46,500
4	$51,700
5	$55,800
6	$59,950
7	$64,100
8	$68,200

Other eligibility criteria:

You must be a resident of the District of Columbia to participate.
You must have earned income.
Your total assets must be less than $10,000. Total assets means the value of assets owned by all household memebers (excluding the value of the primary residence and one vehicle), minus the obligations or debts of all household members.
Homeownership savers must be qualified first-time homebuyers (that is, he or she did not own a home in the District or area one year prior to the purchase date of the home purchased with their IDA funds), and must purchase in one of the following geographic areas:
- Washington, DC
- Arlington County,VA
- Alexandria City,VA
- Fairfax County,VA
- Fairfax City,VA
- Falls Church City, VA
- Montgomery County, MD
- Prince George's County, MD

How they work

DC residents who meet the eligibility guidelines may be eligible to open an IDA with CAAB and receive a 3:1 match on up to $1,000 of personal savings, for a total of $4,000 that can be invested in higher education, a small business, or purchase of a first home.

View CAAB's IDA Brochure and information for prospective applicants. Adobe Reader is required to view these files.

At this time, we have completely allocated our IDA matching funds and so are not accepting new applications. Once you have reviewed the program eligibility requirements, please send an email to ida@caab.org with your name, address, phone number, where you heard about CAAB, and what asset you would like to use the IDA towards. We will then add you to our list of interested applicants and notify you when we have reopened enrollment.

In the mean time, we definitely encourage you to take the Money Management 101 class and start saving on your own. If you need to open a savings account, the DC Saves Campaign offers no-fee savings accounts through many local banks and credit unions. You can find the list of these accounts here.

Programs