El Paso Down Payment Assistance: 2026 Buyer Guide

This is the message I get from El Paso buyers most often. "I found the city's homebuyer page, it looks like the money's gone, so I guess there's nothing for me?"

There usually is. The city program is real, but in El Paso it's the smallest piece and the hardest one to use. A lot of buyers here will end up with a statewide program as their foundation. The useful question is which layer to put down first.

What down payment assistance is available in El Paso right now?

As of October 2026, an El Paso buyer is choosing among four kinds of help:

1. The City of El Paso's first-time homebuyer assistance, run by the Department of Community and Human Development (DCHD), paid for with federal HUD money, and limited to low-income households.
2. The El Paso Housing Finance Corporation, a separate entity from the city, which runs its own Mi Casa homebuyer grant. Check with HFC directly on whether it's taking applications.
3. The statewide programs. That's TDHCA's My First Texas Home and TSAHC's Homes for Texas Heroes and Home Sweet Texas. Both cover El Paso County.
4. The Housing Authority's Section 8 Homeownership Program, if you already hold a Housing Choice Voucher.

You don't apply for TDHCA or TSAHC at a state office. You go through an approved private lender. The city and HFC each have their own intake process.

The City of El Paso program, and why the price cap is the catch

DCHD describes its housing work as aid for "low-income residents seeking their first home." In practice that means several limits, and you have to meet every one of them.

The first is income. The top of the city's range is 80% of area median income, but don't assume that's the only test. The city's qualification language may also set a minimum income, which means a household well below 80% isn't automatically in. Ask DCHD for both ends of the range, and ask whether any exception applies if you fall below the bottom. HUD publishes the AMI figures by household size for the El Paso HUD Metro FMR Area, so look up your own household on HUD USER's income limits page before you count on qualifying.

The second is the purchase price, and it causes far more trouble. The city limits price to 95% of the area median purchase price, and the city adjusts that figure itself. I couldn't find a current city document showing the 2026 number. Call DCHD at (915) 212-0138 and ask for the current figure before you look at houses.

Here's why that matters. Pull up current El Paso listings and compare them to whatever cap DCHD gives you. If the cap comes in well below typical listing prices, the city program fits only the lower part of the market. That tends to mean older homes in established neighborhoods, condos, and the occasional fixer.

Then there's structure and timing. Because the city's homebuyer help is federally funded, HUD's HOME rules (24 CFR 92.254) set a minimum affordability period, and it gets longer the more assistance you receive. Those tiers have changed over time, so ask DCHD which period applies to your amount. The city's assistance isn't all built the same way. Depending on the piece of help and the amount, it can be a loan you repay over time, a deferred second lien that comes due if you sell, transfer or lease the home, or a forgivable deferred loan, and the term doesn't always match the HUD minimum period. Ask DCHD to spell out your structure in writing, including what happens if you sell, transfer or lease the home early. Our post on whether you have to repay Texas DPA explains how these schedules work. Funding comes from the city's HUD grants, so availability can change from year to year. Ask DCHD whether it's accepting applications right now when you call.

Education is required too. The city requires its Guide to Homeownership Course and lists Project Bravo and GECU Community Development as the providers. Confirm with DCHD when the course has to be finished and who the current providers are, and take the course the city names. Another class may not count.

Is there El Paso County down payment assistance?

I couldn't find one. My search didn't turn up a homebuyer assistance program run by El Paso County government, but I also couldn't find an official county document that says so either way. Call the county before you rule it out. If you're buying in Horizon City, Socorro, or unincorporated county land and nothing local turns up, the statewide programs do the work.

One exception affects a smaller group. The Housing Authority of the City of El Paso (HACEP), which now operates as HOME (Housing Opportunity Management Enterprises), has a Section 8 Homeownership Program. Families with Housing Choice Vouchers can put the voucher toward a mortgage instead of rent. If you're on a voucher now, call them before you call a lender.

TDHCA and TSAHC in El Paso

Most El Paso buyers will end up here, and the two programs work differently.

TSAHC's income limits depend on which piece of assistance you use. If you're using Non-Bond DPA on its own, or Bond DPA outside a targeted area, the limit doesn't change with household size. Homes for Texas Heroes carries a higher limit than Home Sweet Texas. Add a Mortgage Credit Certificate, or use Bond DPA in a targeted area, and the rules shift again. Some of those combinations set different limits for one- and two-person households versus three or more, and some use a single cap regardless of household size. Which one you get depends on the loan type and income tier you fall into. Purchase price limits are a separate question. TSAHC's guidelines tie them to MCC and Bond DPA transactions, and they're higher in targeted census tracts, so ask your lender whether a price cap applies to the combination you're using. Check the current figures for your address and program combination in TSAHC's county limits tool, because tract designation and the MCC both change the numbers.

TDHCA's My First Texas Home sets income limits by household size, with one limit for one- and two-person households and a higher one for three or more. Confirm the current El Paso County figures directly with TDHCA or with a participating lender.

The gap between the city's limits and the statewide ones is the whole story in El Paso. A household earning too much for the city program, and buying a house priced above the city cap, can still be inside the statewide limits. That describes many working couples here. If you're stuck deciding between the two statewide agencies, start with TDHCA vs. TSAHC.

