Dallas Homebuyer Assistance Program

The Dallas Homebuyer Assistance Program is funded by the city. It is designed to help Dallas residents with low to moderate incomes purchase homes in the city. The program offers a substantial amount of down payment assistance that can notably reduce your monthly payments, improve your long-term financial position, and help you into a new home.

The program can also be combined with the Texas Mortgage Credit Certificate, which effectively reduces your interest rate by refunding a portion of your mortgage interest when you file your federal taxes each year.

Eligibility requirements

To qualify for the Dallas Homebuyer Assistance Program, you must meet the following eligibility requirements.

1. You must be a current resident of Dallas.
2. The home you’re purchasing needs to be within the Dallas city limits.
3. If you work in education, healthcare, the public library system, fire services, or law enforcement, your income must be at or below 120% of the area median income(AMI). For all other professions, your income cannot exceed 80% AMI.* 
4. Your mortgage payments after closing cannot be more than 35% of your monthly income, and your total debts cannot be more than 45% of your monthly income.  

*For all DPA programs, income and purchase price limits are regularly reviewed and updated. These amounts were correct at publication but may change with time.

Type of loan

The Dallas Homebuyer Assistance Program delivers assistance funds in the form of a deferred forgivable loan. This means the loan accrues no interest and requires no payments until the end of the deferment period. 

However, if you consistently make your mortgage payments on time and don’t sell or refinance your home before the deferment period ends, the loan can be forgiven and you won’t have to pay back any of the money. 

Down payment assistance loans under $15,000 have a 5-year deferment period. Loans between $15,000 and $40,000 have a 10-year deferment period, and loans of more than $40,000 are deferred for 15 years.

Amount of down payment assistance

The Dallas Homebuyer Assistance Program offers a range of assistance options, with more assistance given to low-income homebuyers and those purchasing in areas designated by the city as high opportunity areas. 

The maximum amount of assistance is $60,000. This is one of the highest maximums of any down payment assistance program in Texas. 

Minimum borrower contribution

There is a minimum borrower contribution of $1,000 for this program. This does require you to have some money saved up before you purchase a home. However, your contribution goes toward your down payment, so you essentially invest $1,000 to get up to $60,000 in assistance. 

Purchase price limits

The purchase price limit for this program is $318,000. This is a bit higher than the median home price in Dallas, which is currently $309,340. So there are many homes in the city that are priced within the  program limits.

Income limits

For homebuyers who work in education, healthcare, the public library system, fire services, or law enforcement, the income limit is between $88,704 and $146,995, depending on the size of your household.

For all other professions, the income limit is between $57,750 and $95,700, depending on household size. 

The program’s income limits are subject to frequent evaluation and adjustment. To find if you qualify based on your income, use our free down payment assistance finder.

How to qualify for the Dallas Homebuyer Assistance Program

You must meet the eligibility requirements we’ve described above to qualify for the down payment assistance program. Use our free down payment assistance finder to check your eligibility.

How to apply for the Dallas Homebuyer Assistance Program

Submission for the Dallas Homebuyer Assistance Program is exclusively through approved, participating mortgage lenders, as the City of Dallas does not accept applications directly. To locate a lender who can help you apply for down payment assistance, use our free down payment assistance finder.