The short version. Down payment help comes in a few forms: a grant you keep if you stay long enough, a forgivable second loan that is written off over time, a deferred second loan whose payments are put off and repaid later, a tax credit, and gifts from family. Most of it is run by state and local agencies, so the right program depends on where you buy. Some programs charge a higher rate on your first mortgage, which is a real cost. Use the tool below to see what a program is worth to you, and the table to find your state's agency.
We read these sources on September 26, 2026: the CFPB, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the National Council of State Housing Agencies. Programs, limits and rates change during the year, so read the sources and their dates and confirm with a lender.
The kinds of help, in plain words
The CFPB, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac describe the same handful of forms. The last column is what to ask about, because it is where programs differ.
| Form | What it is | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Grant | Funds you do not have to pay back, as long as you own and occupy the home for a certain period (Freddie Mac: Down payment assistance programs). | How long must I stay, and what happens if I sell or refinance sooner? |
| Second mortgage, forgivable or deferred | Freddie Mac calls it the most common source: many second loans from state and local governments have low or zero interest and payments deferred over a specified time span, and in many cases are completely forgiven over time (Freddie Mac: Down payment assistance programs). The CFPB adds that local nonprofit or government organizations sometimes offer a second mortgage on special terms in place of a down payment (CFPB: Where can I get money for a down payment on a home?). | Is it forgiven or repaid? When is it due, and what happens if I refinance? Is the rate on my first mortgage higher because of it? |
| Mortgage credit certificate | A tax credit issued by certain states and local governments, including housing finance agencies, that reduces the federal income tax you pay (Freddie Mac: Down payment assistance programs). | How much is the credit, and does it need to be repaid if I sell? Our Texas guide works through one in detail. |
| Gift from family | Allowed for some loans if you can prove where the money came from and sign a statement that it is a gift and not a third-party loan (CFPB: Where can I get money for a down payment on a home?). | Does my loan allow gifts, and who counts as a permitted giver? |
| Zero-down federal loans | VA loans for eligible veterans, servicemembers and surviving spouses, and USDA loans for low- and moderate-income buyers in eligible rural areas (CFPB: Special loan programs). | Am I eligible? See the VA purchase loan and USDA guaranteed loan program pages. |
What assistance really costs you
The headline number, such as "$9,000 toward your down payment", is only half the picture. Two other things matter: whether you owe the money back, and whether the first mortgage carries a higher rate because of the assistance. This tool puts them side by side for the number of years you expect to stay. It uses the rates from your own quotes, and your lender decides which program terms apply. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
The same assistance if you stay a different length of time
| Years you stay | Owed back | Rate cost | Net effect |
|---|
Principal and interest on a 30-year fixed loan only. "Net effect" is the assistance you receive, minus what you owe back, minus the extra cost of the higher rate. A sale before the forgiveness date is shown as owing the whole amount, the worst case, because some programs prorate and others do not. It does not include closing costs or the value of being able to buy at all. If you refinance, the higher rate ends, but a second loan may come due, so ask what happens.
A worked example
Take a $300,000 first mortgage, $9,000 of assistance (3% of the loan) and a rate that is a quarter point higher with the assistance, 6.75% instead of 6.5%. The higher rate adds about $50 a month. If the assistance is a forgivable loan that needs a 5-year stay and you stay 7, you owe nothing back and the rate costs you about $5,279 by the time you sell, so you come out about $3,721 ahead. Sell in year 3 instead and the whole $9,000 is owed back, so the net is about -$2,258. In this example the forgivable loan first pays off in year 5. If the same $9,000 were a deferred loan that you repay in full when you sell, the only real cost would be the rate: $5,279 over 7 years. That is not a bad deal if it lets you buy, but it is not free money.
Where the help comes from
Fannie Mae, which buys mortgages from lenders, lists the sources it accepts for each form (Fannie Mae: Down Payment and Closing Cost Assistance). In its words:
- Gifts from a relative by blood, marriage, domestic partnership, adoption or legal guardianship, including a spouse, child or other dependent, and from non-relatives with a familial relationship, such as a domestic partner, a person engaged to marry the borrower, a former relative, or someone with a long-standing familial or mentorship relationship.
