Texas Down Payment Assistance 2026: What Changed

Buyers still send me 2025 income limit tables and ask whether they're still right. Most of those are out of date now. Texas down payment assistance moved in 2026 in a few places that matter. It stayed put in others. And a couple of resets are coming before New Year's that could surprise you if you close in January.

I'm going to sort it the way I sort it for my own buyers. First, what already changed. Second, what's about to change. Third, what people keep telling you changed that didn't. Every figure below is as of October 2026 and comes from the agency's own documents.

What's different for Texas DPA buyers in 2026

The federal numbers came out late this year, and the delay affected everything downstream. HUD normally publishes new median family incomes on April 1. In 2026 it moved that to May 1, because the Census Bureau pushed back its 2024 American Community Survey release (HUD's statement explains it). HOME income limits, which many city programs use, took effect June 1, 2026.

On May 6, the IRS released Rev. Proc. 2026-23. It sets new purchase price safe harbors for bond and mortgage credit certificate programs. The Texas agencies built their tables from those federal numbers. TDHCA's new limits took effect July 13, 2026. TSAHC posted its update in July.

Overall, most income limits rose modestly and a few barely moved. TSAHC's non-bond DPA limits rose a lot more, because TSAHC changed the formula for those.

Did Texas DPA income limits go up in 2026?

For most of the state, yes, but less than people hope. These are TDHCA's My First Texas Home and Texas MCC limits, effective July 13, 2026. The first figure is for a household of one or two people, the second for three or more, in non-targeted areas:

• Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land area (Harris and neighboring counties): $104,000 / $119,600, up $2,900 for smaller households compared with 2025
• Dallas area (Dallas, Collin, Denton and others): $121,100 / $139,265, up $3,800
• Fort Worth-Arlington (Tarrant, Johnson, Parker): $110,300 / $126,845, up $3,600
• Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: $134,400 / $154,560, up only $600
• San Antonio-New Braunfels: $104,725 / $120,434
• Balance of state, which includes El Paso: $101,500 / $116,725, up $2,700

El Paso surprises people. HUD's El Paso median sits well below the statewide figure, so the bond programs use the statewide floor instead. Austin is the other one to watch. If your Travis County household was a little over the limit last year, you're probably still over.

One detail trips people up every year. TDHCA counts the income of everyone who will sign the Deed of Trust, and that includes a non-purchasing spouse. For the county-by-county detail, see Texas DPA income limits explained by county.

TSAHC made the bigger move, but only for part of its lineup. According to TSAHC's July 10, 2026 announcement, the non-bond DPA under Home Sweet Texas now goes up to 150% of area median family income, and the non-bond DPA under Homes for Texas Heroes goes up to 170%. In Dallas those limits are $181,650 and $205,870. In Houston they're $156,000 and $176,800. In Austin they're $201,600 and $228,480.

Those higher ceilings don't carry over to TSAHC's bond DPA. Bond DPA is tax-exempt bond money, so it stays under the federal income limits, the same structure you see in TDHCA's table above: 100% of area median for one or two people and 115% for three or more in non-targeted areas, with higher limits in targeted areas. If a lender offers you TSAHC's bond product, use those federal numbers for your county, not the 150% or 170% figures.

There's a second catch, and TSAHC states it directly. TSAHC did not widen the mortgage credit certificate income limit the way it widened its non-bond DPA limits. The MCC still runs on the federal formula, and that formula doesn't produce one number. It depends on household size, county and whether the home sits in a targeted census tract. So the formula didn't change, but the dollar limits did move with the new median incomes, which is why the Dallas MCC figure for three or more people is now $139,265. If you pair an MCC with non-bond DPA, you have to pass both tests, and the MCC test is usually the harder one to pass, because its income limit is lower.

Take an example: a two-teacher household in Dallas earning $180,000. That household could fit under the Heroes limit for non-bond DPA and still be well over the MCC column, or the bond DPA column, for its household size. If you're counting on the tax credit, look up your county row and household size on the current table, and run both tests.

