Cities
Burleson Down Payment Assistance: 2026 Programs and Limits
Burleson sits on the south growth edge of Fort Worth, mostly in Johnson County with a slice extending into Tarrant County, and both sides use the same Fort Worth-Arlington figures.
Tyler Allen
Reviewed by 
Byron Davis, NMLS #621780
You drive north on 35W five days a week to a hospital, a station house, a job site, or an office somewhere in Fort Worth, then come home to a town where the grocery run takes eleven minutes. That is a trade a lot of Burleson households made on purpose. The part that has not caught up is the down payment. Rent goes out the door every month while the savings account sits at about the number it hit last spring.
Burleson is a growth edge with an old center. Old Town still has the storefronts along Main Street that were standing long before the subdivisions filled in around them, and everything past that is newer rooftops built for people who work in Fort Worth and wanted a shorter list of compromises. The households filling those houses are firefighters, paramedics, nurses and techs, electricians and framers, and the staff who run Burleson ISD. That mix matters more here than in most Texas cities, because a large share of this town works in an occupation the state already wrote a program for. The 2026 figures below are the Fort Worth-Arlington set, which is the detail that catches out buyers who researched the Dallas-side numbers first.
Three Things Burleson Buyers Assume Before They Ever Call a Lender
These come up constantly in a town where two working adults are the norm and plenty of households have already owned once.
- “We earn too much to qualify for anything.” This one deserves an honest answer rather than a cheerful one. Burleson uses the Fort Worth-Arlington limits, and those run lower than the Dallas-side figures you may have read elsewhere. A two-income household here can land close to the TSAHC ceiling of ~$133,375, and some will clear it. That is not the end of it, because My Choice Texas Home reaches ~$192,950 on conventional financing, or ~$181,390 with an FHA, VA, or USDA loan. Run your real number before you rule yourself out.
- “We already bought once, so we used our one shot.” There is no one shot. Plenty of Burleson households moved up from an apartment or a starter home and assume the door closed behind them. Home Sweet Texas and My Choice Texas Home carry no first-time-buyer requirement, so a second purchase can still come with assistance.
- “Homes for Texas Heroes is basically a teacher program.” Teachers are on the list, and so are police officers, firefighters, EMS and paramedics, corrections officers, county jailers, nursing faculty, and veterans. In a town that runs this heavily on shift work and public payrolls, plenty of Burleson households hold a job on that list, though being on it only opens the door; income, credit, and the price limits still decide who may qualify.
A participating lender settles all three of these in one sitting. Each comes down to a figure: your household income measured against the Johnson County limits, your credit score, and the price of the house you are actually looking at.
What Down Payment Assistance Means for a Burleson Household
Down payment assistance in Burleson is help that covers your down payment and usually part of your closing costs, so you bring less cash to the table on closing day. The money comes from two statewide agencies rather than from the city: the Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation (TSAHC) and the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA).
Each may provide up to ~5% of your loan amount, delivered as a grant or as a forgivable second lien, depending on the option you choose. The assistance rides on a normal first mortgage, whether FHA, conventional, VA, or USDA, so the underlying loan is ordinary. Our Texas down payment assistance hub covers how the statewide help works in depth.
Johnson County Programs, and Where ShopDPA Fits
Buyers here often go looking for a Burleson-specific program first, the way a Fort Worth buyer would look up the city’s housing office. That search comes up mostly empty. The City of Burleson and Johnson County do not run a large standing down payment program the way the bigger metro cities do. If a smaller, income-restricted effort is open in a given year, it runs through the county housing office, and that office is the right place to ask.
ShopDPA does not administer any City of Burleson or Johnson County program. The help that stays open year-round, comes in larger amounts, and is usable by repeat buyers is the statewide TSAHC and TDHCA money, which is what the lenders in our network work with every week in Johnson and Tarrant County files.
