First-time home buyer programs in Texas: TDHCA, TSAHC, Dallas

Who counts as a “first-time buyer” in Texas?

TDHCA’s My First Texas Home matrix (August 17, 2026) treats you as a first-time buyer if you have not owned and occupied a primary residence in the last three years. A non-purchasing spouse must meet the same test. Two exceptions apply:

• Qualified veterans, honorably discharged (proof: DD-214), who have not already used this exception for a bond-financed mortgage. TSAHC’s guidelines (revised September 9, 2026) add that active-duty members do not qualify for this waiver.
• Targeted areas: homes in census tracts designated as areas of economic distress, which also have higher income and price limits.

Many programs do not require first-time status at all.

TDHCA: My First Texas Home and My Choice Texas Home

TDHCA pairs a 30-year fixed-rate first mortgage with a second lien. According to its August 2026 matrices, both programs:

• give 2% to 5% of the total loan amount, “funding permitting”;
• offer a 3-year deferred forgivable second lien at 0%, forgiven after 36 months if you stay current and keep the home as your main residence, or a 30-year deferred repayable one at 0%, due when you sell, refinance or pay off the first loan;
• require a 620 credit score, HUD-certified homebuyer education and move-in within 60 days.

My First Texas Home is for first-time buyers, has income and price limits, and may trigger the federal recapture tax. My Choice Texas Home accepts repeat buyers, has no price limit and, per its matrix, no recapture tax. TDHCA’s limits for the Dallas area (Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Hunt, Kaufman, Rockwall), effective July 13, 2026: My First Texas Home $121,100 for 1–2 people and $139,265 for 3 or more, price cap $589,596 ($720,617 in targeted tracts); My Choice $94,000 to $205,870 depending on loan type.

TSAHC: Homes for Texas Heroes and Home Sweet Texas

Homes for Texas Heroes serves full-time public school educators, police, firefighters, EMS, corrections officers, county jailers, nursing and allied-health faculty, and veterans. Home Sweet Texas serves low- and moderate-income households in any job. Per TSAHC’s pages and guidelines:

• assistance is 2%, 3%, 4% or 5% of the loan amount;
• it is a grant (government loans only; it need not be repaid once six months have passed after closing), a 3-year forgivable second lien at 0%, or, for bond-funded options, a 30-year deferred repayable lien;
• minimum credit score is 620 (government loans) or 640 (conventional);
• first-time status is not required for the non-bond option, which has no purchase price limit.

As of October 2026, TSAHC’s county tool shows limits for Dallas County of $181,650 (Home Sweet Texas, FHA/VA/USDA loan) and $205,870 (Texas Heroes).

Mortgage Credit Certificates (MCC)

An MCC is a federal tax credit equal to a share of the mortgage interest you pay each year while the home is your main residence. TDHCA’s rate notice of October 13, 2026 and TSAHC’s guidelines both set the credit rate at 15%. Both require first-time status, with the same exceptions, and in the Dallas area the income limits are the My First Texas Home figures above.

• TDHCA offers it with My First Texas Home (fee $400) or stand-alone with an outside loan (fee $1,000, no minimum credit score). Fees are waived on the military options.
• TSAHC’s stand-alone MCC “has been discontinued indefinitely”; it now comes only with its loans, and the $400 fee is waived for Texas Heroes.

Example. If you pay $16,000 of mortgage interest in a year, a 15% MCC gives a $2,400 credit, and on IRS Form 8396 you deduct only the remaining $13,600 of interest. The credit cannot exceed your federal tax; TSAHC says unused credit carries forward three years. The IRS $2,000 cap applies only to certificates above 20%.

Dallas Homebuyer Assistance Program (DHAP)

The city program is in place. Since May 1, 2026, a nonprofit lender runs it for the city; contact details are on the city’s DHAP page. The terms listed there:

• up to $60,000 in High Opportunity Areas and $50,000 elsewhere in Dallas, based on need;
• income at or below 80% of area median income: $65,700 for one person, $93,850 for four (limits effective June 1, 2025);
• maximum sales price $342,000, and the housing payment cannot exceed 35% of gross monthly income;
• a 0% forgivable second lien, forgiven gradually over an affordability period, with partial repayment if you sell, lease or transfer earlier.

An Anti-Displacement option (up to $50,000) serves residents of 10 years or more buying in designated areas. The city page lists no first-time requirement, and funds are first come, first served. See our Dallas page.

Comparison of the main programs

On a $280,000 first mortgage, 5% assistance is $14,000, enough for the minimum down payment on an FHA loan and part of the closing costs. You apply through a participating lender; the home-buying steps guide shows where this fits.