The Basics

An Individual Development Account (IDA) is a type of account that allows you to save up money to buy a home, pay for higher education, or fund your small business. To open an IDA, you must find an IDA program in your area and meet certain eligibility requirements.

Note: There aren't as many IDA programs as there used to be. Some are still active, but it can take a bit of effort to find one that is accepting applications.

Eligibility requirements vary. Usually, your annual income must be within 200% of the Federal Poverty Level ($30,120) and you must have some form of earned income. You must also take financial education training once you’re enrolled in the program.

The biggest benefit of an IDA is that, after you have been enrolled for a sufficient amount of time, matching funds will build up for you with the IDA program. Once you are in good standing, have completed all of the financial literacy classes, and are ready to start using the money in your IDA, the IDA program will pay your matched funds directly to the school, business, bank, or whomever you need to pay to achieve your goal. Another benefit is that some federally funded IDA programs allow you to save up money without having to worry about asset limits for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and or other programs.