Burleson Income Limits for 2026, and What the Fort Worth Number Really Means
Burleson sits in the Fort Worth-Arlington area, and Johnson County carries those figures. Part of the city is technically in Tarrant County, since Burleson grew north across the line, and that changes nothing: Tarrant sits in the same Fort Worth-Arlington area, so the ceilings and the price cap are identical on both sides. The figures below show how high the limits may reach in non-targeted areas, so read them as “up to” guides. A participating lender confirms your exact figure.
| Program (Johnson County / Burleson area) | Household of 1-2 | Household of 3+ |
|---|---|---|
| TSAHC Home Sweet Texas / Homes for Texas Heroes | Up to ~$133,375 | Up to ~$133,375 |
| TDHCA My First Texas Home | Up to ~$106,700 | Up to ~$122,705 |
| TDHCA My Choice Texas Home | Up to ~$192,950 | Up to ~$192,950 |
TSAHC applies one limit at any household size, and at ~$133,375 that ceiling binds in this market. Two established Fort Worth-area incomes, a paramedic and a charge nurse say, can land within a few thousand dollars of it. Buyers who have read the Fort Worth page or a Dallas-side one sometimes see a higher figure, near $146,625, because the Dallas-area counties run on their own numbers. Burleson uses the Fort Worth-Arlington set instead. Households above the TSAHC line should price out My Choice Texas Home, which reaches ~$192,950 on conventional financing, or ~$181,390 with an FHA, VA, or USDA loan, before they give up on assistance.
TSAHC Options and Why the Heroes List Fits This Town
TSAHC is where most Burleson buyers start. TSAHC’s down payment assistance may provide up to ~5% of the loan amount, and the assistance itself is structured two ways: a grant you never repay, or a three-year forgivable second lien. A first-mortgage-only route with no assistance attached also exists, and it often carries the lowest rate of the three, but the stand-alone Mortgage Credit Certificate that buyers used to bolt onto it is no longer offered on its own, so that route now means no assistance and no certificate. One detail that changes the arithmetic: the tiers reaching ~5% currently come through the forgivable second lien. TSAHC’s grant is being offered at smaller percentages right now, so treat the grant and the second lien as two different amounts, not two labels for the same one.
- Home Sweet Texas is the general track. If your Johnson County household income fits under the limit, you may qualify regardless of your occupation and regardless of whether you have owned a home before.
- Homes for Texas Heroes carries the same assistance but is written around specific professions, and Burleson is unusually well suited to it. In a city where the fire department, the hospital systems up the highway, and Burleson ISD employ a large slice of the neighborhood, that occupation list is not a footnote. Our Homes for Texas Heroes guide has the full detail.
TSAHC money only moves through lenders it has approved, and the list of loan officers actually running these files in the Burleson and south Tarrant corridor is shorter than the list of people advertising mortgages here, which is the gap our network exists to close. TSAHC publishes its program terms and current eligibility on its homebuyer pages.
TDHCA Options for Buyers on Both Sides of the Burleson Line
Where the TSAHC ceiling gets tight, the second statewide track picks up. TDHCA runs two programs that matter here:
- My First Texas Home serves first-time buyers, meaning no ownership in the last three years, plus qualified veterans. It pairs a competitive first mortgage with assistance at the lower limits above, ~$106,700 for a household of one or two and ~$122,705 for three or more, under the same ~$585,006 price cap.
- My Choice Texas Home drops the first-time requirement and runs on the higher tier of ~$192,950 on conventional financing, or ~$181,390 with an FHA, VA, or USDA loan. For the Burleson household that already moved up once from a rental in Crowley or a first house in Joshua and assumed it had spent its turn, this is the program worth reading twice.
TDHCA keeps the current terms, the participating-lender list, and the income tables for both programs on its homebuyer site. Our guide to TSAHC and how it differs from TDHCA lays out the comparison in more depth.
The MCC Tax Credit and What It Does for a Burleson Payment
A Mortgage Credit Certificate is the benefit Burleson buyers skip most often, usually because it sounds like paperwork. It is a federal tax credit under IRS Form 8396 that may return up to 15% of the mortgage interest you pay each year, with no annual cap, taken off your federal tax bill.