- Grants from employers, municipalities, states, counties, state or local housing finance agencies, nonprofit organizations (not credit unions), federal agencies, regional Federal Home Loan Banks, Native American tribes and their sovereign instrumentalities, or lenders under specific conditions.
- Community Seconds: a second mortgage from many of the same sources as grants, with a second lien or other document placed on the property to enforce the program's rules. Fannie Mae does not buy the Community Seconds mortgage itself but does buy the first mortgages that go with one, and a loan can have more than one Community Seconds mortgage up to a combined loan-to-value of 105%.
- Sweat equity on HomeReady loans: the value of volunteer work on the home can count toward the down payment, and Fannie Mae no longer requires a 3% personal contribution or caps the amount.
Freddie Mac adds that many programs are aimed at veterans, Native Americans and workers in education, health care, law enforcement and firefighting, and the CFPB adds people interested in a particular neighborhood (Freddie Mac: Down payment assistance programs; CFPB: Special loan programs). The CFPB says many of these programs focus on low- and moderate-income families buying their first home, though some may be open to people who have owned before, and that mortgage insurance is required by many state and local programs.
Find your state's housing agency
State housing finance agencies run most of the assistance programs. The National Council of State Housing Agencies says every state agency was created by its state to meet its own needs, and to contact the agency directly to learn about its programs (NCSHA: Find a State Housing Finance Agency). Below is that directory for every state and Washington, DC. Two states have deeper guides here: California and Texas.
| State | Housing finance agency |
|---|---|
| Alabama | Alabama Housing Finance Authority www.ahfa.com |
| Alaska | Alaska Housing Finance Corporation www.ahfc.us |
| Arizona | Arizona Department of Housing housing.az.gov |
| Arkansas | Arkansas Development Finance Authority www.arkansas.gov/adfa |
| California | California Housing Finance Agency www.calhfa.ca.gov |
| Colorado | Colorado Housing and Finance Authority www.chfainfo.com |
| Connecticut | Connecticut Housing Finance Authority www.chfa.org |
| Delaware | Delaware State Housing Authority www.destatehousing.com |
| District of Columbia | District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency www.dchfa.org |
| Florida | Florida Housing Finance Corporation www.floridahousing.org |
| Georgia | Georgia Department of Community Affairs (Georgia Housing and Finance Authority) dca.georgia.gov |
| Hawaii | Hawaiʻi Housing Finance and Development Corporation www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/hhfdc |
| Idaho | Idaho Housing and Finance Association www.idahohousing.com |
| Illinois | Illinois Housing Development Authority www.ihda.org |
| Indiana | Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority www.in.gov/ihcda |
| Iowa | Iowa Finance Authority opportunityiowa.gov |
| Kansas | Kansas Housing Resources Corporation kshousingcorp.org |
| Kentucky | Kentucky Housing Corporation www.kyhousing.org |
| Louisiana | Louisiana Housing Corporation www.lhc.la.gov |
| Maine | MaineHousing www.mainehousing.org |
| Maryland | Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development dhcd.maryland.gov |
| Massachusetts | MassHousing www.masshousing.com |
| Michigan | Michigan State Housing Development Authority www.michigan.gov/mshda |
| Minnesota | Minnesota Housing www.mnhousing.gov |
| Mississippi | Mississippi Home Corporation www.mshomecorp.com |
| Missouri | Missouri Housing Development Commission www.mhdc.com |
| Montana | Montana Board of Housing commerce.mt.gov/housing |
| Nebraska | Nebraska Investment Finance Authority www.nifa.org |
| Nevada | Nevada Housing Division housing.nv.gov |
| New Hampshire | New Hampshire Housing www.nhhousing.org |
| New Jersey | New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency www.njhousing.gov |
| New Mexico | Housing New Mexico www.housingnm.org |
| New York | New York State Homes and Community Renewal www.hcr.ny.gov |
| North Carolina | North Carolina Housing Finance Agency www.nchfa.com |
| North Dakota | North Dakota Housing Finance Agency www.ndhousing.nd.gov |
| Ohio | Ohio Housing Finance Agency www.ohiohome.org |
| Oklahoma | Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency www.ohfa.org |
| Oregon | Oregon Housing and Community Services www.ohcs.oregon.gov |
| Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency www.phfa.org |
| Rhode Island | Rhode Island Housing www.rihousing.com |
