Down Payment Assistance Programs 2026

Most people who qualify for down payment assistance never apply for it. They assume they don't qualify, or they've never heard of the specific program, or their real estate agent isn't familiar with it and just... doesn't bring it up.

That last one is more common than it should be.

Down payment assistance (DPA) programs exist at the federal level, state level, county level, city level, and employer level. They range from outright grants you never repay to deferred-payment second mortgages to shared appreciation arrangements where you give the state a cut of your home's appreciation when you sell. The variety is genuinely confusing — but the money is real.

In 2026, buyers in California can access up to $150,000 in help. Illinois launched a new program in March 2026 offering up to $15,000. Texas has had aggressive programs for years. Even in markets where DPA isn't as prominent, there are often county or municipal programs that go unused because nobody's looking for them.

If you're buying a home and skipping this step, you might be leaving tens of thousands of dollars on the table.

There's no single federal "down payment assistance grant" you can apply for directly. What exists federally are programs that enable state and local programs, plus specific loan types with low down payment requirements.

FHA loans require just 3.5% down with a 580 credit score. That's not assistance — you still pay it — but it makes the hurdle lower. FHA loans also allow the down payment to be entirely gift funds from family.

Fannie Mae HomeReady and Freddie Mac Home Possible both allow 3% down on conventional loans for borrowers at or below 80% of area median income. These programs can be stacked with state DPA, which is where things get interesting.

HUD's HOME Investment Partnerships Program funnels federal money to states and cities, which then run their own DPA programs. HUD-approved housing counseling agencies (locatable at hud.gov) can tell you exactly what's available in your specific area. This is genuinely the best first call to make — a free 30-minute conversation with a counselor can surface programs you'd never find on Google.

DownPaymentResource.com is worth bookmarking. It aggregates 2,000+ assistance programs nationwide and lets you filter by location, income, loan type, and other eligibility factors. Not everything in the database is current, but it's the best starting point that exists.

California has two major programs through CalHFA right now.

Dream for All is the flashier one — up to 20% of the purchase price in down payment or closing cost help, capped at $150,000. But here's the catch: it's a shared appreciation loan. You get the money interest-free with no monthly payments, but when you sell or refinance, you repay the original loan amount PLUS the same percentage of appreciation CalHFA contributed. If they gave you 18% of the purchase price and your home appreciates $200,000, you owe them 18% of that gain — $36,000 — on top of the original loan.

The registration portal for Dream for All vouchers closed March 16, 2026. When the next round opens, and there will likely be another round given the program's popularity, register the moment it's available. It fills quickly.

MyHome Assistance Program is the more straightforward option — a deferred-payment junior loan of up to 3.5% of purchase price for FHA loans (3% for conventional). You pay nothing monthly. The loan comes due when you sell, pay off the first mortgage, or refinance. No shared appreciation — you repay exactly what you borrowed, no more. If your home doubles in value, CalHFA gets back only the original loan amount.

Income limits vary by county — ranging from roughly $185,000 in inland counties like Fresno to $325,000 in San Francisco. Yes, those are household income limits, not home prices. California is expensive, so the income caps had to be high enough to be useful.

To access CalHFA programs, you must work with a CalHFA-approved lender. The list is on calhfa.ca.gov. You can't go directly.

Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation (TSAHC) runs two main programs: Homes for Texas Heroes (for teachers, firefighters, law enforcement, veterans, EMS, and other public servants) and Home Sweet Texas (for everyone else).

Both offer the same core benefit: a grant of 3%-5% of the loan amount for the down payment, at a competitive fixed interest rate. This is a genuine grant — not a second loan, not a lien, not shared appreciation. You don't repay it. Ever.

The 5% grant is available with FHA loans in the Heroes program and can cover the entire FHA down payment requirement of 3.5% with leftover money for closing costs. That's a meaningful difference — going to zero out of pocket on the down payment is achievable for many Texas buyers.

TSAHC also has a mortgage credit certificate program that gives you a federal tax credit of up to $2,000 per year for the life of the loan, which compounds the benefit significantly over time.

Income limits and purchase price caps vary by county. The most current numbers live at tsahc.org. Texas doesn't have state income tax, which makes TSAHC programs even more impactful relative to the mortgage cost — you keep more of the income that qualifies you.

TSAHC programs stack with HomeReady and Home Possible conventional loan products, which means a qualifying Texas buyer can combine 3% down conventional loan + TSAHC grant + mortgage credit certificate and potentially need very little at closing.

Illinois Housing Development Authority launched a new flagship program on March 2, 2026 — IHDAccess Home — offering up to $15,000 (or 6% of the purchase price, whichever is less) as a deferred, 0% interest second mortgage.

Zero interest. Deferred. You don't pay monthly. The loan is repaid when you sell, refinance, or pay off the first mortgage. At $15,000, this is the most generous IHDA has ever been on the flagship program.