Purchase price limits and first-mortgage loan limits in 2026

TDHCA's My First Texas Home purchase price limits for single-unit homes, effective July 13, 2026:

• Balance of state and the Houston area: $566,354 non-targeted, $692,211 targeted
• Austin area: $598,019 and $730,912
• Dallas and Fort Worth areas: $589,596 and $720,617
• San Antonio area: $583,580 and $713,265

TDHCA's My Choice Texas Home has no purchase price limits of its own and no first-time buyer requirement. It follows the first-mortgage agency's rules and uses its own income table. If you've owned a home before or you're shopping above the My First Texas Home caps, that's the option to ask about.

The packet I work from doesn't include every county's FHA and conforming limit, so I won't quote them here. Look up your county on HUD's FHA mortgage limits page before you write an offer.

TDHCA My First Texas Home: 2026 changes (mostly none)

TDHCA's program matrix, published August 17, 2026, keeps the core program where it was. Assistance is still figured as a percentage of the total loan amount, offered in several tiers, funding permitting. You can choose a deferred repayable second lien, which is due when you sell, refinance or pay off the first mortgage. You can choose a forgivable option instead. Or you can take a first lien with no DPA at all.

The minimum middle credit score is still 620. FHA, VA and USDA manual underwrites are allowed up to a 45% DTI. HUD-certified homebuyer education is still required for every borrower.

What actually changes from week to week is which tiers are open. On TDHCA's October 28 rate notice, the smallest assistance tier was listed as unavailable on the standard bond-funded My First Texas Home without an MCC. Other tiers were open. Don't assume the option your cousin used in March is on today's sheet.

The bonus money is easy to overlook. TDHCA lists housing finance corporation gift funds that can sit on top of its products, first come, first served. Capital Area HFC offers a gift that varies by county. Harris County HFC offers one too, but not inside the City of Houston and several other cities. McKinney HFC has its own. Each one limits which TDHCA products it pairs with, so check the matrix. If you're comparing the two state agencies, I laid that out in TDHCA vs. TSAHC.

TSAHC Homes for Texas Heroes and Home Sweet Texas: 2026 changes

The income limit increase gets the headlines, but TSAHC made smaller changes too. In April it started allowing single-wide manufactured homes on conventional loans. In May it added a deferred repayable second lien option to its bond DPA. In July it raised the maximum DTI on FHA manual underwrites to 45%. In September it posted public notice of a new 2026 Qualified MCC Program.

The rule I explain most often hasn't changed. TSAHC no longer offers a standalone MCC. The credit has to ride along with an eligible TSAHC loan, either the No DPA option or non-bond DPA. It can't be combined with bond DPA.

City and county programs: funding rounds that grew, moved or shrank in 2026

This is where 2025 articles go wrong most often.

Houston's Homebuyer Assistance Program is closed right now. As of October 29, the city's HAP page says available funds are exhausted and it is no longer accepting or processing additional applications. Earlier in the year the program raised its cap in its Version 8.0 guidelines (June 23, 2026), and in September it added TIRZ funding. Neither of those means assistance is available today. A higher cap doesn't help anyone while intake is shut, so if a Houston buyer tells me they're counting on HAP, we plan the file without it unless the city reopens.

Dallas DHAP moved administration to BCL of Texas effective May 1, 2026, and its Targeted Occupations funding ran out. Fort Worth HAP raised its maximum award effective April 15. The city then trimmed its FY2027 HAP budget, so the larger awards come out of a slightly smaller pool.

Austin is still unsettled. On August 11, AHFC staff presented a proposal to substantially raise maximum DPA, paired with shared appreciation. A proposal is not a program guideline, so confirm with Austin Housing what's actually in effect before you count on it. San Antonio cut its HIP 120 General Fund budget for FY2026.

