Plano Down Payment Assistance

Plano is the kind of place where people assume assistance programs are for someone else. It is one of the wealthiest and safest big cities in the country, home to Toyota’s North American headquarters, the Legacy West corporate campus, top-rated Plano ISD schools, and a workforce full of dual-income engineers, analysts, and managers. If you live and work here, “down payment assistance” can sound like it was written for a different zip code.

It usually was not. The income limits for the statewide programs run higher in Collin County than almost anywhere in Texas, high enough that many Plano households still fit. The real catch in Plano is not income, it is price: more homes here sit near or above the program limit than in most of the metroplex, so the trick is knowing which Plano purchases assistance actually reaches. Here is the full picture for a 2026 buyer.

The Plano assumptions worth checking before you rule yourself out

Plano buyers talk themselves out of assistance for reasons that mostly do not hold up. Three come up again and again:

• “I earn too much to qualify.” Maybe not. In Collin County the TSAHC income limit may reach approximately $146,625 at any household size, and TDHCA’s My Choice Texas Home may reach approximately $192,950. Those ceilings clear a large share of Plano’s professional households.
• “This is only for first-time buyers.” For most programs, it is not. TSAHC’s Home Sweet Texas and TDHCA’s My Choice Texas Home both welcome repeat buyers. Only one TDHCA program and the MCC tax credit keep a first-time rule.
• “Everything in Plano is over the limit anyway.” Not everything. Townhomes, condos, and older homes across East Plano and Downtown Plano often land under the roughly $585,006 purchase-price limit, which is exactly where assistance does its work.

You will not know which of these applies to you until you actually check your income against the Collin County limits and look at homes inside the price range. That is a short step, and it is where most Plano buyers are surprised.

What is down payment assistance in Plano, TX?

Down payment assistance in Plano is help that covers your down payment and usually part of your closing costs, so you bring less cash to the table. The money comes from two statewide agencies rather than the city: the Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation (TSAHC) and the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA).

Each may provide up to about 5% of your loan amount, offered as a grant or a forgivable second lien, depending on the option you pick. The assistance attaches to a normal first mortgage, FHA, conventional, VA, or USDA, so the underlying loan is ordinary. The City of Plano’s role, covered below, is education rather than cash, which is why Plano buyers focus on the statewide programs for the actual down payment help.

Plano down payment assistance income limits (2026)

Income limits are measured against the area median, and Collin County sits at the high end of the state. The figures below show approximately how high the limits may reach for non-targeted areas in the county. Read them as “up to” guides; a participating lender confirms your exact number.

TSAHC applies one income limit at any household size, while TDHCA brackets by household. The My Choice Texas Home ceiling near $192,950 is the one that tends to surprise Plano buyers, because it reaches well into two-income professional territory. The constraint here is usually the price limit, not the income limit, which is why where you buy in Plano matters so much.

TSAHC programs for Plano buyers

TSAHC is the program most Plano buyers end up using. TSAHC’s down payment assistance may provide up to about 5% of the loan amount, structured three ways: a no-assistance option (first mortgage plus optional MCC, often at the lowest rate), a grant you never repay, or a three-year forgivable second lien.

• Home Sweet Texas is the general track. If your Collin County income fits the limit, you may qualify no matter your profession or whether you have owned before.
• Homes for Texas Heroes serves teachers, police officers, firefighters, EMS, corrections officers, nurses, and veterans, with the same assistance. Plano ISD staff and the city’s first responders fit here. See our Homes for Texas Heroes guide for the full occupation list.

Not every lender is approved to offer TSAHC programs, which is one reason working with a participating lender in our network matters. TSAHC also publishes a regional overview for the Dallas–Fort Worth area if you want the agency’s own summary.

TDHCA programs for Plano buyers

TDHCA runs the other statewide track, and for higher-earning Plano households it is often the better fit:

• My First Texas Home is for first-time buyers (no ownership in the last three years) and qualified veterans, pairing a competitive first mortgage with assistance at the lower income limits above.
• My Choice Texas Home removes the first-time requirement and lifts the income ceiling to around $192,950 in Collin County, which fits a lot of repeat buyers and dual-income corporate households better than any other program.

Both live on TDHCA’s homebuyer site. For most Collin County households, there is usually a fit between the two agencies; the work is picking the right one, which the eligibility step handles.

The MCC tax credit for Plano buyers

A Mortgage Credit Certificate is an easy benefit for first-time Plano buyers to overlook. An MCC 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 straight off your federal tax bill. A credit lowers what you owe dollar for dollar, which is stronger than a deduction.

The real benefit depends on your loan amount, your rate, and your federal tax liability, so it is an “up to” figure rather than a flat promise. On a Plano-sized loan, the annual credit may add up to meaningful money, and it continues as long as you keep the loan and live in the home. TSAHC issues the MCC for qualifying first-time buyers; our Texas MCC guide walks through the math.

How Plano DPA works with FHA, VA, USDA, and conventional loans

Assistance is not its own loan type. It rides on top of a standard first mortgage, and the right base loan depends on your credit, your cash, and what you are buying. In a higher-priced market like Plano, conventional financing is common, but each option pairs with assistance differently.