Because the certificate scales with interest paid, it does the most for a Burleson buyer financing newer construction along the Chisholm Trail Parkway corridor and the least for someone taking a small note on an older place near Main Street, and in either case it is worth the most in the early years, while interest still makes up most of the payment. The other half of it is your tax liability. A two-earner household with a firefighter’s overtime and a hospital salary usually has enough federal tax to absorb the full credit; a single-income buyer with several dependents may not, which makes it an “up to” figure rather than a flat promise. According to TSAHC’s Mortgage Credit Certificate page, its stand-alone MCC has been discontinued indefinitely, and an MCC may still be obtained in combination with TSAHC down payment assistance as funds are available. For a Burleson household that means treating the credit and the assistance as one conversation with a participating lender. Our Texas MCC guide walks through the math.
Pairing Burleson Assistance with FHA, Conventional, VA, and USDA Loans
Assistance rides on a standard first mortgage, so the base loan is the one you would have taken anyway, chosen on your credit, your cash, and what you are buying. In Burleson, FHA and conventional carry most of the volume, with VA showing up steadily given how many veterans work the trades and public safety jobs around town.
How Texas DPA pairs with each loan type
| Loan type | Min down | Min credit | DPA pairing benefit |
|---|---|---|---|
| FHA | 3.5% | 580 (TSAHC overlay: 620) | DPA may cover much of down + closing → out-of-pocket often drops below $1,000 |
| VA | 0% | 620 (TSAHC overlay) | DPA may cover closing costs; funding fee waived for 10%+ disabled vets |
| USDA | 0% | 620 (TSAHC overlay) | Rural areas only; DPA may cover closing costs; income caps lower |
| Conventional | 3% | 640-680 typical | HFA Advantage / HFA Preferred reduces MI; better long-term economics with 680+ credit |
| TSAHC and TDHCA both require 620+ FICO regardless of underlying loan-type minimums. | |||
Source: tsahc.org, FHA Handbook 4000.1, VA Lenders Handbook M26-7
Veterans have a second path worth checking. Beyond a VA home loan with zero down for eligible buyers, the Texas Veterans Land Board offers below-market loan options for Texas veterans. One detail to carry into that conversation: the TDHCA tier for FHA, VA, and USDA financing runs ~$181,390, a different number from the conventional above-80% tier, so the loan you choose can change which ceiling applies.
Reading TSAHC Against TDHCA As a Johnson County Buyer
The two agencies overlap enough to be confusing, so the table below sets them side by side for a Burleson household.
TSAHC vs TDHCA — Texas state DPA programs at a glance
| Program detail | TSAHC | TDHCA |
|---|---|---|
| First-time-buyer required? | No (Heroes); Yes/No (HSTH) | Yes (MFTH); No (MCTH) |
| Income limit | By county, any household size (up to ~$167,250) | By county and household size; My Choice is higher |
| DPA structure | Grant OR 3-year deferred forgivable second lien (36 months) | 30-year deferred (repayable) OR 3-year deferred forgivable second lien |
| Typical DPA % | 3% / 4% / 5% of loan amount | Up to 5% of mortgage amount |
| Min credit score | 620 (lender overlays may apply) | 620 (lender overlays may apply) |
| Loan types accepted | FHA, VA, USDA, Conventional | FHA, VA, USDA, Conventional |
| MCC pairing allowed? | Yes (TSAHC MCC) | Yes with MFTH; NOT with MCTH |
| Recapture tax (§143)? | May apply; reimbursement program available | May apply; reimbursement program available |
| MCC = Mortgage Credit Certificate. One MCC per loan, ever. TDHCA MCTH does not allow MCC pairing. | ||
Source: tsahc.org + welcomehome.tdhca.texas.gov
In most Texas cities this choice turns on the assistance structure. In Burleson it usually turns on the ceiling, because the Fort Worth-Arlington limits sit low enough that a strong two-income household has to check where it lands. The rule of thumb for this market runs in three tiers. Under ~$106,700 as a household of one or two, and with no ownership in the last three years, ask the lender to quote My First Texas Home and TSAHC side by side, because both are open and the first-mortgage rate breaks the tie. Between that figure and ~$133,375, TSAHC is the practical choice, and Homes for Texas Heroes is the track to ask about if anyone on the loan works public safety, healthcare, or a school district, since the assistance is identical and the extra paperwork is an employment letter. Above ~$133,375, My Choice Texas Home is the statewide route left, at ~$192,950 on conventional financing or ~$181,390 with an FHA, VA, or USDA loan.
