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First-time home buyer programs in Texas

By Mariela Lovo Ol, REALTOR® · Updated

First-time home buyer programs in Texas come mainly from two state agencies, TDHCA and TSAHC, plus federal loans such as FHA, VA and USDA. Several pair a 30-year fixed mortgage with down payment help, and one lowers your federal taxes. Here is how each works and where to confirm today's terms.

Who counts as a first-time home buyer?

Under the federal housing definition, you are a first-time buyer if you and your spouse have not owned a home in the three years before the purchase. The definition also covers single parents and displaced homemakers who owned a home only with a former spouse. It also covers buyers whose only prior home was not on a permanent foundation.

Texas programs apply their own version. For example, My First Texas Home waives the rule for qualified veterans. It also waives it for homes in qualified targeted census tracts.

What is My First Texas Home?

My First Texas Home comes from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA). It is a 30-year fixed-rate FHA, VA or USDA mortgage for first-time buyers. It can include down payment assistance of 2% to 5% of the loan amount, funding permitting. Its program matrix, published August 17, 2026, lists a 620 minimum middle credit score and HUD-certified homebuyer education.

The assistance is a 0% second lien in one of two forms. A 30-year deferred loan is repaid when you sell, refinance, transfer or pay off the first mortgage. A 3-year deferred loan is forgiven after 36 months. You must stay current on payments and keep the home as your residence. Income and purchase price limits apply, and federal recapture tax may apply.

What if I have owned a home before?

TDHCA's My Choice Texas Home has no first-time buyer requirement. It offers the same 2% to 5% assistance options with FHA, VA, USDA and conventional loans. The August 17, 2026 matrix lists a 620 minimum middle credit score, no purchase price limits and no recapture tax.

What does TSAHC offer home buyers?

The Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation (TSAHC) runs Homes for Texas Heroes and Home Sweet Texas. Both provide up to 5% of the loan amount for down payment and closing costs. The help can be a grant. It can be a second lien forgiven after three years, or a deferred second lien you repay when you sell or refinance.

Homes for Texas Heroes serves full-time public school educators and aides, police, firefighters and EMS staff. It also serves corrections officers, nursing and allied health faculty, and veterans or active military. Home Sweet Texas serves buyers who do not work in those jobs.

How does the Texas Mortgage Credit Certificate work?

A Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) cuts your federal income tax dollar for dollar. The amount is based on the mortgage interest you pay. TDHCA offers it to first-time buyers and veterans. You can get it with a TDHCA mortgage or on its own, with no minimum credit score. TDHCA notes that supplies are limited. TSAHC also offers MCCs to first-time buyers within income and price limits.

How do FHA, VA and USDA loans help first-time buyers?

FHA loans, insured through HUD, allow a down payment as low as 3.5% of the purchase price. VA loans let eligible service members and veterans buy with no down payment. The price must not exceed the appraised value. VA loans skip monthly mortgage insurance. A one-time funding fee applies, and you need a Certificate of Eligibility.

USDA guaranteed loans offer 100% financing in eligible rural areas. Households can earn up to 115% of the area median income. Check any address on USDA's eligibility map before you count on it.

What should I do before I make an offer?

Get pre-approved with a lender that offers TDHCA or TSAHC programs. Ask for Loan Estimates with and without assistance. Many cities add their own help; see down payment assistance in Texas. Test payments with the affordability calculator, then talk with Mariela. She is a REALTOR®, not a lender.

Programs change and funding can run out. Before you sign a contract, check the current terms, limits and funds. Ask the program office and a lender who works with the program.

Common questions

What credit score do Texas state programs require?

TDHCA's program matrices published August 17, 2026 list a 620 minimum middle credit score for My First Texas Home and My Choice Texas Home. The stand-alone Texas Mortgage Credit Certificate has no minimum score. Lenders may add their own rules.

Do I have to repay Texas down payment assistance?

It depends on the option. TDHCA and TSAHC offer deferred loans repaid when you sell or refinance, and loans forgiven after three years. TSAHC also offers a grant option that is never repaid.

Can a veteran use My First Texas Home after owning a home?

Yes, in many cases. The program waives the first-time buyer rule for qualified veterans with an honorable discharge. They must not have used that exemption before. It is also waived for homes in qualified targeted census tracts.

Is the Texas MCC the same as down payment help?

No. An MCC lowers your federal income tax each year you have the mortgage. It does not pay costs at closing. Ask a participating lender whether combining it with assistance makes sense for you.

How much house can I afford? Contact

Sources

  1. Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), Freddie Mac (read 2026-09-24)
  2. Loan Estimate explainer, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (read 2026-09-24)
  3. What is a Loan Estimate?, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (read 2026-09-24)
  4. What's a lock-in or a rate lock?, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (read 2026-09-24)
  5. What is the difference between a mortgage interest rate and an APR?, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (read 2026-09-24)
  6. Property Tax, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts (read 2026-09-24)
  7. Programs — The Texas Homebuyer Program, Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (read 2026-09-24)
  8. My First Texas Home Program Matrix (published August 17, 2026), Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (read 2026-09-24)
  9. My Choice Texas Home Program Matrix (published August 17, 2026), Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (read 2026-09-24)
  10. Texas Mortgage Credit Certificate Program, Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (read 2026-09-24)
  11. Homebuyer Programs, Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation (read 2026-09-24)
  12. Loans and Down Payment Assistance, Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation (read 2026-09-24)
  13. 42 U.S. Code § 12704 — Definitions (first-time homebuyer), Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School (read 2026-09-24)
  14. Loans (FHA), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (read 2026-09-24)
  15. VA-backed purchase loan, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (read 2026-09-24)
  16. Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program, USDA Rural Development (read 2026-09-24)
  17. Dallas Homebuyer Assistance Program (DHAP), City of Dallas, Housing & Homelessness Division (read 2026-09-24)
  18. Dallas Homebuyer Assistance Program (DHAP), Business and Community Lenders of Texas (read 2026-09-24)
  19. Homebuyer Assistance Program, City of Fort Worth (read 2026-09-24)
  20. Down Payment Assistance (program list and status), Housing Channel (read 2026-09-24)
  21. Tarrant County Housing Assistance Program, Housing Channel (read 2026-09-24)
  22. HOME Investment Partnership Program, Tarrant County Community Development and Housing Department (read 2026-09-24)
  23. MCC with Down Payment Assistance, Garland Housing Finance Corporation (read 2026-09-24)
  24. Buying Power Program, City of Grand Prairie, Housing and Neighborhood Services (read 2026-09-24)
  25. Homebuyer Down Payment Assistance Program, City of Irving, Housing & Redevelopment (read 2026-09-24)
  26. Down Payment Assistance Program, City of Mesquite (read 2026-09-24)
  27. Down Payment Assistance Program, City of Frisco (read 2026-09-24)
  28. Homebuyer Assistance, City of McKinney (read 2026-09-24)
  29. Home Loan Counseling Center, Dallas County Health and Human Services (read 2026-09-24)
  30. Upfront Cost Assistance Program (UPCAP) Information Letter, 7/1/2023, Dallas County Home Loan Counseling Center (read 2026-09-24)
  31. Homebuyer Resources, City of Denton (read 2026-09-24)
  32. First Time Homebuyers Education Class, City of Plano (read 2026-09-24)

For illustration only. This is not a loan offer, a commitment to lend, or an advertisement of credit terms. Actual rates, payments and eligibility depend on your lender, credit, and the property. Talk to a licensed loan officer for a quote.