Plano has fewer USDA-eligible areas than the rural edges of the metroplex, so most buyers here use conventional or FHA. Veterans have their own path: beyond a VA home loan, the Texas Veterans Land Board offers below-market loan options for Texas veterans. Our Texas VA loan guide covers the veteran path in detail.

TSAHC vs TDHCA: which Plano program fits?

The two agencies overlap, so here is how they compare at a glance for a Collin County household.

For most Plano buyers the decision comes down to two questions: are you a first-time buyer, and where does your income sit against each limit? Because Collin County incomes run high, the higher-ceiling My Choice option matters more here than in most cities. Our Texas down payment assistance hub goes deeper, and a participating lender can compare both on your real figures.

The City of Plano’s first-time homebuyer class, and how we fit

Plano does not hand out its own down payment grant. What the city offers is a First Time Homebuyers Education Class through Neighborhood Services, which is genuinely useful because most assistance programs require a homebuyer education course before you close. Taking the class is a box you will likely need to check anyway.

To be straight with you: the class is education, not cash. ShopDPA does not administer any City of Plano program, and the licensed lenders in our network connect qualified buyers with the statewide TSAHC and TDHCA programs, which is where the actual down payment money comes from. We point to the city class because it pairs naturally with the state assistance, not because it is a separate grant to chase.

Plano-area school districts and the Homes for Texas Heroes program

Most of Plano is served by Plano ISD, one of the most highly rated large districts in Texas at roughly 50,000 students, with parts of the city falling inside Frisco ISD, Lewisville ISD, and Allen ISD. Add Collin College and a cluster of corporate and medical campuses, and the area employs many people whose jobs qualify them for the Homes for Texas Heroes program.

Teachers, aides, counselors, librarians, and school nurses across those districts qualify, as do Plano’s police officers, firefighters, and EMS. The Heroes program offers the same assistance as Home Sweet Texas, framed for your profession, with no first-time-buyer requirement. Our Texas teacher home loan guide explains how district employment verification works.

Where you buy in Plano changes the picture

Few Texas cities reward “where you buy” thinking like Plano does, because the city splits sharply by price. The roughly $585,006 purchase-price limit is the line that decides whether assistance reaches a given home.

• East Plano (east of US-75, the older established neighborhoods, and the area around the Collin Creek redevelopment) holds the most homes that land under the price limit.
• Downtown Plano (the historic district and the newer townhomes and mid-rise condos around the DART station) offers attached homes that often fit, and that suit first-time buyers well.
• West Plano (Legacy West, Shops at Legacy, and the master-planned neighborhoods near the Dallas North Tollway) runs higher and often sits above the limit; a lender can confirm whether a specific home qualifies.

Buyers priced out of central Plano often look at our nearby pillars for Frisco, McKinney, Garland, and Dallas, which share the same Collin or Dallas County limits.

Credit score requirements for Plano DPA

Most TSAHC and TDHCA programs start around a 620 credit score. That is well short of “perfect,” and it surprises buyers who assumed assistance demanded a flawless file. Your score shapes your interest rate and which assistance option fits, but 620 is the number to aim for, and some loan types flex around it depending on the rest of your application.

If you are under 620 right now, treat it as a timeline rather than a closed door. A participating lender or a HUD-approved housing counselor can usually point to the few specific moves that may lift your score into range. In a competitive market like Plano, a stronger score also helps your offer stand out.

Homebuyer education for Plano buyers

Most assistance programs require a short homebuyer education course before you close. It covers budgeting, the loan process, and what to expect at closing, and buyers who take it tend to do better over the long run. Plano’s own first-time homebuyer class can satisfy this for some programs, and you can also find a HUD-approved counselor through the CFPB’s housing counselor tool. Your lender confirms which specific course your program accepts.

Recapture tax for Plano DPA buyers (IRS §143)

Some TSAHC and TDHCA bond-backed programs carry a federal recapture provision under IRS §143. A recapture tax may apply only if all three of these happen together: you sell within nine years, your income at sale is significantly above the program limits, and you realize a capital gain. If any one of those is not true, there is generally nothing to recapture.

Very few buyers ever owe it, and both agencies offer reimbursement programs that may cover a recapture tax if it is ever triggered. The mechanics live on IRS Form 8828. We mention it for honesty, not alarm; a participating lender explains how it applies to the program you choose.

Step by step: from form to closing day in Plano

1. Check where you stand. Spend a couple of minutes on the eligibility step so we understand your income, location, and goals.
2. Connect with a participating lender. We introduce you to a licensed mortgage professional in our network who is approved to offer TSAHC and TDHCA programs in the Plano area.
3. Get pre-qualified and pick your program. Your lender checks your income against the Collin County limits, reviews your credit, and helps you choose the assistance option that fits.
4. Finish homebuyer education. Complete the short HUD-approved course your program requires, online or in person.
5. Shop, offer, and close. House-hunt across Plano with your assistance lined up, focus on homes inside the price limit, and bring far less cash to closing than you expected.

Documents to have ready for pre-qualification

You do not need these to begin, but they speed things up once you connect with a lender:

• Recent pay stubs (about 30 days) and the last two years of W-2s or tax returns
• Two months of bank statements
• A government-issued ID
• Your DD-214 if you are using a VA loan or the Heroes/veteran track
• A rough idea of your target Plano neighborhoods and price range

Plano down payment assistance: frequently asked questions

Frequently Asked Questions

† 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 Plano, 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.