Eligibility: 640+ credit score minimum. Household income limits vary by county — Cook County allows up to $137,885, Madison County up to $128,110. Purchase price limits also apply. It's a statewide program available through IHDA-approved lenders.

IHDA also maintains older programs with different structures: - Access Deferred: up to $7,500 (5% of purchase price), 0% interest, deferred repayment - Access Forgivable: up to $6,000 (4% of purchase price), forgiven over 10 years — stay in the home a decade and you owe nothing - Access Repayable: up to $10,000 (10% of purchase price), repaid in monthly installments

The Access Forgivable program is interesting for buyers who are confident they'll stay long-term. After 10 years, the $6,000 simply disappears. The catch is that if you sell or refinance before the 10 years is up, you repay the remaining unforgiven balance prorated.

All IHDA programs require a minimum borrower contribution of $1,000 or 1% of the purchase price, whichever is greater. It must be your own funds, not a gift.

Details and approved lender list: ihda.org.

This is where people get confused, and the confusion matters because the repayment implications are very different.

Grants: Free money. No repayment required under any circumstances. TSAHC's 3-5% grant is the clearest example. Genuine grants in DPA are relatively rare — most programs that use the word casually are actually forgivable loans (which have conditions) or deferred liens.

Forgivable loans: A second mortgage that goes away — either immediately at closing, or over time — as long as you meet conditions (usually staying in the home as a primary residence for a certain number of years). Miss the condition and you repay whatever balance hasn't been forgiven yet. IHDA's Access Forgivable is this structure.

Deferred payment second liens: You take a second mortgage on the property, pay nothing monthly, and repay when you sell, refinance, or pay off the first. CalHFA MyHome is this structure. These show up on your credit and count toward your debt-to-income ratio for the first mortgage, which can affect qualification.

Shared appreciation loans: Like a deferred lien, but with an additional repayment of a portion of the home's appreciation. CalHFA Dream for All is this structure. The lender gets their loan back plus a share of any increase in home value.

Forgivable silent seconds: A second mortgage that's forgiven after a period with no requirement to repay unless you sell/refinance early. These are often used in rural programs.

For qualification purposes: even deferred and forgivable seconds usually need to be disclosed to your primary lender. Most DPA programs are designed to work with FHA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac guidelines, but verify compatibility before assuming your first mortgage lender will allow the DPA structure you've chosen.

Starting from scratch in a state I haven't covered? Here's the actual process.

Step one: Go to hud.gov/counseling and find a HUD-approved housing counselor in your area. This is free, genuinely useful, and they know what programs exist locally in a way no website does. Call before you do anything else.

Step two: Search '[your state] housing finance agency down payment assistance 2026.' Every state has a housing finance agency. In California it's CalHFA. Texas has TDHCA and TSAHC. Illinois has IHDA. New York has HCR. Colorado has CHFA. These are the official state programs.

Step three: DownPaymentResource.com. Not perfect but the most comprehensive aggregator. Enter your address, household income, and anticipated loan amount to see a filtered list.

Step four: Check county and city programs separately. Many metro areas have their own DPA on top of state programs that can be combined. Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix — most major cities have at least one city or county program. The local HUD counselor will know these.

Step five: Ask your employer. Some large employers, hospitals, and universities offer down payment assistance as a benefit — especially in competitive labor markets or areas trying to attract residents to specific neighborhoods. It's underused and underasked.

Step six: Check community bank and credit union programs. Local lenders sometimes run their own DPA or CRA (Community Reinvestment Act) programs that don't appear in any aggregator because they're not marketed broadly.

One thing to know: DPA funds run out. Programs like California's Dream for All exhaust their funding rapidly when they open. If you're serious about using a specific program, get your financial documents together now, get pre-approved, and be ready to act the moment funding opens.

Almost every DPA program uses Area Median Income (AMI) as the benchmark — usually 80%, 100%, or 120% of AMI. Your household income has to be at or below the threshold.

Household income in DPA land means everyone living in the home who earns income, not just the borrowers on the loan. Some programs count all adult household members regardless of whether they're on the mortgage. Read the fine print.

AMI is set by HUD and varies by county. The same household income can qualify you in one county and disqualify you in the next one over. Use the specific program's income calculator, not a general AMI table.

A few practical notes:

Bonus income, self-employment income, rental income, and investment income are typically counted. Don't try to hide these — lenders verify with tax returns and bank statements.

If you're just over the income limit, it's worth asking whether overtime income is excluded (some programs exclude it) or whether the limit will be updated soon — AMI limits are usually revised annually.

First-time homebuyer requirements are common. In DPA program language, 'first-time homebuyer' usually means you haven't owned a home in the past 3 years — not that you've literally never owned. Someone who owned a home a decade ago and has been renting since likely qualifies as a first-time buyer for most programs.

Homebuyer education is required for most programs. It's typically a 4-8 hour online course costing $50-$100. Get it done early — some programs require the certificate before you can even be pre-approved through their approved lenders.