How the Burleson Map Changes What You Are Shopping For
With a price cap of ~$585,006, essentially the entire Burleson market qualifies on price. That means you shop on schools, commute, and the age of the house rather than hunting for something under a ceiling.
- Old Town and the blocks off Main Street hold the oldest housing stock, generally the least expensive entry point in the city, and the section that reads least like a subdivision.
- Bartlett Park and Mountain Valley sit between the two eras, mostly houses from the last several decades on lots wider than the newest sections, and this is where a buyer working with ~5% assistance tends to find the most to choose from.
- The newer neighborhoods spreading south and west off Hidden Creek and toward the Chisholm Trail Parkway corridor hold most of the recent construction and the shortest run into downtown Fort Worth, though the Parkway toll adds up against the slower but untolled 35W option.
- The northern edge that crosses into Tarrant County is treated identically by both agencies. Crossing the county line changes which appraisal district and tax offices you deal with while leaving your income ceiling and price cap exactly where they were.
Since price is rarely the constraint, the move is getting pre-qualified early and settling on a program before you write offers. Buyers who widen the search to Crowley just north in Tarrant County, or south to Joshua and Cleburne in Johnson County, keep the same ceilings and the same price cap, because all of it falls inside the Fort Worth-Arlington area. Buyers weighing Burleson against the rest of the south and east metro can also look at Mansfield, Arlington, and Grand Prairie, though only Arlington runs on the same Fort Worth-Arlington figures. Grand Prairie sits mostly in Dallas County and parts of Mansfield reach into Ellis County, both of which use the higher Dallas-area limits, so a participating lender should confirm which set applies to a specific address.
Burleson ISD, First Responders, and the Heroes Track
Most of the city is served by Burleson ISD, with parts of the northern edge zoned to Crowley ISD in Tarrant County and some outlying areas to Joshua ISD. Add the city’s police and fire departments, the EMS crews, the Johnson County sheriff’s office, and Texas Health Huguley up the South Freeway, and the Homes for Texas Heroes list overlaps heavily with who actually signs the paychecks in this town.
A campus aide at Burleson ISD, an engine company driver, a nurse finishing nights at Huguley, and a deputy working the county are all pointed at the same track, and none of them has to be a first-time buyer to use it. The Heroes designation changes the route in while the assistance behind it stays the same money Home Sweet Texas offers. The lender confirms employment with a letter or a recent pay stub, and holding a listed occupation is where eligibility starts rather than where it ends, since the income ceiling, the credit minimum, and the price cap all still have to clear before anyone qualifies.
What Credit Score Burleson Buyers Actually Need
Most TSAHC and TDHCA programs start at ~620, which is a lower bar than assistance is generally assumed to carry. Your score still shapes your rate and which structure fits best, and some loan types flex around that number depending on the rest of the file.
Under ~620 the repair work is usually mechanical. In a town with this many self-employed trades, 1099 contractors, and households running on overtime, the two things that hold a Burleson score down most often are a card carrying job materials at close to its limit and an old medical collection nobody ever disputed. Both have a known correction and a known timeline. A participating lender or a HUD-approved counselor can pull the report, say which one is doing the damage here, and tell you roughly how many billing cycles it takes to show up.
The Homebuyer Course Burleson Programs Ask For
Most assistance programs require a short homebuyer education course before you close. It covers budgeting, how the loan process unfolds, and what to expect on closing day, and most Burleson buyers take the online version because it fits around shift rotations and a 35W commute. You can find a HUD-approved counselor through HUD’s housing counselor directory, and your lender confirms which course your program accepts.
Recapture Tax for Burleson Buyers (IRS §143)
Some TSAHC and TDHCA bond-backed programs, including My First Texas Home and the MCC, carry a federal recapture provision under IRS §143. It can apply only when three things line up together: you sell within nine years, your income at sale sits well above the program limits, and you take a capital gain. Very few sellers hit all three. TSAHC’s grant options generally do not carry recapture, both agencies run reimbursement programs that may cover the tax if it is ever triggered, and the mechanics sit on IRS Form 8828. Ask a participating lender whether the program you pick carries it at all.