| South Carolina | South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority www.schousing.com |
| South Dakota | South Dakota Housing Development Authority www.sdhda.org |
| Tennessee | Tennessee Housing Development Agency www.thda.org |
| Texas | Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs www.tdhca.texas.gov |
| Utah | Utah Housing Corporation www.utahhousingcorp.org |
| Vermont | Vermont Housing Finance Agency www.vhfa.org |
| Virginia | Virginia Housing www.virginiahousing.com |
| Washington | Washington State Housing Finance Commission www.wshfc.org |
| West Virginia | West Virginia Housing Development Fund www.wvhdf.com |
| Wisconsin | Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority www.wheda.com |
| Wyoming | Wyoming Community Development Authority www.wyomingcda.com |
The names and web addresses are as NCSHA lists them. We could open most of these agency websites only through Internet Archive copies, so an agency's name is a link only where we found a 2026 archived copy of that exact address, and the rest are shown as plain text. If an address does not work, use NCSHA's own directory linked above. Other places to look: a HUD-approved housing counselor through the CFPB: Find a housing counselor tool, the local lenders in your area, and, for a zero-down loan, the USDA guaranteed loan program and VA purchase loan pages. Freddie Mac mentions DPA One, a free tool its lenders use to find assistance in your area, so ask your lender about it (Freddie Mac: Down payment assistance programs).
Rules people miss
- Tell your lender about every source of money. The CFPB says to advise your lender of your financial particulars, including that you are using one of these options (CFPB: Where can I get money for a down payment on a home?).
- Gifts need paper. Proof of where the money came from and a signed statement that it is a gift, not a loan.
- Retirement money has a catch. The CFPB says you may be able to withdraw up to $10,000 from a traditional, SIMPLE or Roth IRA, and that the 10 percent early-withdrawal penalty, which normally applies before age 59 and a half, may be waived when the money is used to buy, build or rebuild a first home. It adds that Roth IRAs work differently and to think twice, because you lose tax-free growth. Ask a tax advisor before you do it.
- Borrowing the down payment raises your debt and your monthly payment, as the CFPB points out.
- Requirements vary, as Freddie Mac says: income, first-time status, location, occupation and how long you must stay differ by program.
- Mortgage insurance may still be required, including on many state and local programs (CFPB: Special loan programs).
- Compare in writing. A program with a higher first-mortgage rate can cost more than it gives. Use the tool above with two written quotes.
What this guide does not cover
We did not read the individual programs of each state, the thousands of city, county and employer programs, or HUD's own listing of state and local programs, because the HUD page that Freddie Mac's site pointed to no longer opened when we checked. We did not read the Selling Guide sections Fannie Mae cites, so we describe only what its consumer and lender pages say. We did not read lender-specific programs. Income limits, first-time buyer definitions and repayment terms differ by program and change often, so treat this page as a map, not a list of what you qualify for.
Sources and how current they are
| Document | Date on the page | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| CFPB: Where can I get money for a down payment on a home? | Last reviewed April 3, 2024; page modified September 6, 2024 | Forms of help, gifts, IRA withdrawal, federal zero-down loans |
| CFPB: Special loan programs | Page modified June 27, 2024 | VA and USDA loans, state and local programs, mortgage insurance |
| Freddie Mac: Down payment assistance programs | Undated web page, © 2026 Freddie Mac, read September 26, 2026 | Types of help, tax credits, who is helped, DPA One |
| Fannie Mae: Down Payment and Closing Cost Assistance | Undated web page, read September 26, 2026 | Gifts, grants, Community Seconds, sweat equity |
| NCSHA: Find a State Housing Finance Agency | Internet Archive copy from 2026 (ncsha.org blocks automated access) | State agency names and addresses |
Rules change, and your lender and the program administrator have the final word. We are not affiliated with any agency or lender, and this guide is information, not financial or legal advice. We have not had this page reviewed by a housing counselor, and we recommend a HUD-approved counselor for advice on your situation. See our first-time home buyer guide for the whole process and the down payment guide for the minimums by loan type.