Will a USDA 504 grant pay to replace my furnace?

What 504 pays for

USDA lists furnace replacement and heating system repair as health and safety work under Section 504.

• A grant up to $10,000
• A loan up to $40,000 at 1 percent fixed over 20 years
• Up to $50,000 with the two combined

Who qualifies

Homeowners who live in the home, in a USDA eligible rural area, and who can't get affordable credit elsewhere. The grant also requires being 62 or older and very low income for your county.

That's how USDA described it in October 2026. USDA decides eligibility, including whether your address counts as rural. Our shop is in Bryans Road in Charles County and we work within 30 miles of DC, but we can't tell you whether your street qualifies.

How the money reaches the contractor

USDA pays the contractor after its final inspection. That means the contractor has to be one USDA accepts for your loan or grant, so ask Rural Development about it before you pick anyone.

Where we stand

We aren't enrolled in any assistance program, and we don't apply on your behalf. What we can give you is the paperwork side of the furnace. Our replacement estimate is free and written, with the furnace sized from the house and the venting, gas connection, permit and removal of the old unit each on its own line.

If USDA accepts us as your contractor, we do the work and get paid after their final inspection like anyone else on the program. If the furnace is unsafe in the meantime, a cracked heat exchanger for example, we shut it down and show you why.

Services this program can pay for

Section 504's furnace replacement matches our furnace installation work, and its heating system repair matches furnace repair and heating repair.

Where this comes from

USDA Section 504 Home Repair Loans and Grants, run by USDA Rural Development. Figures current as of October 2026.