From First Question to Keys in Hand in Burleson
- Check where you stand. The eligibility form asks for household income, the Burleson-area ZIP you are shopping, and a rough price target, which is enough to show which agency is still open to you.
- Connect with a participating lender. We hand you to a licensed loan officer in our network who holds TSAHC and TDHCA approval and works Johnson and Tarrant County files regularly.
- Get pre-qualified and choose your program. Your lender runs your income against the Fort Worth-Arlington limits, reviews your credit, and helps you decide between the TSAHC and TDHCA options.
- Finish homebuyer education. Complete the short HUD-approved course your program requires, online or in person.
- Shop, offer, and close. House-hunt across Burleson with your assistance already lined up, and carry a smaller cashier’s check to the closing table.
What a Burleson Loan Officer Will Ask You For
None of this is needed to start, though having it ready shortens the pre-qualification once you connect with a lender:
- Pay stubs covering the last ~30 days, plus two years of W-2s or returns
- Two months of statements for every account the closing funds would come from
- Photo ID for everyone going on the loan
- Your DD-214 if you are using a VA loan or the Heroes and veteran track
- If you run a trade or contract on 1099s, two years of returns with all schedules and a year-to-date profit and loss, since a Burleson file built on self-employment income gets underwritten on the average rather than on last month
- Documentation for overtime, shift differential, or holdover pay if it is part of what you earn at a station, a hospital, or a district, because underwriters count it only with enough history behind it
- Your builder contract and the estimated completion date if you are buying new construction south or west of town
- A homeowners insurance quote for the specific address, which carries real weight in this part of North Texas once hail history is priced in
- Proof of employment if you are applying through Homes for Texas Heroes
Burleson Down Payment Assistance: Frequently Asked Questions
Burleson down payment assistance: frequently asked questions
Do Crowley, Joshua, and Cleburne buyers use the same limits as Burleson?
What is the income limit for down payment assistance in Burleson in 2026?
Why is the Burleson income limit lower than the Dallas-area one?
Does it matter if my Burleson house is in Tarrant County instead of Johnson County?
Who qualifies for down payment assistance in Burleson?
Can repeat buyers in Burleson still get down payment assistance?
Is there a price limit for buying a home in Burleson with assistance?
How much down payment assistance can I get in Burleson?
Does the City of Burleson or Johnson County run its own down payment program?
What happens to my assistance if I sell or refinance a Burleson home within three years?
† ShopDPA is The Texas Down Payment Assistance Marketplace, a home loan and down payment assistance referral service. We are not a mortgage lender, mortgage broker, or loan officer, and we do not originate, fund, or service loans. We connect Texas homebuyers with licensed mortgage professionals and with down payment assistance programs. We are not affiliated with the City of Burleson, Johnson County, TSAHC, TDHCA, HUD, the IRS, the VA, or any government agency. Program terms, income limits, purchase-price limits, and tax-credit amounts are set by the applicable agency, lender, or insurer and may change; confirm current details with a participating licensed lender. Equal Housing Opportunity.
Get Started
Find Your Texas Down Payment Assistance.
Answer a few quick questions and we'll show you the programs that fit. Takes under 60 seconds. No SSN, no commitment.
Related Guides
-
Cleburne Down Payment Assistance: 2026 Guide for Johnson County
In Cleburne neither the price cap nor the income limit usually binds, so the down payment is the whole obstacle. See what assistance may cover.
View -
Midlothian Down Payment Assistance: 2026 Programs and Limits
Think plant and mill pay puts you over? Ellis County limits may reach ~$146,625, and overtime is averaged over two years. See where you land.
View -
Prosper Down Payment Assistance: 2026 Limits and What Actually Fits
An honest look at Prosper: most listings sit above the price cap, but some do not, and Prosper ISD staff have their own track. See what may still work.
View -
Rowlett Down Payment Assistance: 2026 Guide for Buyers
Rowlett buyers may get up to ~5% of the loan toward down payment and closing costs. Dallas and Rockwall County sides carry the same limits. See what fits you.
View