Watch who counts toward income, because with TSAHC it depends on the combination you're using. For Non-Bond DPA without an MCC, TSAHC's income guidelines look at the income of the qualifying mortgagors, so a spouse who isn't buying with you generally isn't counted. Bond DPA and MCC transactions use different family-income rules, and TSAHC's FAQ describes a broader test where the income of anyone on the deed of trust counts and, for a married couple, both spouses' gross income can count even if one isn't on title. A non-occupant co-signer who signs only the note doesn't count. If your spouse isn't on the loan, ask your lender which test applies to your setup before you decide you're over or under the limit.

Can you stack City of El Paso assistance with TDHCA or TSAHC?

In some cases, yes. Treat it as something to confirm, not something to assume.

The mechanics work like this. Your first mortgage sits in first position. Statewide DPA can come as a second lien loan or as a grant. With TSAHC, the lien choice matters more than people expect. TSAHC's program guidelines generally allow another subordinate lien from a source like the city only when you take TSAHC's DPA as a grant, not as a second lien loan. In that setup, the city's loan sits second, right behind the first mortgage, instead of stacking behind a statewide second. If you're using TDHCA, ask your lender how its rules handle another lien. Ask DCHD what it reviews before it signs off on a layered deal. Your first-mortgage guidelines also cap how much total financing they'll accept, and that cap varies by loan type and investor.

In my experience, the stack usually breaks because of the property, not the paperwork. You need a house priced under the city cap and a household income inside the city's range. If you meet both, you're likely inside the statewide income limits too, so the stack can work on paper. Then the inspection standards for federally funded city help and the fixed timeline for statewide funds have to line up on the same closing.

If you're in that group, here's my advice. Confirm with your lender which statewide option leaves room for a city lien, and get that approved first. Then ask DCHD in writing whether its lien can sit behind your first mortgage in that structure. If the city money comes through, it's a bonus. Don't build the deal around it.

Why El Paso's lower AMI cuts both ways

HUD's FY2026 median family income for the El Paso HUD Metro FMR Area is low compared with Austin or Dallas. That median is what HUD's income limits here are built from, and it affects the two kinds of programs in opposite ways.

For the city program, the median drives a modest 80% cap. The cap is pegged to median prices, which keeps the price limit low too. For the statewide programs, El Paso's limits are set well above the city's 80% cap, so a household that feels middle-class in El Paso may still qualify. I've seen buyers rule themselves out because they read an income limit from an Austin or Dallas post. Our county-by-county income limits guide shows why those numbers don't carry over.

Should a Fort Bliss buyer use DPA with a VA loan?

Sometimes. It depends on cash, location, and how long you'll stay.

With a VA loan, the down payment often isn't where military buyers run short. Closing costs are. That means the appraisal, title and escrow charges, prepaid taxes and insurance, and the VA funding fee if you aren't exempt. TSAHC's Homes for Texas Heroes includes veterans and can be paired with VA financing, and the assistance can go toward those closing costs. Our VA loan plus TSAHC guide explains how it works.

Location matters too. City of El Paso help generally requires a home inside city limits. TSAHC has no such boundary, which helps if you're looking in Horizon City or the far east side outside city limits.

Here are the cases where I'd tell a Fort Bliss buyer to skip DPA. If you have the cash for closing costs, or can negotiate seller concessions, DPA can add a second lien, a program rate, and a fixed timeline you don't need. If you expect orders within a few years and the assistance is a forgivable second, you could leave before it's forgiven. Ask your lender to price the loan with DPA and without it, side by side. Tell your lender your expected PCS or report-no-later-than date on day one, because statewide funds can expire if the closing date moves.

Picking your first layer

Here's how I'd sort it, roughly.

If your household income falls inside the city's range (top end 80% AMI, and ask DCHD where the bottom is), you're buying under the city's price cap, inside city limits, and you're a first-time buyer, start a statewide program and call DCHD and HFC the same week. You may be able to stack.

If your income sits below the city's minimum, ask DCHD whether any exception applies. Either way, lean on the statewide programs or HFC rather than waiting on the city.

If you're over 80% AMI, or the house is priced above the city cap, the city is out. Choose between TSAHC and TDHCA based on your household size, credit, and loan type. The Heroes track is worth checking if you're a teacher, a first responder, or a veteran.

If you're a VA-eligible Fort Bliss buyer, decide whether you need closing-cost help at all before you add a lien. If you do, TSAHC is usually where I'd look first.

If you hold a Section 8 voucher, start with HACEP's homeownership program and layer from there.

Getting started in El Paso

Pick the lender before the house. TSAHC's Find a Lender tool lists only loan officers who closed at least four TSAHC loans in the past year, and the list is updated quarterly. Take the homebuyer course your program actually names. If the city is part of your plan, ask DCHD for the current price cap, both ends of its income range, the funding status, and when its required course has to be done, before you write an offer.

If you're renting in El Paso and still don't know which of these layers fits you, take our qualifier quiz. I'll look at your income, your household, and whether you have VA entitlement, and tell you which programs are actually open to you and which ones you'd have to pay back.