City money is limited and usually first come, first served, so it can run out mid-year, as Houston just showed. If you're buying in Harris County, I keep Houston's options up to date separately.

What did not change, despite what you've read

TDHCA's 620 minimum score did not change. TSAHC's minimums didn't change either, but TSAHC has two of them: 620 on government loans (FHA, VA and USDA) and 640 on conventional loans. TSAHC's guidelines also put FHA manual underwrites and manufactured homes at 640. So if you're going conventional through TSAHC, or your file is a manual underwrite or a manufactured home, a score in the 620s won't clear TSAHC's bar. Ask your lender which minimum applies to your loan type before you assume 620 is enough.

Neither statewide agency ran out of down payment assistance. TSAHC says the funding source for most of its DPA options is unlimited. One TDHCA event got passed around in September as "TDHCA is out of money." As of September 23, the mortgage loan proceeds from TDHCA's RMRB Series 2026B and 2026C bonds were fully reserved, and TDHCA moved new loan reservations to Series 2026D. That's normal bond-program housekeeping, not a funding cliff.

The MCC credit rate at both agencies stayed where it was.

When do the 2027 loan limits come out?

FHFA releases its third-quarter House Price Index on Tuesday, November 24, 2026. That release triggers the 2027 conforming loan limits, which apply to loans delivered to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac on or after January 1, 2027. You can track it on FHFA's HPI page.

HUD usually announces next year's FHA limits in late November or early December. Those apply to FHA case numbers assigned on or after January 1, 2027. As of October 29, HUD hasn't published that mortgagee letter yet.

The DPA income and purchase price limits don't reset on January 1. They follow the HUD and IRS cycle, and this year that put the update in July. I'd expect the next TDHCA and TSAHC update around mid-2027, but nobody has promised a date.

Closing in December or January? Which date locks your numbers

Each limit follows a different date, and the dates don't line up.

The conforming limit depends on when your lender delivers the loan to Fannie or Freddie. That happens after closing, so a late-December closing can still be delivered in January. The FHA limit depends on when your FHA case number was assigned. For bond and MCC purchase price limits, the IRS ties the test to the date of the written commitment to provide financing. Rev. Proc. 2026-23 even included a transition window for commitments made before July 6, 2026.

For TDHCA and TSAHC, ask your lender directly whether your reservation or lock date sets your income and price limits, or whether the closing date does. Ask them to put the answer in writing.

In practice, the bigger December risk for DPA buyers usually isn't a loan limit. It's a lock that expires because the closing slipped. TDHCA charges extension fees when a loan isn't purchased within its 60-day deadline, and city funds can run out while you wait.

How to confirm current figures before you sign anything

Start with TDHCA's limits PDF and look at the effective date printed at the top. If it doesn't say July 13, 2026, you're looking at an old copy. For TSAHC, take its eligibility quiz, which uses county-level limits and checks the DPA and MCC limits separately. For city programs, call the administrator, not the city's general line, and ask whether they're taking applications today. In Dallas that's now BCL of Texas.

Then rerun your numbers with current figures in the DPA calculator.

FAQ

Are 2025 Texas DPA income limits still valid?

Not for TDHCA or TSAHC. Both published 2026 limits in July, and those replace the 2025 tables.

Did TSAHC's MCC income limit go up with its DPA limits?

Not the way the non-bond DPA limits did. The MCC still follows the federal formula, which depends on household size, county and targeted-area status. The dollar figures move each year with median income, so check your row on the current TDHCA table rather than assuming one percentage.

Do I have to be a first-time buyer for TDHCA?

For My First Texas Home, yes, unless an exemption applies. You can't have owned and occupied a primary residence in the last three years. Qualified veterans and buyers in targeted census tracts are exempt. My Choice Texas Home has no first-time buyer requirement.

If you're holding an older table or a pre-approval and aren't sure which 2026 numbers apply to you, take the qualifier quiz. I'll look at your county, your household size and your closing date, and tell you which programs you fit right now.